What are cultural principles?
Cultural principles are the foundational beliefs that define an organization and shape how people work, lead, and collaborate.
When done well, they aren’t just framed words hung on an office wall or set on a shelf. They’re the behaviors and mindsets that guide how employees show up for each other, clients, and their work every day.
At Terakeet, they are how we put our core values into action.
“These principles are designed to inspire cultural alignment at all levels of the organization,” said Chief Brand Officer Shannon Reedy. “While our values are the beliefs that guide our decisions and actions, our cultural principles are the ways that our values are demonstrated in our day-to-day work and experiences.”
These principles help create consistency across our teams while allowing room for individual expression and team identity. They provide clarity that empowers people to lead with confidence. Most importantly, they create a shared standard for what “great” looks like at Terakeet, both in terms of outcomes and the steps to get there.
Identifying Terakeet’s cultural principles
Our new principles replace our old “leadership principles” model so we can support the kind of culture we want everyone to be contributing to — not just leadership. Our values have remained the same.
To define our cultural principles, we set out to fill the gap between our values and our everyday experiences. But we knew that to truly make them meaningful, we couldn’t create them in a vacuum.
Over the course of two months, Shannon and VP of SEO Caitie Lyden led a company-wide task force to shape the principles. Through focus groups and one-on-one conversations, the team gathered feedback from across the organization, involving more than a quarter of employees throughout the process.
This cross-functional collaboration brought together diverse perspectives that represented all corners of the company. It’s through that partnership that the following principles were born.
Meet Terakeet’s new principles
Own Your Craft, Be Dedicated to the Direction
Take pride in developing and delivering your craft. Be curious and innovative as part of our spirit of entrepreneurship. Act in the best interest of your client, your colleagues, and the company.
“I love the natural, curious nature of my colleagues at Terakeet. The principle Own Your Craft, Be Dedicated to the Direction is seen in members of this company from casual conversations at the start of calls to formal recommendations for our clients.”
—Megan Whalen, Client Success Director
Communicate With Integrity
Assume positive intent. Respond rather than react. Transparently explain the “why” behind decisions. Celebrate success broadly and address challenges with compassion and clarity immediately.
“Effective communication has been the backbone of all personal and team relationships I’ve had at Terakeet. When we ‘Communicate with Integrity,’ we deepen our understanding of one another and foster better collaboration.”
—Mike Riccardi, SEO Lead
“To me, communication is the foundation of trust — and when it’s done well, everything else gets stronger. I’ve seen how being clear, honest, and respectful brings people together, builds stronger teams, and creates a culture where everyone feels confident and empowered to speak up.”
—Lauren MacBlane, Content Manager
Foster Collaboration, Listen to Understand
Treat everyone with mutual respect, dignity, and kindness. Be present, listen, ask questions, and stay open to other ideas. Create a safe space for candid discussion and learning from experience.
“When I think of ‘Foster Collaboration, Listen to Understand,’ I remember what has made Terakeet special over the years — this group of dedicated team members working together. Great ideas can come from anywhere and it’s our responsibility to share, listen, and align.”
—Kevin Clay, Director of Project Management
Stay Adaptable, Be Resilient
Approach challenges with grace and a “we got this” attitude. Understand, debate, and commit — respect decisions made. Know when to support, when to challenge, and when to push forward.
“We rarely see things as permanent at Terakeet because innovation is such a big presence within our culture. Adaptability is key, but resiliency is just as important. Comfort with change is necessary when building something impactful.”
—Current Employee
Don’t Mistake Activity for Strategy
Seek opportunities for growth. Take action and commit to the follow-through. Weigh short-term success with long-term impact.
“I think it’s easy to get bogged down in the details when there’s so much going on. This is a good reminder that we need to see the forest for the trees to make real impact.”
—Current Employee
Living our principles: Integration across Terakeet
Our new cultural principles, along with their related values, will help build culture, clarity, and empowerment at Terakeet.
- Team and employee development: We’re incorporating our cultural principles into manager training to ensure leaders are equipped to make thoughtful, values-driven decisions. These principles also help us create a shared language to navigate crucial (sometimes difficult) conversations, build trust, and lead with confidence.
- Team subcultures: Our cultural principles will support the strengthening of team subcultures while still creating a common understanding of what “great” looks like in practice and what we’re all driving toward, together.
- Colleague shoutouts: Employees are regularly encouraged to tie core values to shoutouts at our weekly company-wide Circle Up meetings or on our recognition platform, Terakudos. Now, they’ll be able to connect a coworker’s actions to either a value or its corresponding cultural principle, offering more specific recognition and gratitude, and turning everyday wins into moments of purpose and connection.
With this stronger foundation, we feel even more ready to evolve and adapt to new industry, market, and employee needs. Our cultural principles establish universal truths that help us build and maintain a connective culture within our organization.
We’re excited to continue working with these principles at the forefront of our experiences at Terakeet.
