The All-Hands (Our Mission and Vision)

“Our mission,” CF says, “is to give everyone here the opportunity to realize whatever it is they’re after. This is going to sound cheesy,” CF blushes, “and CG has a much better way of phrasing it, but what I’m trying to say is that our mission is to help you achieve your dreams. Whatever they may be. Do you want super fulfilling work? More money? A leadership role? A cool title? Opportunities to learn something new and challenging? Our mission is to give you those things. CG?”

CG, busting at the seams with excitement, says, “Yes, exactly! And to add to that, what we want is to create worlds within worlds. To make the Authrs.io world so large and so empowering, that you’re able to build your world within it. And so our mission is to give you the means to do just that.”

“See,” CF says. “Worlds within worlds. So much better than what I said. CG’s the king of phrasing. King of sales, king of phrasing, king of all the things.” Both Coreys laugh. “And that actually ties in perfectly with our vision,” CF continues. “If our mission is to give everyone on the team (who wants it) the opportunity to build their world (aka realize their dreams), our vision is to make Authrs.io so expansive and empowering that the mission can be realized.”

CF takes a breath. There’s one more thing to add before the call can continue.

“So that’s the mission and vision we’re working towards,” CF says. “But there are two sides to this. We can’t help build your world if we don’t know what it is. So if this resonates with you, let us know! Send us a DM, tell a director, do whatever you need to do to make sure your world is known. Specifically, tell us what you want. Because if we know what you want, we can help you get it. CG – did I get it all? Anything else before we move into the KPI’s?”

CG leans forward. He says, “To add one more thing and then yeah we can move on, we want to help you build your world. And if that world doesn’t involve Authrs.io, that’s fine! If your dream is to be a world-class opera singer, tell us. Or maybe you have a dream within Authrs.io and a dream of opening a restaurant. Obviously it will be easier to help you build a world that involves Authrs.io, but tell us anyway! Because we want to help however we can.”

“Yes! So happy you said that, CG,” CF chimes in. “That’s such a good point! Tell us all of it! Jess is actually a great example of this. She came in as a writer but mentioned she was really passionate about design work. So we’ve started giving her design opportunities as well as writing ones and she’s killingit! All that to say, tell us whatever you feel comfortable sharing and know that our literal company mission is to help you attain it.”

“Ideally it’s with Authrs.io,” CG jokes, “but even if it’s not, tell us anyway!”

“1000%,” CF says. “Alright, monologue complete! Let’s move onto the KPI’s. First up…”

Your Realization

You’ve been a lot of things in your career: a business owner, a freelancer, an employee. You’ve done remote work. You’ve been an office drone and a coffee shop regular. You’ve run the gamut of ways to make money.

Some have been good. Others not so much.

When you started working with Authrs.io, you figured it’d be more of the same. Another freelancing gig. Sweet. Groceries covered for the month. As time went on though, something felt different. You had fun. Which was a super weird realization to have. I hate meetings. Why do I like going to these All-Hands’ every week? I hate Slack. Why do I find myself checking it and smiling? What is going on?!

The Meeting

You happen to be meeting with your director, Nick, this afternoon. The zoom meeting begins and before he says a word, you blurt out, “Hey, so I just wanted to let you know – I’m in.”

“That’s awesome!” Nick says. “What are we talking about though?”

You look down, embarrassed. Your face feels warm all of a sudden. “Oh sorry about that,” you chuckle. “The All-Hands earlier. The Coreys talked about the mission and vision and everything. It really stuck with me. I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while now – I want to do more with you guys. I want leadership, I want more responsibility, I want all of it. I love working with everyone and I want to help build this thing up even more. That’s what I meant when I said I was in. I’m like in-in.”

Nick nods, grinning. “Yes! I’m so happy to hear that! I…”

You jump in, full of energy, “And I don’t expect to just be given everything. Like yes I want to get paid more too, but only because what I’m doing for the company warrants it. Does that make sense?”

“You’re saying you want more responsibility, more money, and ideally a leadership position, right?”

“Right” you say.

“And,” Nick continues, “you’re also saying you don’t expect me to just hand it to you but for those things to come from the amazing work you put in. Like you want to earn it, right?”

“Yes, exactly!” you say.

“This is so exciting! I love this! First off, thank you for sharing this with me because I know it takes a lot of courage to share something like this and to be vulnerable. And second, I’m SO happy this is something you want because I honestly was hoping that post-all-hands you would come to me with this very message.”

“I just…” you pause, “I’m really grateful to be here. It just feels like such a good fit.”

“I totally agree! So let’s talk next steps” Nick says.

“Right! Yes! So what do I need to do on my end? Again, I don’t expect you to just hand me opportunities. I want to work for them and earn them in my own right.”

“Are you familiar with our core values?”

Core values?,you think, Like the things boring corporations have? Why did he just bring up core values?

Next Steps

“I’m kind of familiar with the company’s core values,” you say. “But honestly, I haven’t given them much thought. Why do you bring them up?”

Nick smiles, “Because if you’re serious about what you told me, they’re the key.”

You blink. Nick senses your confusion and opens up a doc with all six core values listed out. He says, “They’re actually inspired by a former client of ours, Donnie. For a period of time, CF was the Client Success Manager for him. It was during their time together that Donnie shared how his 6C’s were imperative to the success of his company. CF ended up liking the C’s so much that, with Donnie’s blessing, he adopted them as Authrs.io’s core values as well.”

You nod your head. None of this is new information. You’ve heard this story before. How is this going to help you move up in the company or make more money or become a leader?

“You’re probably wondering how any of this is going to help you get what you want,” Nick says. You stare at him. How’d he know that?

“It’s funny. I used to think the same thing. A lot of companies have core values. Actually, they all do. And most companies pay lip service to them. No one cares about them. But we do. And we actually think about them all the time. In fact, they’re one of the best tools we have.”

Then Nick says something that leaves you stunned, “And… if you look at anyone that’s growing within the company, or manifesting the things they’ve voiced to us, they mirror our core values to a T.”

“Think about it this way,” Nick says. “You’ve worked for a lot of companies. And each company has their own culture and priorities. That’s a lot of baggage to bring with you. Core values help us all be on the same page with what matters to us here. If we’re all on the same page we can move forward together. And it’s those same core values that will help you get what you want.”

Nick concludes, “Our call’s just about done. Look this doc over and let’s talk more on our one-on-one next week.”

Why Core Values Are So Important

“Did you have a chance to go over that doc I sent you?” Nick asks.

“The one with all the core values and everything on it?” you say. “I looked it over as soon as you sent it to me.”

“Great! What did you think?” Nick says.

You hesitate. “I mean, yeah, it’s core values… I’m not sure how you want me to answer,” you say. What you wanted to say is who gives a shit about core values!, but decided that wouldn’t make for a very productive conversation.

Nick smiles, “See it like this. The core values are basically the Coreys saying, ‘here’s how we want to show up. To our clients, to the team, to everyone.’ It’s them saying, ‘here are the traits that are most important to us as a company.’ They’re the expectations they have for everyone on the team. And you can actually see that in who gets the most opportunities… and who doesn’t.”

Nick says, “I’ll give you an example. Look at Sarah. She just got promoted. Sarah’s great. We all love Sarah. Her getting promoted is obvious. What about the ones that didn’t get the promotion though? Was it obvious to them? Probably not. But if they were to come to me and ask ‘why didn’t I get the promotion’, it’d be an easy answer. Look at the core values. Sarah isthe core values. She’s Committed, she’s Competent, she’s Consistent, she’s Courageous. She’s the embodiment of Community and Character. Yes, Sarah’s amazing, but so is everyone else on the team. The reason she got what she was after and the others didn’t is because she shows up as the core values.”

“You said on our last call that you didn’t just want to be handed opportunities. You wanted to earn them,” Nick says. “Well, I’m telling you how.”

“So you’re saying, all I need to do is embody the core values?” you say.

“That’s all you have to do,” Nick says.

“Ok! I can do that! I basically feel like I’m doing that already. So I can definitely focus on embracing them even more,” you say.

“Absolutely!” Nick says. “Why don’t we do this. We have six core values – Committed, Competent, Consistent, Courageous, Community, and Character. Since we meet every week, let’s plan to chat about one on every call. Six core values, six calls. Work for you?”

“Sure! We have some time left on this call,” you say. “Want to go over the first one right now?”

“We’re thinking the same thing!” Nick says.

Week One: Committed

“The first of the 6C’s is Committed.Here’s something to think about. You’re a freelancer. Yes, you want to spend more and more time with us, but right now you’re working with a number of different clients on a number of different projects. We know this. And yet, one of our core values is Committed. What gives? Are you set up for failure from the very beginning?”

You’re not sure if you’re supposed to answer. Nick’s great but every once in a while he’ll hit you with a rhetorical question and you’re not sure if he actually wants you to answer or not. You choose correctly this time.

He says, “Of course not! What it means is that when you’re here, you’re here. It means if you’re on a call with us, you’re not zoned out checking for email from another client. It means when you’re working on something for us, you’re not multitasking at the same time for someone else.”

Nick says, “It actually has a lot less to do with other clients though and is more about presence. Because if we’re on a call, I want you here, with me. Whether or not you’re checking another client’s slack doesn’t matter. If you and I are on a call, I don’t want you checking slack either way. I want you here on the call. I want you committed to this moment, with me. Does that make sense?”

“Sure,” you say, “but other than being present on this call, how can I show you I’m committed?”

“It’s actually super easy – do the things you say you’ll do. The easiest way to show you’re committed is to show up. If you say you’ll have a project done by the 5th, have it done by the 5th. You said you’ll get me that new chapter by Thursday, right? The easiest way to show commitment is to have that thing to me by Thursday. And… to close out of slack and email when you’re on a call with me,” Nick laughs.

Nick says, “Let’s put a pause in the conversation for now. I’ve got to jump but next week we’ll talk about the second C, Competent.”

Week Two: Competent

“I love that new chapter you sent over!” Nick says. “But what I love even more is that you said you would send it to me by Thursday and you actually got it to me by Wednesday. That’s exactly what I meant by showing up. And it ties in perfectly with the second C, Competent.”

Nick says, “Competence is pretty straightforward. We won’t have to spend much time going over it, especially for someone as next-level as you.”

You blush.

Nick continues, “Competence basically means you’re good at what you do. And you are. It’s important to touch on anyway though, because if you’re committed but not competent, you’re not going to be much use here if I’m being honest. You’ll be a great team player but you’re going to cost us games. That’s why competence is such an important core value. Because it means you’re amazing at what you do. Look at all the leaders here. They are fantastic at whatever gets put in front of them. And that’s why they keep getting more and more of what they ask for – because we trust that whatever opportunities they get will be put to good use.”

“What if…” you hesitate. “What if you’re good at something – like I am with writing – but I want to try something new, like sales, where I’ll probably be terrible in the beginning?”

“Ooo, are you interested in doing sales?” Nick asks. You can see the wheels turning.

“No, no,” you quickly jump in. “It’s more of a for-instance. Like what if I want to move from something I’m competent in now to something I’m not sure how competent I’ll be in?”

“Ah, good question,” Nick says. “Really it just comes down to one thing – vulnerability. And we’ll actually touch on that in a few weeks when we cover the fourth C, Courageous. In the meantime though, know that as long as you’re open about your concerns, all will be well. You sure you don’t want to do sales?” Nick chuckles.

“Competence or not, that’s definitely not my lane,” you say.

Week Three: Consistent

You join this week’s call a few minutes late. You gave Nick a heads up ahead of time but still feel bad about it. He looks up as your camera turns on. “Boy, I thought I was a good writer,” Nick says, “but every time I read something new you write I feel like a peasant.”

He must’ve just finished reading that new chapter I submitted, you think. “Oh no! Sorry! I didn’t mean —”

“What? What are you apologizing for! Your writing is next level! It’s inspiring. I hope I’m one tenth as good a writer as you when I grow up.”

You laugh, blushing.

“Ok, we have a ton to talk about today. Before we get into that though, let’s chat about the next core value for a few minutes – Consistent. Sound good?”

You nod.

“A couple weeks ago we talked about how most of the team is made up of freelancers. They’re working with other clients, working on other projects, right? So consistency is all about showing up – every time. Sales is one place where you can clearly see consistency in action.”

“Like, did you hit your goal last month?” you ask.

“Not just last month, but every month,” Nick says. “Or like for you, you’re a writer. Imagine if for every five chapters you wrote, only one was good. That would make for a very rough book. So this core value is all about showing up, not just today, but every day. Whether you’re doing sales, writing, or working behind the scenes. Whether you’re giving us five minutes a day or five hours, showing up for that time today, tomorrow, and the next day with the same (or even higher) level of excellence, of competence.”

“Writing is art though,” you say, “and art is subjective. You said – ‘what if only one out of every five chapters I write is good?’ – but who’s to judge what’s good and what isn’t?”

“Great question!” Nick says. “It’s not about judging good or bad. It’s about showing up. When I send clients your writing, they love it. It resonates with them. And so I know I can trust you as a writer. That you’re consistent in your work. Not one out of every ten times, or one out of every five times, but every time. You show up. Every time. And you always hit it out of the park.”

Week Four: Courageous

“A couple weeks ago you asked about moving into the sales department,” Nick says. A look of panic flashes across your face. Nick laughs.

“I’m just kidding,” he says. “We were talking about competency though. And what happens if you want to move from something you’re competent in to something you may not be.”

Nick takes a sip of water. He continues, “Our fourth core value is all about being Courageous. Courage can take a lot of forms. What I’m talking about here though is doing the right thing – even when it’s hard. That could be taking another pass at your writing because you think it could be better. It could also be voicing your desire to try something new – and your fear about how good you’ll be at that thing.”

“We joked about you doing sales so let’s stick with that example. You’re a writer right now, but let’s say you come to me and say, ‘Nick, I’m a great writer, I love writing, yet for some reason I am super called to do sales. I don’t know why, but I really want to test out doing sales. I’m scared that I may not be very good at it though and that that may damage our working relationship if I come up short.’”

“Do you know what I’d say to that?” Nick asks. “I’d start fucking jumping up and down! I’d be so excited for you to tell me that! Because that takes courage! Not only in trying something new but in being vulnerable about it.”

Nick says, “Not only would I support it, but I’d do everything I could to give you those opportunities ASAP. And we’d set it up with intention. We’d test it out before doing anything. That way you could get a feel for it before committing. That way too you could be sure it’s something you absolutely want. And let’s say you love it, commit to it, and for whatever reason end up being terrible at it, well that’d be totally fine because we’d have talked about it beforehand and would have a plan in case that very thing happened.”

“In other words,” Nick says, “we’d work together to set you up for success. And that would all be possible because you led with courage. So… did I convince you to try out sales yet?”

“Absolutely not,” you laugh.

“You know what did take courage? Telling me what you wanted all those weeks ago. That’s why we’re even talking about this now, right? One of my favorite sayings is, ‘The squeaky wheel gets the most oil.’ There’s another one that goes, ‘The open mouth gets fed.’ I can’t guess what you want, but if you embody courage and tell me, I’ll help however I can. And that’s exactly what you did. And that’s exactly why it’s one of our core values.”

Week Five: Community

Nick kicks off the call this week by diving right into the core values. “The fifth of the 6C’s,” Nick says, “is Community.Which is interesting if you think about it. As we’ve discussed, most of the team is freelancers. Yes, they do work for Authrs.io but they also do work for a number of other clients. And yet, we’re told time and again that we have a great company culture. How are these things possible at the same time? How can there be a company culture with an ever-rotating cast of characters? How can there be camaraderie when the all-hands is optional and some people attend and others don’t?”

Nick pauses to catch his breath.

“The answer,” he says, “is community. We’ve developed a culture where we all help each other reach our goals. If someone needs something, five hands immediately go up offering support. If someone’s having a rough day, we lend a shoulder and an encouraging word. You can jump into slack right now and, in an instant, see the people that embody Community.They’re the ones who make you smile. The ones who make you feel like you’re part of something you want to be part of.”

“I totally know what you’re talking about,” you say. “And I think this is something I could get better at… but what can I do to better embody Community?”

Nick says, “Great question! There’s actually a ton you can do! I believe Sasha’s onboarding a new ads person today. Once they’re in slack, say hello and welcome them to the team. Or invite them to a get-to-know-you call. Or simply just emoji Sasha’s intro message. These are small things that make everyone feel part of a team. Or like, on this week’s all-hands, when we do our question of the week, raise your hand and share your answer. Or at some point this week, hop into the general channel and give someone a shoutout. These are all ways to embody Community. I could actually go on and on. There are so many ways you can show up as this core value.”

Nick pauses. You look up from your notebook where you’ve been taking notes.

“Like any of those ideas?” Nick asks.

“All of them,” you say. You lift up your notebook to show him.

Week Six: Character

“I know I gave you a few ideas last week, but I didn’t expect you to do all of them,” Nick jokes.

You laugh and say, “I showed you my notebook! I was honestly into all of them and so I jumped on it!”

“That’s awesome!” Nick smiles. “Remember Consistency too though, right? It’s one thing to embody Communitylast week, but consistency is about showing up every week. Not to say you have to do allof that every week, but there will certainly be ways to embody Communityfrom time to time. And it’s up to you to recognize those moments and take them when they arise.”

You give a thumbs up. Zoom suddenly blurs and fireworks start going off behind you.

“I didn’t know that would happen,” you laugh. You and Nick spend the next five minutes doing different hand gestures to see what Zoom will do. Zoom doesn’t do much.

The conversation continues, “To date, we’ve covered five of the six core values: Committed, Competent, Consistent, Courageous, and Community. You’ve taken steps each week to embody them and I can see how you’ve become more dependable, more consistent, and more involved with the team. The last core value is one that can be hard to describe, but it’s one that you know when you see it – and you know when you don’t.”

“Character,” you say.

“Right. Character,” Nick says.

“Character,” Nick continues, “and courage often go hand in hand. If courage is the verb, character is the noun. If courage is the action, character is the foundation. In other words, courage comes from character. Here’s an example: if courage is taking another stab at the writing because you know it could be better, character is the quiet voice in the back of your head urging you to give it another go in the first place.”

Nick says, “You can call it having a strong moral code, or ethics, or integrity. What it basically means though is that you’re honest. That you tell the truth. Always. That when faced with taking the high road or low road, you go high. And that if you’re faced with cutting corners to get something done fast versus something taking longer but it getting done right, you choose the latter. And it’s something that, in all of my time working with you, I’ve never brought into question once. You, my friend, have outstanding character.”

You blush. You’re never looking for compliments, but you love receiving them anyway.

When Mission Meets Values

Weeks pass. You still meet with Nick regularly but the core values come up less and less now that you’re done covering them. You think back to something he said during one of your recent calls.

You asked, “Do you want me to give you updates on how I’m implementing the core values? I want to make sure you know just how serious I’ve been taking them.”

“Nope,” Nick said.

You looked confused.

“The core values aren’t talking points. They’re action items.” Nick said, “So the best way to show me that you’ve been taking them seriously is to do just that – show me. I’ve seen you taking notes and I’ve seen you implementing them. You don’t need to give me status updates because I’ll see them.”

So you’ve been taking action. You find opportunities to practice Community. You look for new ways to show you’re Committed. You take a course to get even better at what you do. To become even more Competent. Some days there’s more to do than others, but every day you show up as best you can. And as for achieving your dream – of more responsibility, opportunity, money, and more – you trust that Nick (and everyone else in the company) is doing everything they can to help.

And then… it happens.

“Hey, Nick! Happy Tuesday!” you say as your one-on-one for the week starts.

Nick has a big grin on his face.

“What’s up?” you ask.

“I’m just going to get straight to it. I was talking to the team. We have a new role opening up. It’s leadership. It pays more. A lot more. It’s outside the world of writing, but we think you’d be an amazing fit. Are you interested?”

Your heart races. It’s happening! You don’t know what to say.

You stammer out, “… is it sales?”

Nick laughs. “No, it’s not sales. It’s even better.”

Author’s Note

I wanted to write something evergreen. Something that tells the story of our mission, vision, and values and how they can be applied. Something that can be read and understood whether you’ve been with the team for years or just joined this week – whether you know me and CG personally, or if we’ve never met (or if you don’t even know who we are).

Parables – fictional stories that share nonfiction lessons – are incredibly powerful. Many of my favorite books, and many of the books that have had the biggest impact on my life thus far, are parables. Books like Animal Farm by George Orwell (dystopian), The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield (spirituality), and The Motive by Patrick Lencioni (leadership), use fiction as a tool to convey a message.

So when the idea to create something like this presented itself, I took it (and used the fact that we’re a book publishing agency to justify it).

In reading this, my hope is that you’ve gained a better understanding of what’s important to us here at Authrs.io, how to set yourself up for success within the team, and how to ultimately manifest the thing(s) you desire in our time together.

To all of those things and more,

CF

PS: Thank you to everyone who helped bring this thing to life. Thank you to Holly Layman and Whitnee Armstrong for your editing skills, to Anthony Moore for wordsmithing the Core Values, to ElevenLabs for the narration, and to the always-amazing Corey Gladwell for your ideas, experience, and best-friendship!

PPS: Oh, and our core values being inspired by a client? That’s 100% true. His name is in fact Donnie and he’s awesome!

TL;DR: Our Mission, Vision, and Values

Here’s a snapshot of our mission, vision, and values – in straightforward, non-parable terms. 🙂

Our Mission: Help Build Your World

Our mission is to give everyone on the team the opportunity to realize their dreams – whatever they may be.

Ex. Fulfilling work, more money, more responsibility, more experience, etc.

Our Vision: Worlds Within Worlds

Our vision is to make the Authrs.io world so expansive and empowering that whatever your dream is, whatever your world is, we can help make it a reality.

Ex. Giving you opportunities to build the world you desire.

Our Core Values: The 6C’s

1. Committed

“Dedication to helping each other succeed.”

What it means:

You are committed to the team, to helping each other, and to the work you take on.

How you live it:

• You show up prepared and ready
• You meet deadlines on-time (or early)
• You’re constantly looking for ways to improve

2. Competent

“Expertise that builds trust and confidence.”

What it means:

You are highly skilled in the tasks you’re responsible for.

How you live it:

• You’re good at what you do – and get results
• You demonstrate leadership and experience to help others in your area of influence
• You’re constantly working on improving your abilities and skills

3. Consistent

“Reliability that the team can count on.”

What it means:

You show up every time and fulfill your duties with exceptional quality.

How you live it:

• You regularly produce high-quality work and can be counted on
• You’re reliable, trustworthy, and follow through on your promises
• You show the team that they can trust you to follow-through

4. Courageous

“You do the right thing, even when it’s hard.”

What it means:

You are open to adventuring out of your comfort zone, to taking on new challenges, and to pushing yourself to expand your horizons.

How you live it:

• You are willing and able to take on new methods to complete your work
• You are brave enough to speak up and voice your opinion
• You choose to confront challenges, obstacles, and problems head-on
• You push yourself to grow and expand even when it’s uncomfortable

5. Community

“Helping each other reach our goals together.”

What it means:

You prioritize the health and well-being of the team culture. You seek to lift others up and push everyone forward.

How you live it:

• You nurture an inclusive, positive, welcoming culture
• You make others feel welcome, appreciated, valued, and seen
• You work hard to become a cornerstone of the team culture

6. Character

“Integrity in everything you do.”

What it means:

You have a consistently strong set of work and personal ethics, demonstrating honesty, compassion, and integrity.

How you live it:

• You uphold honesty and transparency in all you do
• You act in ethical and becoming ways when faced with difficult choices
• You bring your whole, honest self into the team community and culture
• You do the right thing – even when it’s inconvenient