Company values for the next chapter

Checkbox's CEO Elliot Kim shares Checkbox's new company values.

As the new CEO of Checkbox, I'm proud to introduce our newly defined company values! We are a trusted partner to researchers around the world, and we've crafted our values with thought and care to reflect our dedication to innovation, collaboration, and above all, human dignity. Checkbox is a people-first, purpose-driven organization, and Positive Change is our North Star.

As we progress through this journey, our values are the compass to point us in the right direction.

Introducing CHECK

We chose the acronym CHECK to make our core values easy to recall and incorporate into daily work. Each value embodies a key principle that guides how we operate:

• Curious – We ask questions with an open mind.
• Honest – We build trust through our actions.
• Excellent – We improve relentlessly.
• Courageous – We face challenges boldly.
• Kind – We champion human dignity.

These values are more than just decorative words for office posters. They’re the commitments we make to ourselves, our customers, and our community. They’re the standards we live by day to day.

How we defined our values

Creative processes often benefit from in-person collaboration, and we took full advantage of this year's offsite in Amsterdam to combine fun with productivity.

We began by reflecting on our individual beliefs and principles. On the first day, everyone wrote their thoughts on stickies and took turns presenting them to the group. By the end of this brainstorming session, we had a healthy base of ideas to build upon.

The next day, we regrouped to unite our diverse perspectives and identify the commonalities. We considered the impact of each suggestion on the future success of the team towards the company's vision. The goal at this stage was to assemble a collection of values that would reflect the best aspects of the current team and set the direction for us in the future.

Next came the hard part, or at least the long part. Blaise Pascal once wrote, "I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter," and this could have applied to our core values.

On one hand, there are many aspects to building a healthy culture, but on the other hand, company values are most effective when they're concise enough to be memorized. It’s important for every team member to know the values by heart, because it's tough to hold yourself accountable to promises you can’t remember. It was so tempting to try to fit every good idea we had, like stuffing a suitcase for a dream vacation. Of course, this was motivated by the best of intentions, but bloat in your values will get in the way of their usefulness.

Also, values should stand the test of time without frequent changes, which can only be achieved with thoughtfulness and intentionality. We decided not to take any shortcuts and spent the time necessary to distill our values to the absolute essentials and sharpen the message to be meaningful.

Over the coming weeks and months, we made several iterations to refine and hone the values. And in this way, we also included the entire team in the creation process.

Why these values matter

Every team has a culture. It's either built with intention, or it grows by accident.

Since Positive Change is our North Star, the culture is especially vital at Checkbox.  Codifying the values creates a common understanding and language for us to align and operate internally. It also serves as a blueprint for the rest of the culture, where some of the values reflect the current reality and others articulate our future aspirations.

Culture also acts like a team's immune system, quietly protecting the group when everything is running smoothly. When revenue is rising and the product is shipping, the team might get by on just about any culture, but a strong culture drives sustained success even through challenges.

Marc Benioff must have understood this clearly when he hired Nancy Connery to lead human resources as one of the first employees at Salesforce. Marc prioritized the talent and culture because he believed they would be the drivers of success for his new company.

As Checkbox begins its next chapter, we’re investing early in establishing the cultural foundation that will support our growth and impact.

How our values will shape Checkbox

Our values in hiring

We’re sharing our values openly with the public to attract value-aligned applicants who will amplify our vision and contribute to our success. This way, we're building a team that’s not only talented but also bought into our purpose.

Our values in marketing

Our goal is to be the best company we can be, so we have a story worth telling. Our approach for relevant audiences will be authenticity and helpfulness. We won't shout the loudest in order to just be noticed, but instead we'll offer genuine and meaningful value to those who are interested.

Our values in product strategy

Our users depend on Checkbox for absolute accuracy, reliability, and security. Above all else, we care about delivering quality products that help our users succeed in their critical work. We take care to ask the right questions so we solve the right problems, always with users' interests in mind. We want our users to succeed in their missions.

Building a foundation for the future

This set of values was constructed to align with our vision: "We exist to power human research for insights that drive positive change."

These are values I live by personally, so it feels natural to extend them into my work with Checkbox. Alongside our vision, these values define who we are and how we operate.

By working together to define our values, we created something that resonates with all of us. Now, we can hold each other accountable and push each other forward, united by a clear and shared purpose. With our CHECK values guiding us, we’re ready to tackle the next chapter with clarity and confidence.