Mission, Vision, Values Workshop
Your Company's Design Principles
**Core Principle:** MVV = design principles for decisions. Prevents future "architecture debates" about people and culture.
Why MVV Matters
Engineers Skip This:
"Culture comes later. Let's just build."
Reality:
**Culture doesn't come later. It's already here—just bad.**
MVV = Design Principles
**Platform had:**
- Self-service?
- Zero-trust?
- Immutable infrastructure?
**Startup needs:**
- Mission: Why exist?
- Vision: Success in 5 years?
- Values: How decide?
**Benefit:** MVV prevents 3-hour debates about things you should've decided day one.
The 3 Core Questions
1. Mission: Why Do We Exist?
**Not:** "What we build"
**Is:** "Why the world needs this"
**Template:**
text
We exist to [VERB] [WHO] so they can [OUTCOME]
**Examples:**
**❌ Bad (too vague):**
- "Make the world better with technology"
- "Empower developers"
- "Build great products"
**✅ Good (specific):**
- **Stripe:** "Increase the GDP of the internet"
- **Airbnb:** "Create a world where anyone can belong anywhere"
- **Tesla:** "Accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy"
**Your turn:**
text
We exist to ________________________________
so that ____________________________________
**Test:** Can you explain this to your grandmother? If no, simplify.
2. Vision: What Does Success Look Like in 5 Years?
**Not:** "We'll have raised Series B"
**Is:** "Here's the world we've created"
**Template:**
text
In 5 years, [WHO] will [BEHAVIOR] because [IMPACT]
**Examples:**
**❌ Bad (internally focused):**
- "We'll have 100 employees"
- "We'll be profitable"
- "We'll have raised $50M"
**✅ Good (externally focused):**
- **Superhuman:** "Every person who handles email as a critical part of their job will use Superhuman"
- **Notion:** "Every team will organize their work in Notion"
- **Figma:** "Every designer will design in the browser, not desktop apps"
**Your turn:**
text
In 5 years, _______________________________
will __________________________________
because ___________________________________
**Test:** Is this inspiring? Would you work 5 years for this?
3. Values: How Do We Decide?
**Not:** "Be nice" or "Work hard"
**Is:** "When faced with X, we choose Y"
**Template:**
text
[VALUE NAME]: [1-sentence definition]
In practice: [Specific behavior example]
**Framework:** 3-5 values maximum (more = meaningless)
**Examples:**
Value: Bias to Action
- **Definition:** Move fast and iterate rather than perfect planning
- **In practice:** Ship a v0.1 this week vs. perfect v1 next month
- **Trade-off:** Accept more bugs in exchange for faster learning
Value: Transparency by Default
- **Definition:** Share information unless there's a reason not to
- **In practice:** Slack channels are public, metrics visible to all
- **Trade-off:** Some discomfort in exchange for trust and alignment
Value: Customer Obsession
- **Definition:** Talk to customers weekly, build for their needs
- **In practice:** Engineers join customer calls, support rotation
- **Trade-off:** Sometimes build "boring" features customers want vs. "cool" tech
Your Values Workshop (2 Hours)
Setup
- **Who:** Founders + first 3 employees (if any)
- **Where:** Whiteboard or Miro/Figma
- **When:** Week 1 (before you hire)
Part 1: Brainstorm (30 min)
**Prompt:** "What matters to us? How do we want to work?"
Write everything on sticky notes:
- Fast shipping
- Work-life balance
- Technical excellence
- Customer first
- Transparent communication
- Ownership/autonomy
- Data-driven decisions
- Diversity & inclusion
**Goal:** 20-30 ideas
Part 2: Cluster (15 min)
Group similar ideas:
- "Move fast", "Ship weekly", "Bias to action" → **Speed**
- "Customer calls", "User research", "Build for them" → **Customer-centric**
- "Public Slack", "Share metrics", "Open feedback" → **Transparency**
**Goal:** 5-7 clusters
Part 3: Prioritize (15 min)
**Forced ranking:** What matters MOST?
**Test:** If you could only pick 3, which 3?
**Goal:** 3-5 core values
Part 4: Define (45 min)
For each value:
- **Name it:** 1-2 words
- **Define it:** 1 sentence
- **Specific behavior:** "In practice, this means..."
- **Trade-off:** "We accept [downside] in exchange for [upside]"
**Goal:** Usable values, not platitudes
Part 5: Stress Test (15 min)
**Scenario planning:**
**Scenario 1:** Customer wants feature X, but it'll slow us down. What do we do?
- If "Speed" value → Politely decline, stay focused
- If "Customer obsession" → Build it, ship it
**Scenario 2:** Engineer wants to rewrite core system for "better architecture." What do we do?
- If "Technical excellence" value → Consider it seriously
- If "Bias to action" value → No rewrites, iterate forward
**Goal:** Values should resolve debates
Common Value Categories
Execution
- **Bias to action:** Move fast, iterate
- **Ownership:** You break it, you fix it
- **Simplicity:** Choose boring technology
- **Excellence:** Sweat the details
Customers
- **Customer obsession:** Build for their needs
- **Transparency:** Honest about trade-offs
- **Reliability:** Uptime matters
- **Support-driven:** Everyone does support
Team
- **Transparency:** Information sharing by default
- **Candor:** Direct, kind feedback
- **Diversity:** Inclusive hiring and culture
- **Growth:** Learn and level up
Innovation
- **Experimentation:** Try new things
- **Data-driven:** Measure everything
- **Long-term:** Optimize for 10 years
- **Ambitious:** Go big or go home
**Pick 3-5. More = meaningless.**
Writing Your Values Doc
Template
markdown
# [Company Name] Mission, Vision, Values
## Mission: Why We Exist
[1-2 sentences]
## Vision: Where We're Going
[2-3 sentences describing 5-year future]
## Values: How We Decide
### 1. [Value Name]
**What it means:** [1 sentence]
**In practice:**
- [Specific behavior 1]
- [Specific behavior 2]
- [Specific behavior 3]
**Trade-off:** We accept [downside] for [upside]
**Example:** [Real story of this value in action]
### 2. [Value Name]
[Repeat structure]
[Continue for 3-5 values]
How to Use MVV Daily
Hiring
**Question:** "Does this candidate align with our values?"
**Test:** Ask behavioral questions about each value:
- "Tell me about a time you shipped something imperfect to learn faster" (Bias to action)
- "Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager" (Candor)
**Decision:** Hire for values fit + skill, not just skill
Performance Reviews
**Framework:** Evaluate on values + outcomes
**Example:**
text
Engineer X:
- Technical output: Strong (shipped 3 features)
- Customer obsession: Weak (hasn't joined a customer call)
- Transparency: Strong (shares progress weekly)
Action: Keep, but coach on customer value
Conflict Resolution
**When two people disagree:**
"Let's look at our values. Which value matters more here?"
**Example:**
- Engineer wants to refactor (Technical excellence)
- PM wants to ship new feature (Bias to action)
- Resolution: Check roadmap. If feature is critical, ship first. If tech debt is blocking, refactor first.
**MVV removes ego from debates.**
Real-World Examples
Stripe Values
- **Users first:** Align with users' success
- **Move with urgency:** Fast decisions and execution
- **Think rigorously:** High-quality decisions with evidence
- **Trust and amplify:** Default to trust, empower others
- **Optimism:** Believe we can solve hard problems
**Why it works:** Specific, opinionated, guides decisions
GitLab Values (CREDIT)
- **Collaboration:** Work together, transparently
- **Results:** Outcomes over activity
- **Efficiency:** Boring solutions, write things down
- **Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging:** Everyone can contribute
- **Iteration:** Smallest viable change
- **Transparency:** Public by default
**Why it works:** Memorable acronym, detailed handbook
Coinbase Values
- **Clear communication:** Transparent, direct, written
- **Efficient execution:** Move fast, bias to action
- **Acting with integrity:** Do the right thing
- **Continuous learning:** Growth mindset
- **Customer focus:** Build for users
**Why it works:** Balanced between execution and culture
Anti-Patterns (What NOT to Do)
❌ Meaningless Platitudes
- "Integrity"
- "Excellence"
- "Innovation"
- "Teamwork"
**Problem:** Every company says this. Meaningless.
**Fix:** Be specific. "Integrity" → "Transparent by default"
❌ Too Many Values
- 10+ values = no one remembers them
**Fix:** 3-5 values maximum
❌ Values ≠ Reality
- "Work-life balance" (but everyone works 80-hour weeks)
- "Customer first" (but no one talks to customers)
**Problem:** Destroys trust
**Fix:** Only write values you actually live
❌ Static Doc That's Never Used
- Write once, forget forever
**Fix:** Reference in every hiring decision, every conflict, every review
MVV Evolution
When to Update
- **Major pivot:** Business model changes
- **New funding round:** Scaling to next stage
- **Team grows 10x:** Culture drifts
- **Founder exit:** Leadership change
**Frequency:** Review annually, update as needed
How to Update
- **Survey team:** What's working? What's not?
- **Identify drift:** Where have we strayed?
- **Workshop (again):** 2-hour refresh
- **Communicate changes:** Why we updated
**Key:** Evolution is fine. Abandonment is not.
2-Hour Workshop Agenda
Materials Needed
- [ ] Whiteboard or Miro/Figma
- [ ] Sticky notes (digital or physical)
- [ ] Founders + first employees
- [ ] 2 uninterrupted hours
Agenda
**0:00-0:10** - Context: Why MVV matters
**0:10-0:40** - Brainstorm: All ideas
**0:40-0:55** - Cluster: Group similar ideas
**0:55-1:10** - Prioritize: Pick 3-5 values
**1:10-1:55** - Define: Write each value
**1:55-2:00** - Commit: We'll live by these
Output
- [ ] Mission statement (1-2 sentences)
- [ ] Vision statement (2-3 sentences)
- [ ] 3-5 values (name, definition, behavior, trade-off)
Resources
- **Click** by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
- **Sprint** by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
- **Good to Great** by Jim Collins: Core values framework
- **Powerful** by Patty McCord: Netflix culture deck
- **GitLab Handbook:** Open-source values in practice ([handbook.gitlab.com](http://handbook.gitlab.com/))
**Download all 12 templates:** [sanscourier.ai/qconsf-2025](http://sanscourier.ai/qconsf-2025)
*From the QCon SF 2025 talk: "From Staff Platform Engineer to a16z Founder: What I Wish I'd Known" by Gonzalo (Glo) Maldonado*