A long time ago in Atlanta, I met a guy named Charles Brewer. He had a vision for creating an Internet Service Provider business, and he told me why his company was going to be different than all the other ISPs out there. He showed me a piece of paper. On it, he’d written down what his company would stand for, and he told me it’d serve as the roadmap for his business.

Charles’ company, MindSpring, became a pretty big deal- arguably the biggest ISP in the Southern USA, with decent marketshare all over the country. Eventually he merged Mindspring with Earthlink. Looking back it’s clear that Charles was a pretty smart guy, and his company succeeded where so many others failed at least partially because he took the time to write down what it would stand for. Here’s the original Mindspring Core Values and Beliefs.

Here at PatrickOrtman, Inc. we’ve always done very well without needing to write our core beliefs down. Our team’s been small enough, and we all knew each other well enough that writing things down didn’t seem necessary. But, like Charlie’s company, we’re now starting to grow up.

It’s important to me that all of the people on our growing team understand and strive to live up to our core values and beliefs. So here’s the PatrickOrtman, Inc. Core Beliefs (version 1.0):

• We are honest and trustworthy in all our actions. If we say we’re going to do something, we do it.
• We believe that each client deserves our best, no matter how big or how small.
• We respect the individuals who work with us, and encourage their creativity and personal growth.
• We will never be boring. We believe that a sense of playfulness and fun makes for a better workplace, and fosters creative solutions to client problems.
• We treat company and client resources with respect and frugality.
• We believe in open, transparent communication internally and with our clients.
• We work to reduce our carbon footprint and create a greener world.

Back when I met Charles Brewer, I was a very young kid who didn’t understand the importance of writing stuff like this down. But I’ve learned that words are powerful. Words written down are even more so. Experts say that when you write down a goal, and especially when you share it with others, that you have a much higher chance of realizing it. The idea is to create accountability, which increases your chances of success.

As our digital/interactive agency continues to grow, I want to make sure that everybody we work with has a clear idea of my expectations, and exactly what it takes to continue to be known as one of the highest-quality digital/interactive agencies around.

So, what does your company or organization stand for?