IntercomExplainer
Intercom’s Brand Studio defines core values to guide behavior and decision-making without micromanagement as the team scales. The values answer four fundamental questions about why the team exists, what it does, how it behaves, and how it will succeed, and are written as reflections of who the team wants to be, not platitudes. Key values include building trust through vulnerability and inclusivity, making each other better through accountability and learning from diversity, and loving kind and open-minded people who reject mediocrity and are always kind. The values also emphasize supporting the mission, seeking to understand problems and each other, balancing art and science, and encouraging experimentation with considered risks and acceptance of failure. They are woven into branding, hiring, leveling, process work, and performance reviews to define success in expected behavior, and are intended to be discussed and evolved to help the team do the best work of their careers.
The Brand Studio at Intercom defines its team values to guide behavior and decision-making as the team scales.
The Brand Studio values are not platitudes but reflections of who the team wants to be and what they should strive for, designed to force hard decisions.
The values encourage experimentation with considered risks and acceptance of failure, avoiding blame to foster an environment of innovation.
The values are woven into branding, hiring, leveling, process work, and performance reviews to define success in terms of expected behavior.
The core values include building trust through vulnerability and inclusivity, making each other better through accountability, loving kind and open-minded people, supporting the mission, and seeking to understand problems and each other.
The values are woven into branding, hiring, leveling, process work, and performance reviews to define success in terms of expected behavior from team members.
The values force hard decisions, help the team scale without micromanagement, and foster innovation by encouraging experimentation and acceptance of failure.
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Compare two mental models for brand: a static artifact (logos, guidelines, centralized control) and a living operating system (values, APIs, support, trust). See which choices fit your engineering team.
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