This past weekend was an amazing opportunity to meet tons of entrepreneurs, VCs, and Bitcoin lovers. I had so many amazing conversations spanning the entire Full Stack Business Builder world: startups, entrepreneurship, capital deployment, and optimizing businesses. One question hit me in the chin:

How do you get more people to do the thing you want them to do?

The answer is clearly not a Command & Control model. This has been done before. It doesn’t work. Cleary Agile and Scrum provides many value-models, engagement-frameworks, and working agreements. While these tools are great for helping organizations and teams aligned, when it comes to building a startup, the Founder [is] the culture. They set the culture.

For me, I insist that all Founders of companies create a User Guide. This ensures all people joining the company understands the natural culture created by the Founder’s energies, interests, passions, natural work behaviors, and mental models.

Second, I think it’s essential to create a lite culture model. This culture document is a second filter the helps people self-select themselves (out) of the job. We need amazing people and hard workers. Not activists or rent-seekers.

Here is one I’m currently using.

MEI Culture Model for Startups

We Are Here to Win - MERIT | EXCELLENCE | INTELLIGENCE

1 - MERIT

• We recognize talent, effort, and results.

• Decisions are made based on skills, contributions, and performance.

• Everyone has the opportunity to grow and excel based on their merit, not tenure or status.

• We believe in sustained effort and consistent performance over the long run.

• “Do the work” is our daily slogan, we swarm to help each other deliver daily.

2. EXCELLENCE

• We strive for the highest standards in everything we do.

• Mediocrity is not accepted—our work reflects our commitment to being the best at what we do.

• We continuously push ourselves to deliver exceptional results that stand out.

• Every obstacle is an opportunity to innovate and improve.

• Discipline drives us to follow through on our commitments, while hard work ensures we go the extra mile.

3. INTELLIGENCE

• We believe in smart work backed by deep understanding and critical thinking.

• We tackle challenges head-on with creativity and resilience.

• Innovative thinking, problem solving, and well-informed data-centric decisions are our key assets.

• Learning and adapting are essential parts of how we operate. We learn by DOing.

• We don’t stop at identifying problems; we relentlessly pursue reduction of feedback cycle-time.

Summary

This document establishes a culture that is driven by merit, with a relentless pursuit of excellence and intelligence. Problem-solving is embedded into every task, while discipline and a strong work ethic fuel the team to stay focused and consistent. This is a culture built to win, ensuring that every team member contributes to the collective success by embracing these core values.

Signed,
EVERYONE.

Feel free to use for your startup, business, or team!

All the best,
ps