Our values
Initially penned before the company was even founded, our values have been the foundation on which we've built a company, and a movement.
We are a mission-driven company.
We believe that profits are an important tool in the pursuit of our mission, but they are not the mission itself.
We are more concerned with value creation than value capture.
We will only succeed if we create value in the world. If we optimize for that first, commercial success will follow.
Work done well is its own end.
We do great work because it is an expression of who we are, a contribution of our unique talents and perspectives to a purpose larger than ourselves. Work done well creates ripples in the pond.
We contribute to the knowledge loop.
The highest goal of any human is to produce new knowledge that can subsequently be built upon by others. This is the process upon which every good thing in human society has been built. We participate in this most fundamental of human endeavors by thinking in public and defaulting to open source.
Transparency always wins.
There are countless examples of choices that we all have in our professional lives of just how honest we want to be. We choose to be completely honest, even when that is uncomfortable, or even when it would lead to short-term negative consequences. We believe that transparency is a north star, and that acting transparently is always in the long-term best interests of achieving our mission.
We value diversity.
People with different mindsets and experiences, working together, create better outcomes. This includes diversity of race and gender, as well as the diversity of academic backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, geographic backgrounds, ideologies, and interests.
Users are our best advocates.
We market our products and services by working with amazing humans, making them incredibly happy, and asking them to spread the word. We go above and beyond for our clients / users to invest in our future growth.
We are humble.
While we believe that we are building something exceptional, that knowledge does not make us feel proud, it makes us feel humble. It imbues us with a deep sense of responsibility towards our clients, coworkers, and the community at large.
We work hard and go home.
We take our responsibilities as parents, citizens, individuals, family members, and members of our various communities just as seriously as we take our commitments at work. When we are on, we are focused. When we are off, we are free to be fully disconnected.
We are human.
We are human beings innovating in a shared service to a mission. We structure our compensation and benefits, work hours and location policies, work and management styles, and employee agreements to support this fundamental human-ness. We bring our whole selves to work, and we recognize that our identities extend beyond the work that we do.
We believe in moving up the stack.
We believe that all team members should seek to replace themselves on an ongoing basis by building processes, technology, and documentation that obviate their existing work. We have an abundance mindset: there is always more, and more valuable, work to do. Moving up the stack presents growth opportunities for both the individual and the team.
Values are more important than success.
We are not interested in success absent the values in this document. We have strongly held opinions on how a company should be built and these are non-negotiable. We do not believe that these opinions are an absolute truth, but they are an absolute truth for us.
We optimize for the long-term.
While we pursue the mission with intense focus, we recognize that creating the change in the world that we wish to see will not happen overnight. We think, plan, and act for the long-term.
Our leadership principles
Our values are special, and they’ve guided us since dbt Labs was Fishtown Analytics. They are our core beliefs, and demonstrate our character as a company. They influence our culture, and we expect every team member to demonstrate internally and externally. Our leadership principles are scoped for current and aspiring leaders. They articulate how we show up, as well as how we can be held accountable and hold others accountable. These principles should guide folks in how they make decisions and how they manage their teams. They are specific and actionable. They shape our leaders, team dynamics and strategic direction.
We create remarkable experiences.
Every touch point with dbt Labs should be remarkable—for customers, for community members, for employees, and for every other stakeholder of the business. Leaders are allergic to mediocrity, and hire and coach their teams to envision, identify, and create the remarkable.
We are customer-obsessed.
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.
We drive results.
Leaders deeply understand how value is created and relentlessly focus on it. Despite setbacks, changes, and challenges, leaders rise to the occasion and deliver outcomes for our customers and for the business. We solve problems, exceed expectations and amplify the impact of those around us.
We are pleased, but not satisfied.
While we are proud of what we’ve accomplished, leaders prefer to focus on how much more there is to do in service of our mission and our customers. We do not rest on our laurels. We push ourselves and each other to be better every day.
We earn trust.
Leaders know that trust is the single most valuable asset that any group of humans can have, and we know that building trust requires work. We do that work day-in, day-out, with our customers, our teams, and our peers. We are authentic, listen to be wrong, and live up to our commitments.
We have a bias for action.
Speed matters in business, and it is one of our strengths. Leaders help teams move quickly by setting pace, energy, and context and by making good decisions quickly. We take calculated risks while learning quickly from our failures. Leaders only slow down a decision when we are faced with a one-way-door.
We are owners.
Leaders never take off their owners hat. We act on behalf of our entire company, not just our own team. We spend the company’s money as if it were our own. We take ownership for both good and bad outcomes. We never sacrifice long term value for short term results.
We are self-aware.
Leaders need to have a clear understanding of their own skills, abilities, behaviors and areas for improvement. They recognize and compensate for their weaknesses, biases, and blind spots. They understand how their actions impact others. Leaders embrace challenging feedback as an opportunity to build self-awareness.
We debate and decide.
Leaders lean into debate and work to disconfirm our own beliefs. We find the most credible people who disagree with us and try to understand their reasoning. We support our fellow leaders by asking hard questions and disagreeing in public. Ultimately, leaders make decisions, at which point the organization as a whole commits to moving forwards.
We have fun.
Leaders know that humans only come together to produce remarkable results when there is a spark of fun. They work to inject fun—and their own idiosyncratic human selves!— into their work and their teams.
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