Applicants: Is Susco a good Values fit for you?

Purpose of this Document

Susco’s purpose is to enable people to contribute in meaningful and fulfilling ways by

1. Unleashing human potential with enterprise software,
2. Facilitating the holistic growth of our teammates
3. Supporting organizations that help disadvantaged individuals achieve the American Dream.

Culture is very important to us. The number #1 requirement we have for all our teammates is to have a growth mindset.  Even if you’ve reviewed our Core Values here, there’s more “under the hood” around Growth in this document.

We are unique in our obsession with our purpose and in how we develop our teammates professionally and personally. While all the concepts we introduce are scientifically validated, they are well beyond simple “hard” and “soft skills” development. 

We find one of 3 things that happen with new hires regarding our Purpose.

1. The majority are fully aligned with it (and usually it was one of the reasons they selected Susco)
2. Most of the rest of them have SOME skepticism but are open to it
3. A very small remainder don’t get it, to the point it repulses them.

What we don’t want to happen is for the 3^rd group’s behavior (be it through cynicism, mockery, etc.) to slow down the development of the 2^nd group, nor do we want their disdain for the values that make this company what it is come through in communication we get from them.

With that being said, I want to go over some important things we believe in.

1. Purpose-Driven Leadership is Real
2. Personal Improvement is Real
3. Compassionate Meritocracy
4. Validated Psychological Concepts
5. Individual Development Plan (IDP)
6. The American Dream
7. Conscious Capitalism

 If you find yourself in Camp 3 to any of these, maybe Susco isn’t the right place for you.

Purpose-Driven Leadership is Real

There are many companies that are driven solely by profit and a will to power, but there is a growing number of companies that are led by owners who are driven by a purpose grounded in service to mankind, that provides a will to meaning.  For them, money is fuel that allows them to create a positive impact on all those around them – including their teammates, vendors, and the community.

Learn more about our CEO’s purpose here.

Personal Improvement is Real

Personal improvement is somewhat synonymous with self-help.  Unfortunately, self-help has a mixed reputation because many “self-help gurus” are really in it for themselves and aren’t really providing great information. 

There are many bad doctors out there, but that doesn’t mean all doctors are bad.

There are many bad programmers out there, but that doesn’t mean all programmers are bad.

Etc.

At Susco, we often conduct training leveraging material from reputable self-help experts.  Our teammates are open to this content.

Compassionate Meritocracy

As a compassionate meritocracy, Susco focuses on balancing the goals of maximizing performance and productivity while fostering a supportive and empathetic work environment. As such, we prioritize the following aspects:

• Merit-based hiring and promotion: The company makes decisions regarding hiring, promotions, and compensation based on an individual’s values-alignment, skills, competence, and performance rather than factors unrelated to job performance, such as social connections, identity, or personal bias.
• Employee growth and development: We invest in the continuous growth and development of our employees by offering opportunities for training, education, and mentorship. This ensures employees have the resources and support needed to reach their full potential and offer contributions to the company’s overall success.
• Supportive work culture: We create an environment that encourages open communication, teamwork, and mutual respect. This includes acknowledging the importance of mental health and well-being, offering resources and support to employees who may be struggling, and promoting a healthy work-life balance.
• Social responsibility: We recognize our broader responsibilities to society. This includes treating our vendors well, supporting local communities, and ensuring ethical decision-making in our operations.

In summary, we balance the pursuit of excellence and high performance with empathy, understanding, and support of our employees, where individuals are rewarded based on their skills and contributions.

Validated Psychological Concepts

We explore various valid concepts at work including:

• Developing a personal Why, vision setting, personal goal management
• Personality-informed coaching
• Understanding human needs
• Identifying and Replacing Limiting Beliefs with Empowering Beliefs.
• Managing Change / continuous personal growth 

All of these are grounded in science.  We don’t feel the need to defend the Earth being round, or the value of vitamins, etc. The same applies here.

Note: regarding personality, we use a tool called PrinciplesUs.com which Adam Grant, a world-renowned organizational psychologist, developed. It’s based on the Big 5 model, which is considered the most psychometrically valid model and is NOT the same as Myers-Briggs or DISC.

Individual Development Plan (IDP)

We have a tool we give all employees called an IDP. 

For each area of life (Health, Fun and Leisure, Personal Growth, Family and Friends, Finances, Career, Community), it helps them assess where they are currently and where they want to be in the distant future. (Vision).  Then, they can define 1-year goals to get to their vision.  We then serve as “accountability buddies” to see how we can help. 

We only require that teammates fill out “Career” and 1 section of their choice.  Over time, as new hires “get” how invested we are in them, we encourage them to look at other areas.

With Susco as a catalyst, we’ve seen employees define and reach many varied goals that give them meaning and pride – be it fitness, in their relationships, finances, etc. You get out of it what you put into it.  All we ask is you keep an open mind. 

The American Dream

The American Dream is the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved.

Now, we want to be clear, it is indeed an IDEAL.  Like all societies, the USA struggles with income inequality, and unfairness around race, sex, religion, etc.  There are organizations that are dedicated to creating changes within the system around these issues.  We applaud them. 

At Susco, our focus is on the development of the individual.  We believe that all teammates have the capability within them to live a successful and fulfilling life, regardless of their identity.  We do everything we can to be a supporting character in that journey.

Additionally, part of our mission is to “support organizations which help disadvantaged individuals achieve the American Dream.” by building their hard and soft skills up, to help level the playing field.

Our founder and many of our employees are 1^st and 2^nd generation immigrants.  We celebrate the American Dream.

Conscious Capitalism

We believe that business can be a force for good. Because it creates value, it is ethical because it is based on voluntary exchange, it is noble because it can elevate our existence. It is heroic because it lifts people out of poverty and creates prosperity. Free enterprise capitalism is the most powerful system for social cooperation and human progress ever conceived. It is one of the most compelling ideas we humans have ever had. And we can aspire to even more.

Conscious capitalism creates focus on a higher purpose, conscious leadership, and consideration of all stakeholders. This remedies the dark side that can capture capitalism – crony capitalism, monopolies, negative externalities, etc. to create better outcomes for all.

Some believe that business ownership is unethical and that Communism is the only fair system.  Communism doesn’t work at any meaningful scale, almost always results in scarcity and authoritarianism, and given the fact it casts businesses (which include Susco and our clients) as inherently bad actors, it is not compatible with our values.