In the workplace, there are millions of things that can pull us in different directions. Teams are focused on their individual priorities: Onboarding customers, budgeting, coding, launching a new product, the list goes on. We need something to keep us aligned, to remind us why we work at Braze, and propel us forward. That something is our Core Values.

We wanted a fresh start. We had a list of Core Values we’d written during our 2017 rebrand, but Braze has evolved greatly since then. We have introduced new departments, expanded throughout both the US and the world, and welcomed hundreds of new employees. A values refresh was timely.

As the team came together to tackle this project we had one thing in mind. The employees would be the ones writing these values. After all, they were the experts when it came to Braze culture. A quote from CultureAmp CEO Didier Elzinga defined our strategy: “Values are not created, they are uncovered.”

We held a number of forums for people to contribute their feedback and integrated the exercise into the Braze Kickoff (BKO), our company summit, then followed up with surveys and in-person focus groups. We asked a series of questions to identify what values were already being displayed at Braze. Things like how we communicate, how we make decisions, and how we treat our customers and our colleagues. As we discussed what Braze signifies across each department, each office, and to each employee, we discovered common themes. It was interesting (and kind of comforting) to hear everyone say similar things about the culture. When it came to these characteristics, attributes, and adjectives, we were all rowing in the same direction.

Next came months of wordsmithing to ensure our Cores Values not only correctly expressed what Braze is, but also what we strive to be. After going back and forth on hundreds of different versions, we’re excited to reveal the new Braze Core Values.

These look a bit different from the typical company Core Values. We wanted to go beyond the words that we have heard a million times like integrity, teamwork, innovation, etc. Not to imply that those values are not important, but they don't necessarily define the uniqueness of our organization. We wanted phrases that we could use in everyday life and that could become the universal language of all Braze employees. These are the core of who we are, what we do, and how we define success and failure.

Now the fun part starts! Braze will not be a company whose values don’t exist beyond a set of phrases painted on the walls. We are committed to embedding it into all sides of our business. It will now be a key part of our recruitment process, performance management, promotion cycle, employee programming, and more. A huge shout out to everyone involved in the uncovering of these new Core Values—we’re building Braze together.

If what we’re doing resonates with you, check out our careers page to learn more about open roles at Braze.