The Best Work
of Our Lives

Many of us have worked at companies where decisions were made top down, there was little transparency and it felt hard to make a difference — or even get basic things done. At the Company, we aim to inspire and empower more than just management because people can have a greater impact when they're free to make decisions about their own work.

As part of this, we strive to develop good decision-making muscles at every level of the company, priding ourselves on how few, not how many, decisions senior leaders make. We expect managers to practice context not control — giving their teams the context and clarity needed to make good decisions instead of trying to control everything themselves. We also help employees learn by sharing a lot of information internally, including through memos where they can comment and ask questions. It takes an unusually responsible person to thrive on this level of freedom — someone who's self-motivated, self-aware and self-disciplined, who doesn't wait to be told what to do and picks up the trash like they would at home. That said, context not control should not be confused with hands-off management. Managers need to be involved in the work being done around them, and actively coach their teams. They may also have to step in when someone is about to make a decision that is unethical or could materially harm the Company, during a crisis or if a new team member lacks the full context.

We avoid decision-making by committee, which tends to slow companies down and undermine accountability. For every significant decision, we identify an informed captain who's responsible for making a judgment call on the right way ahead. Then different teams, each led by their own informed captain, implement the decision. This highly aligned and loosely coupled approach gives teams the freedom to move quickly and operate independently, while ensuring responsibility for the outcome.

We've learned that the best ideas can come from anywhere, which is why we expect informed captains to seek out different opinions and listen to people at every level. We call this farming for dissent. Of course, not all opinions are created equal — it's impractical for everyone to weigh in on most decisions. After a decision is made, we expect everyone, including the people who argued for a different approach, to disagree then commit. This helps ensure the outcome is as successful as possible. Afterwards, when the impact is clear, the informed captain should reflect on their choices — what worked and what didn't — so everyone can learn how to do better next time.

Each route, inspection, customer phone call, and closing monthly financials all take process. And companies need strict rules against things like harassment, marginalizing colleagues, or leaking company information. But, we work hard to keep rules at the Company to a minimum and ensure any process is good (simple, efficient, impactful). This (almost) no rules rule gives employees the freedom to exercise their judgment. It also prevents the process creep that typically happens when companies grow and try to dummy proof their organizations — stifling creativity and making it harder for businesses to adapt.

You might think that this kind of freedom would lead to chaos. In reality, while we've had our fair share of failures — and a few people have taken advantage of our culture in bad ways — our emphasis on individual autonomy has created an extremely successful business, with many opportunities for employees to develop and grow. In the Company, our biggest threat is a lack of creativity, innovation, adaptability, and grit. It's why trying to minimize rules and processes (rather than errors) — while giving people the freedom to use their own judgment and learn from their mistakes — is a far superior recipe for long-term success.

The Company has experienced amazing growth since inception. But we're nowhere close to where we want to be in the future. It's why we care so much about the dream team, putting people over process, and creating an environment where everyone feels a sense of responsibility to make us better. We believe this approach is the surest path to excellence and long term success.

It's also why we constantly seek to improve our culture, not preserve it. Every new employee helps shape how we work — finding new ways to accomplish more together. This creates a better experience for our members, employees, creators and partners, which in turn propels our long term growth and success. It's how we entertain the world and build a wildly successful business.