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Rules of Engagement Keeps Workplace Civil and Productive

To bake a great company culture, employees need to know what is expected of them.  SuccessFactors, a very successful business execution software company, requires their employees, including the CEO, to sign and live by a list of Rules of Engagement.  Lars Dalgaard, founder and CEO, even tells employees to call him out if he breaks one of the rules.  This approach has made SuccessFactors a fun, safe and highly successful place to work.

Rules of Engagement by SuccessFactors

1. I will be passionate—about SuccessFactors’ mission, about my work. I will love what we do for companies and employees everywhere.
2. I will demonstrate respect for the individual; I will be nice and listen to others, and respect myself. I will act with integrity and professionalism.
3. I will do what it takes to get the job done, no matter what it takes, but within legal and ethical boundaries.
4. I know that this is a company, not a charity. I will not waste money—I will question every cost.
5. I will present an exhaustive list of solutions to problems—and suggest actionable recommendations.
6. I will help my colleagues and recognize the team when we win. I will never leave them behind when we lose.
7. I will constantly improve Kaizen! I will approach every day as an opportunity to do a better job, admitting to and learning from my mistakes.
8. I will selflessly pursue customer success.
9. I will support the culture of meritocracy and pay for performance.
10. I will focus on results and winning—scoring points, not just gaining yardage.
11. I will be transparent. I will communicate clearly and be brutally honest, even when it’s difficult, because I trust my colleagues.
12. I will always be in sales and drive customer satisfaction.
13. I will have fun at work and approach my work with enthusiasm.
14. I will be a good person to work with—I will not be an asshole.
15. I will not BCC (blind copy) anyone and never talk negatively and destructively behind someone’s back
    (character assassination); rather, I will confront them with the issue I am facing or wanted to comment
    to others about, to allow us a trusting and hyper-productive collaborative environment.
16. I recognize that I am personally a steward of this “Olympic flame,” and I know that if I lose my edge, it will
    trigger a wildfire, and we together have both the power to keep this open honest culture, or break it.
    DON’T DO IT. BE GOOD.
17. I agree to live these values. If my colleagues fail to live up to any of these rules, I will speak up and will help
    them correct; in turn, I will be open to constructive criticism from my colleagues should I fail to live by these
    values. I understand that my performance will be judged in part by how well I demonstrate these values in
    my daily work.

I agree to live these values. If my colleagues fail to live up to any of these rules, I will speak up and will help them correct; in turn, I will be open to constructive criticism from my colleagues should I fail to live by these values. I understand that my performance will be judged in part by how well I demonstrate these values in my daily work.

2 Comments so far:

1. Winter Glove says:

   June 26, 2011 at 4:27 am

   Hello to the one who posted this! Great work! I spent a month researching for this topic. I’m actually a graduating student. And thanks to you for making my study a lot easier since you compiled the facts i need in this page. I’ll be glad to bookmark your site and is looking forward for more of your posts. — Sonia Kristygan

   Reply
2. Florencia Rowray says:

   June 27, 2011 at 5:45 am

   Very neat post.Really thank you! Fantastic.

   Reply