Clearcover's 5th Anniversary, Part 2: New Leadership Principles Shape Future Growth
Written by the Clearcover People Team | November 30, 2021
Throughout November, Clearcover celebrated our fifth anniversary by looking back at how far we've come and examining the groundwork that will carry us ahead for the next five years and beyond.
Last week, we highlighted some of our major milestones and spoke to Matt Dressel, our VP of Organizational Development and one of Clearcover's first employees, to get an insider's look back at how Clearcover has grown since our founding in 2016. Matt's reflections demonstrated how our core values guided Clearcover through a period of tremendous growth during which we reached and surpassed goals and milestones. While those core values have served us well, our newly formed Leadership Principles are the framework that will guide our continued success through the next five years and beyond.
When co-founders Derek Brigham, COO and Kyle Nakatsuji, CEO formed their small team in 2016, they first set out to develop guidelines that would form the foundation for our culture and help them navigate through our initial launch and subsequent growth. After thoughtfully considering the kind of people-first, performance-driven company they envisioned for Clearcover, the team crafted our core values: dedication to people, commitment to keeping perspective, and focus on performance. Clearcover embraced these values as we hired more people, refined our technology, built better user experiences, and launched in more states across the US. The exponential growth we've experienced is a testament to the effectiveness of these core values. Yet, at Clearcover, we constantly reflect on the process and practices that have been proven successful to determine if they can continue to carry us into the future….. So, in the months leading up to our five year anniversary, Kyle and the senior executive team distilled the best aspects of our core values and refined them into the Leadership Principles which will shape our development through the next five years and beyond. Kyle further defines the principles as "a collection of actions and behaviors that we expect from, and have observed in, our strongest leaders and most successful employees."
Clearcover empowers every employee to act as a leader, so these new principles are meant to guide the way all Clearcover-ers think, behave and interact with each other:
Know the Customer, Work for the Customer Clearcover-ers start with the customer and work backwards. We are fanatical about understanding customer needs, and then developing new and better-er ways to deliver transparency, convenience, low prices and superior value.
Earn Trust Clearcover-ers earn trust through their words and actions. We listen attentively, treat others respectfully and always act with empathy and integrity. We are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. We know how to disagree and commit and are generous with appreciation and praise when it's due.
Think "Better-er" Clearcover-ers never settle at “better.” We have relentlessly high standards and continuously seek improvement by challenging assumptions and examining approaches from first principles. We are inventive, think big, and are willing to take risks, make mistakes and change our minds to deliver better-er outcomes.
Execute with Urgency and Focus Clearcover-ers quickly identify and prioritize high-leverage opportunities and operate with a bias for action. We make smart, High-Velocity Decisions and bring intensity and discipline to our work.
Embrace Technology Technology is the fundamental tool we wield to evolve and improve every aspect of our business. So, Clearcover-ers consistently examine our strategies and operations through the lens of how technology can create more customer value.
Raise the Bar Clearcover-ers insist on raising our performance bar. We recognize, hire and develop exceptional talent and teams. We are empowering, thoughtful colleagues and have timely, candid conversations when needed.
Operate Like an Owner Clearcover-ers make a habit of “going first” and don’t wait for permission to do something we believe is right. We act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just our own interests. We treat company resources like our own, value frugality and efficiency and find ways to accomplish more with less.
Play the Long Game Clearcover-ers avoid easy, short-term thinking in favor of maximizing long-term value, even when that choice is difficult or painful.
Dive Deep Clearcover-ers deeply understand business inputs and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. We stay connected to the details and zealously use data to inform decisions. We are innately curious, have a growth mindset, and we're always learning.
Act Like an Underdog Clearcover-ers find ways to succeed, even under the most difficult circumstances, because we operate with an underdog's mindset. We out-hustle the competition, we're resilient in the face of adversity, and we respond to setbacks with grit and determination.
The Leadership Principles will be intrinsic to all aspects of Clearcover from our hiring processes to performance reviews, decision-making, strategy and operations. Ultimately, the Principles will fuel each employee's future growth.
As we move forward guided by our Leadership Principles, we constantly continue to expand our team. If you're ready to be part of a company that entrusts you to be a leader, we encourage you to apply for one of our open positions at Clearcover.
