TubeMogul on How to Become a Best Place to Work

Here at TubeMogul we are honored to be ranked among the winners of the Employees’ Choice Awards, appearing on the list of the Best Places to Work in 2015. Since starting TubeMogul in 2007 we’ve put our people and culture above everything else, and that decision seems to be paying off. Looking back on how far we’ve come, I’ve identified a few key areas that got us here. People come first There are countless articles and books positing whom the most important stakeholders for an organization should be; most conclude customers should come first. But since we begun, we’ve put people first. By doing so, we’ve created a culture of personal responsibility that sets people up to succeed so that everything else takes care of itself. Define your values So what does it mean to put people and culture first? It means that our most critical organizational objective is to adhere to a set of principles and behaviors - call it our culture. This is why we started a company to begin with – because of our belief that by prioritizing and focusing on culture we could build a better company. It’s not that we’re not excited about what we do and the customers we serve. The software we build for brand advertising is helping to transform an industry by delivering more accountability and simplicity. Everyone at TubeMogul is proud of the work we do. It’s just that we’re more proud of how we do it. Let your values shape your culture Our culture has several important dimensions. The most important aspect is personal accountability, or what we call the “Do:Say” ratio. It’s refreshing (and very unusual) to get to spend your time with people that you can count on. I know our customers and shareholders value this characteristic as well. We also value innovation. This is why we encourage our team to move fast, be okay with mistakes and to quickly learn and improve. As a result our company is the innovation leader in our space. Lastly, we value people that have a strong bias for action. If you want to make things happen you’ll love working for TubeMogul. BS’ers, not so much. Thank your team… a lot. For our team, winning has meant long hours, dealing with ambiguity and changing priorities, systems and processes that often seem aged by the time implemented and a leadership team evolving from entrepreneur/founder types to executives. With many years of double-digit growth and the resulting complexity and multiple priorities it would be easy enough to lose some of the passion for why we exist. We’ve tried not to though – and being named one of Glassdoor’s Best Places To Work is an honor and suggests we’re still focused on what matters. To our team, thank you for your faith in me and for keeping our culture at the center of everything we do. Putting people and culture first has often been difficult, particularly as we grow quickly and compete in a dynamic industry, but we’re proud to say it seems to be working.