The SmallBox Playbook by SmallBox

THE PLAYBOOK EDITION

W E LC OM E

Hello there, welcome to the SmallBox “playbook.” We think most employee handbooks aren’t that helpful, or even read by the employees, but we hope that this playbook will help you do great things at SmallBox and beyond.

DO GR THING

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REAT GS.

Pitching NUVO

Core values

Being present

Factory Week

How we got our name

Why are we here?

Creating value

Nice Grants

Initial growth

Our definition of “great”

Practicing respect

24 Hour Web Project

What the CMS wrought

What do we do?

Thinking like an owner

Think Kit

Following opportunities

What we believe

Embracing failure and mistakes

Growing up

Where are we going?

Holding each other accountable

OUR ORIGIN STORY

Getting intentional

THE BIG PICTURE

THE SMALLBOX WAY

Engaging in healthy conflict Building healthy habits & behaviors

C ON T E NTS

OUR INSTITUTIONS

Commonsense practices

How to use your company credit card

How should we treat clients?

Recommended reading

Advice for new hires

Company structure

What does our ideal client look like?

Appendices

Benefits and perks

How profit share works

What is “our culture?”

HR STUFF

MONEY STUFF

QUESTIONS

Performance reviews

Can I do freelance work?

Who is my boss?

What’s up with all these meetings?

How to get a raise

What is our role in the community?

Professional development

What’s my role in SmallBox’s culture?

Conferences and certifications

Do we have a dress code?

Employee graduation

MISC. STUFF

H I STO RY

Our Origin Story PITCHING NUVO HOW WE GOT OUR NAME INITIAL GROWTH WHAT THE CMS WROUGHT FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES GROWING UP GETTING INTENTIONAL

e want every employee to know our origins. We have a tight knit team and it can be a little intimidating coming into this company – we get that. We hope that some background on how we got started and our “early” years will create some context for you. In many ways, who we are is a composite of our experiences, our shared story. Now you have the opportunity to continue and expand this story.

WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN…

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hat’s the story? let’s go back in time – waaay back to 2005. SmallBox’s co-founders, Jeb Banner and Joe Downey, were both working at Antique Helper, an auction house here in Indy. Jeb had co-founded Antique Helper with Dan Ripley in 2001, but he was ready to do something new. Jeb and Joe built a couple websites together, including the Antique Helper website and musicalfamilytree.com. Joe coded and Jeb pointed at the screen and said, “Make it do this!” They worked well together and saw the potential to build a new business around website development. Musical Family Tree is an important part to the story. We didn’t know it yet, but it put us on a path of doing things differently. It put investing in what we believe and caring about community in our DNA.

PITCHING NUVO Not one to start small, Jeb decided to pitch NUVO Newsweekly on a new website. This would be the third website Jeb and Joe would build together. It was big and bold with social networking functionality. It was a real beast. For some reason NUVO’s editor Kevin McKinney saw something in this fledgling company and took the chance. It didn’t hurt that the price was right: $8,000. Now this company needed a name.

HOW WE GOT OUR NAME During the early weeks of 2006, SmallBox was born. On an unseasonably warm winter day Jeb took a walk around 8

his neighborhood and brainstormed on names. He thought about what the company wouldn’t be – namely it wouldn’t be “big box.” And he thought about the iPod in his pocket. Such a small thing, yet it carried as much music as his record collection. Devices were getting smaller but more powerful. Small teams were doing big things with very little overhead. SmallBox spoke to all of this. It might not have been the best name, but it meant something and there was a contract with NUVO that needed to be inked.

no.

JUST BUILD.

INITIAL GROWTH Working with NUVO created new opportunities. Jeb’s friend and former roommate PJ Christie jumped on board as a project manager. Lydia Whitehead was NUVO’s designer on the website project and soon joined SmallBox full time. Soon Jack Shepler, Jordan Wilson, Karl Hofstetter, Ben Jehring and others joined the fold. Starting from one little office shared by Jeb, Joe and PJ, SmallBox began to grow.

WHAT THE CMS WROUGHT Over the course of our first year in business we decided to build our own CMS. We looked at Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal, but all seemed limited in different ways. So we built our own custom solution. People loved it. It caught the attention of MediaSauce, a local digital agency that was growing quickly, and before long SmallBox was building their websites. This relationship lasted about two years (from 2007-2009) and resulted in more than 30 9

THE PLAYBOOK EDITION 1

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO BUILD ON THAT FOUNDATION.

websites launching. Despite the confines of being a subcontractor, the experience was a crash course in how agencies work (for better or worse), created needed cash flow and introduced us to an army of talented folks, a few of which became SmallBoxers later (Leigh Marino, Justin Lacey and Tyler Bender).

FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES As many businesses do, SmallBox grew by following opportunities. But over time we found ourselves organizationally unfocused and frustrated by some of the work we were doing. By 2010, the early excitement had evaporated. We wanted to stop jumping from project to project, to saying yes to whatever walked in the door. We were ready to grow up.

We began to define the opportunities we wanted, the work we wanted to do, and the impact we wanted to make. GROWING UP Part of growing up was moving from a website company to a full-service creative agency. Our design and development services had matured, and it was time to go deeper. Leigh Marino brought creative concepting and traditional advertising experience, which pushed our work to be more strategic. Jeb had hired Dan Fahrner to be the managing director of Musical Family Tree, but he quickly pivoted to building out the marketing side of SmallBox. Danâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first hire, Sara McGuyer, grew from a freelance strategist to our first internal marketer. We were bringing our brand to life in new ways. We also started thinking about process, from both a creative and operational standpoint. Our first office manager, Elizabeth Heil, brought operational order to a house admittedly full of chaos.

GETTING INTENTIONAL SmallBox 2.0 was really born over our first Factory Week during the summer of 2011. Although we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really know it then, we were at the beginning of a new journey, one that we continue today. We were becoming a purposeful company. We began to define the opportunities we wanted, the work we wanted to do, and the impact we wanted to make. 11

D I RE C T I ON

The Big Picture CORE VALUES WHY ARE WE HERE? OUR DEFINITION OF “GREAT” WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT WE BELIEVE WHERE ARE WE GOING?

hy are we here? Where are we going? Hopefully this section of the playbook can help illuminate the path a little. Just keep in mind, we are constantly challenging ourselves to better understand and define who we are and where we are going.

WE ARE NEVER FINISHED.

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CORE VALUES These are not just words for us, they are behaviors and benchmarks. We realize that at many organizations core values are written once and forgotten. Not here. You will hear us talk about these again and again. We hold ourselves accountable to them. No one, from CEO to intern, is above the law when it comes to our core values.

WHY ARE WE HERE? aka Purpose In 2011 we had something of an existential crisis. “Ack!” we uttered. “What is the purpose of this ‘SmallBox’? Why do we exist?” After much soul searching – individually and collectively – we decided our purpose was, drumroll... “to do great things!” That might seem a little vague at first, so let’s unpack it. Do: We are action oriented. We don’t just want to think about stuff, we want to do it. If we aren’t creating impact then we aren’t fulfilling our purpose. Great: We use the word “great” a lot. But what does that really mean? First thing to keep in mind is that great is not perfect. There is a place for perfect and sometimes we get there, but that isn’t the same thing as great. Great stands outside of perfection. Great creates “wow.” It surprises, it can be subtle, it can be bold, it can even be messy. Bottom line, great endures. Things: We are not limited to digital. We want to do all kinds of great things – things Online, in person, and in the community. Heck, maybe we’ll get to do great things in space someday! 14

core values CURIOSITY Always start with understanding, with asking why and getting to the bottom of things. If we find ourselves talking more than listening, then we probably aren’t being curious enough.

COURAGE Be bold and willing to have hard conversations, take on challenging work and do truly great things. The hidden driver of courage is vulnerability. Being willing to say “I don’t know” or “I need help” takes courage.

COLLABORATION When in doubt, default to collaboration. Seek outside perspective, be willing to let your ideas flourish or die as needed. There are times for focus and times for input. Find and practice a healthy balance between the two.

PERSISTENCE When you hit a wall, find a way through it, around it or over it. In the rare cases when you give up or run out of time, accept failure and learn from it. 15

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WHAT DO WE DO? aka Our Master Positioning Statement SmallBox partners with authentic organizations to create meaningful experiences for both customers and employees. We believe that strategic alignment around purpose and values is the foundation of strong brands. Our unique Culture-Powered Marketing approach helps build a better culture and gets results.

WHAT WE BELIEVE We believe that marketing starts with the employee experience. We see that the employee experience drives the customer experience, which is the most effective way to build an amazing brand experience. Therefore, we believe organizations that create meaning for their employees also create powerful marketing, sometimes as an accidental by-product. So why not be intentional? We see a new way of marketing that can require organizational transformation. It starts with purpose and is driven by vision. Organizations that align themselves around great causes attract great people. We believe that people need and seek meaning across all areas of their lives, especially work. Meaningless, stressful work literally kills us. It also kills businesses. We believe that healthy organizations are filled with happy people doing work they love. We believe that healthy organizations pretty much market themselves. Therefore, we consider our tactical work as an agency to be training wheels that should be removed as our clients gain strength in their voice and mastery of the tools needed to amplify it.

WHERE WE ARE GOING? aka Vision We see a revolution coming and we want to help spark it. We see a unique opportunity to realign organizations around purpose and away from profit. Ironically it will be profit that drives this change. The most profitable companies will soon be the ones that create the best employee experiences. They value experience over bureaucracy, ideas over hours, design over efficiency. They know that an engaged, passionate worker is vastly more valuable (and efficient) than one that hates his job. These organizations will attract the very best people, create amazing experiences for them and their customers and they will dominate their markets. The rest will wither and die, wondering why their marketing and sales are increasingly ineffective.

Great stands outside of perfection. Great creates “WOW.” It surprises, it can be subtle,,it can be bold, it can even be me ss . y BOTTOM LINE

Great endures. 17

AC T I ON S

The SmallBox “Way” BEING PRESENT CREATING VALUE PRACTICING RESPECT THINKING LIKE AN OWNER EMBRACING FAILURE AND MISTAKES HOLDING EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE ENGAGING IN HEALTHY CONFLICT BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS & BEHAVIORS

his is stuff we expect from every employee. In many ways these items expand on our core values â&#x20AC;&#x201C; getting into specific ways we need to be curious, engage in collaboration, have courage and be persistent.

TIME TO ACT.

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BEING PRESENT

PRACTICING RESPECT

Whether you are engaged in your work, a conversation, observing or taking a walk, you are encouraged to always be fully present. Don’t check your email or phone during a meeting unless it’s an emergency. Commit fully to whatever you are doing or stop doing it.

Create the experience for others that you want to have for yourself. Always assume the best in others until they prove otherwise. Respect your team, your clients, your community and, most of all, yourself. Always err on the side of respect and kindness.

CREATING VALUE

THINKING LIKE AN OWNER

By value we mean additive. When 1 + 1 = 3. Moving ideas, projects and opportunities along in meaningful ways. Go that extra mile to transform whatever you are doing from good to great. Don’t settle, re-scope.

We encourage thinking like an owner. Everyone from the intern to the CEO is expected to participate and speak up. We value the opinions of all team members. On the flip side, we must recognize when the time is right to make space for others to speak up.

EMBRACING FAILURE AND MISTAKES You will be expected to fail and make mistakes. This may be a new thing for you – a place that encourages productive failure. When you fail you will be held accountable. Not in a “I told you so” kind of way but in a “Hey, that didn’t work, what did we learn?” kind of way. The key is to not make the same mistakes repeatedly. Once you have awareness around your failure you should recognize it as a growth opportunity, a chance to get to the next level. Continue to make better and smarter mistakes.

We are constantly revisiting the ways in which we work. Above, you can see us mapping out our entire process (with the help of some serious coffee).

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We must practice healthy conflict to do great things. There is absolutely no way around it. Expect it and bring it, with kindness and love. We must always remember to treat each other with kindness and love.

no.

MAKE DISCOVERIES.

HOLDING EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE This is where companies cross the line from good to great. Accountability is probably the hardest thing to do – in business, in life, in general. We all have those gut reactions when something isn’t right. This is an area of weakness for us. We aren’t there yet, but we know that we cannot achieve lasting results without it. Transparent accountability is our great opportunity to realize our vision.

ENGAGING IN HEALTHY CONFLICT We must practice healthy conflict to do great things. There is no way around it. Expect it and bring it, with kindness and love. We must always remember to treat each other with kindness and love, especially when engaging in conflict. If you struggle with conflict then we recommend you read Crucial Conversations. It will help, but it never gets easy. Conflict is hard.

BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS & BEHAVIORS We believe that successful organizations are essentially a collection of great habits and behaviors. Here are some we encourage you to embrace. Plan your week in advance. Seek mentorship, internally and externally. Clean up after yourself. Do what you say you are going to do, every time. Don’t limit yourself to title, experience or responsibilities. Explore and grow at all times. Work from a default of seeking forgiveness not permission, balanced by not being an insensitive jerk. If you step on someone’s toes, apologize for the pain but not for the initiative. Also, learn when to get some distance. Take a walk or grab a Nicey Treat and get some perspective before re-attacking your work with fresh vigor. Your mind is a muscle that needs rest. 23

More info at factoryweek.com

This quarantined disruption is not without costs. We lose money when we don’t do billable work, we lose time and have to plan deadlines around these weeks off. But it’s worth it, totally worth it. We had our first Factory Week in 2011 and have kept up the bi-annual pace every summer and winter since then. It has changed who we are. We’ve also been excited to see other companies follow in our footsteps. Someday we may make an entire playbook for Factory Week.

Every organization has stuff that doesn’t get done, ideas that aren’t realized, skills that need sharpening and ruts that need to be broken. Sometimes we think of this as organizational constipation. So what’s the solution? One of the ways we’ve found to...wait for it...relieve this constipation is to take a week off every six months, take the entire company off site and get stuff done.

FACTORY WEEK

Our institutions exist for many reasons – to take us out of our normal routine, to build new muscles, to give back to others and to build community. Often all of these attributes are present. Below are our four main institutions:

An institution is not just any event. Sure we have lots of things that create a rhythm to our calendar. Monday Lunch. Beer Friday. Game Night. An institution is something bigger. Sometimes we like to think of them as our holidays – special occasions which happen only once or twice per year. Each showcases our core values of curiosity, collaboration, courage and persistence. More than that, our institutions have come to exemplify who we are and how we see the world.

I N VO LV EM ENT

THE PLAYBOOK EDITION 1

OUR INST

More info at thinkkit.org

Think Kit was launched in 2011 by Lydia Whitehead and Sara McGuyer as a year-end idea kit to inspire daily writing. We wanted to flex our brain muscles, to reflect on the past year and set better blogging habits for the 365 days ahead each December. We decided to create and share a series of writing prompts, inviting anyone to participate. We’ve been honored to watch this community grow, with some people blogging for the first time with this project.

THINK KIT

More info at 24hourwebproject.com

The 24 Hour Web Project was conceived by SmallBox’s Design Director Lydia Whitehead in 2009, inspired by a similar event happening halfway across the world at Full Code Press. The idea for this project is simple: find a local nonprofit, put our teams together for 24 hours, and design and build a brand new, super awesome website. In the process, we also raise community awareness and get some donations.

24 HOUR WEB PROJECT

More info at nicegrants.org

we decided to award five $1,000 grants to local people with great ideas. We did this in March of 2013. Angie’s List was inspired by this and joined our efforts, doubling the grants to 10. We continued this institution in 2014 without Angie’s List (no hard feelings) and kept it at $10k/10 prizes. We are excited to continue this new-ish institution for years to come.

In late 2012 our team earned a $5,000 bonus to use however we saw fit, and

NICE GRANTS

ITUTIONS

BAS I C S

HR Stuff COMMONSENSE PRACTICES ADVICE FOR NEW HIRES BENEFITS AND PERKS PERFORMANCE REVIEWS WHO IS MY BOSS? HOW TO GET A RAISE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCES AND CERTIFICATIONS EMPLOYEE GRADUATION

e know, even the term “HR” (Human Resources) can feel yucky and a little un-SmallBox-y, but the function is necessary to run a healthy business. So here are some items that need to be categorized as such.

OUR CODE OF CONDUCT: BE NICE.

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COMMONSENSE PRACTICES Don’t harass people or make them feel uncomfortable. Don’t say racist, sexist or generally offensive things. If you hurt someone’s feelings or offend them in some way, which happens from time to time, make it your business to get things right as quickly as possible. We cannot have an intimidating work environment. Anyone that engages in negative behavior is on the road to being let go.

ADVICE FOR NEW HIRES Be curious and don’t worry about stepping on someone’s turf or toes. We encourage you to be adventurous and explore the company. People that may seem unapproachable aren’t really, they are just focused on doing great work. Throw something at them and say “Hey, what’s up?” In time, we hope you’ll feel more and more at home.

BENEFITS AND PERKS Here’s all the good stuff coming your way when you work at SmallBox. We want you to be set up for success and we hope this stuff helps. • Insurance: All full-time SmallBox employees are eligible for health, dental and vision insurance. We cover 75% of your individual premiums and 50% of the premiums for your dependents. We also provide long-term disability coverage. • Phone and Internet: We cover your monthly cell phone bill and a portion of your home Internet bill. • IRA matching plan: We offer a simple IRA matching plan. We match up to 3% of salary or $12,000 per year max. • Speak Easy membership: Our work home away from home. The Speak Easy was co-founded by Jeb in 2011. It’s a great space to escape to, hold an off site meeting or grab an after-work beer. • Professional development: We support membership in professional groups, attendance at events and conferences and other learning opportunities. If an opportunity aligns with your career path, we’ll find a way to make it work. • Wellness perks: We cover the cost of one monthly massage, acupuncture or chiropractic session at Jansen Chiropractic. • Quarterly profit sharing: Employees benefit from SmallBox’s quarterly profit sharing program. If we’re successful, we want to share it across the team. You start with one point, and for each additional six months of being a ‘Boxer, you earn another point. Profit is divided up across the team. • Freedom: That’s right, no more counting days off for you. We don’t set a limit to sick or vacation time. • Monday team lunch: We buy lunch for the whole team every Monday and talk important business and usually laugh together a little too. Sometimes there’s dancing or song-singing. You never know what can happen. • Surprises: You may be surprised with ice cream, cake, or pie on your birthday. THIS IS IMPORTANT! What’s your favorite? Seriously. We need to know.

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS no.

DISRUPT YOURSELF.

All SmallBox employees have monthly reviews with their respective team leads, and quarterly lunch meetings/reviews with our CEO, Jeb Banner. Our Chief Culture Officer Sara McGuyer will conduct a career path session with you that will inform your individual goals as well as your monthly check-ins. These reviews provide the opportunity to highlight areas where you are excelling and areas where you could use some work. Keep in mind that these meetings go both ways – not only will you learn what you need to do to improve your performance, you will also have the chance to voice your own concerns. We want our employees to excel – if that means requesting the opportunity to develop a new skill or seeking assistance in identifying areas that need improvement, just let us know!

WHO IS MY BOSS? No one, everyone, your fellow employee, the client, the community. If you need help figuring out what to do you can talk to your team lead. They’re your accountability partner.

HOW TO GET A RAISE Be exceptional, consistently. Bring and build transformative ideas, consistently. Make others better, consistently. We offer up to 10% raises annually. Your team lead will work with you on this in your monthly one-on-one during your anniversary month.

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BUILD AND BRING TRANSFORMATIVE IDEAS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT As a group of curious, life-long learners, we’re serious about professional development. Soon after you start at SmallBox, we’ll have a conversation about your career path and where you want to be in ten years. You will choose smaller goals that point you toward your path. It won’t stop there.

CONFERENCES AND CERTIFICATIONS At least twice per year, we offer group training opportunities around core skills. Topics may include communication or creative concepting that will be beneficial to all (or most) team members – things like the Myers-Briggs assessment plus workshop, or the training to be a better facilitator.

For out of town and larger investment conferences or certifications (more than $300): We generally send at least a few people per year to major conferences or training opportunities. You’re encouraged to research and find opportunities for these. Work with your team lead to determine if the opportunity is the right fit. The criteria for selecting these should include: • Is this opportunity aligned with your career path and current goals? • Will you learn something new or more advanced than your current skill set? These opportunities are subject to budget and timing. Just let Sara know, and she’ll work to find a way to get you set up.

Smaller stuff: • We cover the cost of one art class per year at Indianapolis Art Center. See Abby for instructions on how to sign up! • Local events and trainings under $300 can be purchased with your AmEx – just do it! You don’t need permission. • Your AmEx can also be used to purchase books or supplies.

EMPLOYEE GRADUATION It is unlikely that you will retire from SmallBox. If some of us do, then yippee! But most likely this will not be your last job. That’s ok. So when you feel like you are starting to level out, or if the role you are in isn’t the right fit or if there is a killer opportunity you just can’t say no to… don’t worry. Turnover and change is a good thing for individuals and organizations. Graduation is how we think of someone leaving SmallBox, and if you “graduate” then we want you leave on positive terms. Once you resettle, come by and visit, stop in for a Beer Friday, let us know how we can help promote things you’re doing, etc. Once a ’Boxer always a ’Boxer. We love our alumni. Also, we have been known to help SmallBoxers start their own businesses. Something to think about if you feel the entrepreneurial itch coming on.

F I N A NC E

Money Stuff HOW TO USE YOUR COMPANY CREDIT CARD COMPANY STRUCTURE HOW PROFIT SHARE WORKS

ou know what? We make and use money to do stuff! So it’s good to have an understanding of what role money plays in our company. This is why we send out a weekly “Monday Money” report that shows our bank balances, receivables, payables, etc. We figure the more you know the better. Really the only thing we don’t share is individual salaries.

USE IT WHEN YOU NEED IT.

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HOW TO USE YOUR COMPANY CREDIT CARD Upon arriving at SmallBox you were issued an AmEx card. Sweet! Ok, how should you use this thing? First off, and this is obvious but we want to mention it – this isn’t for personal stuff. If you need a short term loan or to buy a new record player, that’s great, but it’s not what this card is for. So what is it for? It’s for buying things you need to do your job, for taking a teammate or peer out to lunch, to take a client out to eat, to use for travel expenses when visiting a client or going to a conference, for buying a book relevant to your professional development and yes, for Beer Friday.

COMPANY STRUCTURE In case you are interested, here are some facts about how we are structured business-wise. We are an S-Corp (feel free to google that later). Basically, all profits “pass through” to the owners. Who are those owners? Jeb Banner and Joe Downey each own 50% of the company. So any company profits that aren’t distributed to employees then flow through to Jeb and Joe’s personal tax returns. Sometimes this can be confusing since a company can show X dollars profit but not have X dollars in the bank. Often Jeb and Joe have to pay taxes on “profit” they never received. This is because some of the things we spend money on might not be considered an expense by the government – building improvements, investments in other companies and other stuff like that. When this happens the company covers the tax bill. Keep this in mind when reading the next section. Keeping cash on hand for taxes and growth is a healthy practice.

HOW PROFIT SHARE WORKS When we do have profit, we do an employee profit share on a quarterly basis. If we have a first quarter profit, we would distribute that sometime in the second quarter (probably late April or early May). How does it work? Every employee gets one share for every 6 months they have worked at SmallBox with a minimum of one share – meaning once you are hired you have a share and then a second after 12 months, etc. So if you have been at SmallBox 3 years you have 6 shares. We tend to round up when in doubt. 2 years and 5 months? 5 shares. We then decide what percentage of our profit to share. This is a decision made by the owners and the leadership team. For instance, we might do a $10k distribution on $40k in profit. If there are 200 total shares (meaning all our individual shares add up to 200 total) then each share would be $50. If you had 10 shares you would get $500 added to your payroll. Not too shabby, but also no reason to go buy a yacht.

Your AmEx is for buying things you need to do your job, for taking a teammate or peer out to lunch, to take a client out to eat, to use for travel expenses when visiting a client, for buying a book relevant to your professional development, and yes, for Beer Friday.

FAQ

Questions, Questions HOW SHOULD WE TREAT CLIENTS? WHAT DOES OUR IDEAL CLIENT LOOK LIKE? WHAT IS “OUR CULTURE?” CAN I DO FREELANCE WORK? WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THESE MEETINGS? WHAT IS OUR ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY? WHAT’S MY ROLE IN SMALLBOX CULTURE? DO WE HAVE A DRESS CODE?

ou may have some questions from time to time about SmallBox and how we engage in the community, work with clients, etc. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an FAQ section of sorts to help answer some of those questions.

GO AHEAD, ASK AWAY.

HOW SHOULD WE TREAT CLIENTS? We must treat our clients with great respect. We must strive to speak no differently of them when they are present or absent. If we have an issue with a client we must feel comfortable addressing it with them quickly. An honest, timely conversation can do a world of good, and avoid a good deal of pain for all involved. Our job is to understand and then lead the client. We must always return to a place of understanding when we fall out of sync with our clients. It will happen: catch it quickly and get things back on track.

WHO IS OUR IDEAL CLIENT? Often our clients are larger non-profits, service businesses, foundations, universities, associations, etc. But we have been known to work well with many different types of organizations. This is driven by our mission statement to “collaborate with authentic organizations to create meaningful experiences.” What does it mean to be an “authentic organization?” We see it as an organization that is walking toward transparency and accountability. In time you will learn to sniff out an

ideal client through their language, culture and reputation. Are they secretive or open? Do they trust each other or tear each other down? Is their office vibe positive or negative?

WHAT IS OUR “CULTURE?” We sometimes talk about culture being the “umami” of an organization. What the heck is that? Well, umami is a Japanese word to describe the fifth flavor. After salty, sweet, bitter and sour you have savory, or umami, which is more fun to say. Culture is something that always happens. There is no organization without a culture. It may be bad, good, boring, weird, exciting, etc, but it always exists. So our thinking is, why not make it awesome? Also, there are very real benefits to having a healthy, awesome culture. It makes SmallBox attractive to potential employees and clients. It helps keeps them around. But culture, for us, is more than just fun and games. It’s about how we behave, it’s about our values – curiosity, courage, collaboration and persistence. We must live our values at all times to maintain a healthy culture. If we compromise on our values we undermine the foundation of our culture. Trust begins to erode and then all hell breaks loose. Well, not literally, but you get the idea.

CAN I DO FREELANCE WORK? Yes! We believe that having outside perspective and influences is very healthy. Every business, no matter how great it might be, can become something of a fish bowl. Doing some freelance work, especially when it helps build new muscles, is an effective way to stay on top of your craft and bring new ideas back into the fold. We do want to mention that we always expect you to put SmallBox work first. If you aren’t hitting your deadlines and doing great work then we will start to wonder about your priorities.

WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THESE MEETINGS? Some people think meetings are a waste of time and they certainly can be. But we think meetings can and should be compelling experiences. We look to the Patrick Lencioni book Death By Meeting as our model. A great read if you want to check it out, 2-3 hours tops. We have adapted the meeting structure from Death By Meeting and have been tweaking it over the last couple years. You will quickly learn our meeting cadence and if you have ideas on how to improve it we are very open to ideas. Also, if you find yourself in a boring or unnecessary meeting, feel free to do something about it!

WHAT’S OUR COMMUNITY ROLE? It’s no secret that we are actively involved in the community. This isn’t by accident. There are several reasons: First, we

care. Second, it makes stuff better. Third, it connects us with great people. Fourth, it creates opportunities (for personal growth, for sales). When considering a community opportunity for us, we suggest you use this as a filter, in that order.

WHAT’S MY ROLE IN OUR CULTURE? We expect everyone to engage in our team culture in their own way. Some ’Boxers like to lead, some like to follow. Some want to engage in the community, some want to engage more internally. Our only request is that you find a way to get involved that is personally meaningful to you – whether it’s blogging, presenting at a ‘Box Lunch, starting a new cultural institution or pulling together a random “Nicing.” If you think of this as just a job then you are in the wrong place.

DO WE HAVE A DRESS CODE? Not really, but we do encourage you to dress for your calendar. If you have a presentation in front of a more conservative client and you think it would be best to dress up a little, then go for it! If you feel like you are more comfortable and confident dressing in jeans and a T-shirt then go for it as well. Or maybe you feel like wearing a tux on Tuesdays. That’s good with us. Just be conscious of the experience you are creating. We suggest looking at your calendar before getting dressed for the day. If you get too far out of whack one way or another, we’ll tell you. 39

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Misc. Stuff RECOMMENDED READING APPENDICES

his playbook just scratches the surface of getting to know the SmallBox way. Read on for a few more resources to help you better understand our philosophy and ways of working.

CHECK OUT THE ODDS AND ENDS.

THE PLAYBOOK EDITION 1