Datum is an early stage startup, working to find its way to users, customers, and world-changing outcomes. While some people absolutely love the dynamic, iterative nature of “zero to one” companies, we recognize that it isn’t for everyone. This is an especially tricky balance in the infrastructure and network layers, where stability is part of the promise. In addition to understanding our small size and big ambitions, it’s important that everyone working at Datum understands our core values, goals, and strategy. This is the “why” that not only gets us out of bed on a rainy day, but helps us keep our compass pointed in the right direction when things get tough. Many of our operating norms (including this focus on values) are based on the Entrepreneurial Operating System framework created by Gino Wickman. This is especially true for our leadership team and how we set goals for the company. Here is a summary:
Annual - The most important part of the cycle is the annual planning cycle where we take two full days to dig deep into everything that drives our company forward. We start with a review of our values and 10-year target, and then work our way backwards into annual and Q1 goals. It’s an intense but critical few days.
Quarterly - The 90 day cycle is our main goal setting process, and we use “Rocks” to track the key, critical things that we commit to doing at the expense of other things. This method of planning using the rocks, pebbles, sand concept.
Monthly - We are religious about using the end of each month to reflect on our performance via a written memo, including financial and key metrics that all employees can see. This process aligns with “closing the books” and communicating out to our investors and other stakeholders, and is a springboard for our monthly customer newsletter, monthly releases, and community huddles.
Weekly - We find that a Monday “kickoff” with the whole team helps set the tone and refocus folks after a weekend. This is a great time to review our forward-looking metrics (called a Scorecard) and celebrate wins. Friday “sendoffs” are done via email.
Outside of the prescriptive framework of EOS at the leadership level, we encourage folks to organize in the way that is most productive and suited to their work. Ad hoc debates are always appreciated and encouraged, and hierarchy is discouraged.