Why have values?

Out of timber so crooked as that from which man is made, nothing entirely straight can be built.

— Immanuel Kant

We recognize that it is more difficult to adhere to values than to simply not have them at all. We also understand that values are aspirational and, as Kant speaks to above, we are inherently flawed creatures.

We list our values because we want to publicly show what is important to those who join our cause, as customer or employee or investor. By no means are these our only values, nor are they the right values for every person or company. They are what inspire and guide our actions at Seneca, and they are right for us.

What constitutes a value?

We believe that values with which anyone would agree, in all circumstances, are worthless. If there is not a rational other side, what you're agreeing to is likely common sense or human decency.

For example, Facebook famously championed the phrase "Move fast and break things" as a core engineering value. As a young social network, that absolutely makes sense. The consequences of throwing hacks against the wall to see what sticks are ultimately rather low.

Working with government, on the other hand, requires a much higher emphaisis on stability. Trust — that we are always available, that we never lose data — is the foundation of our business. Such a cavalier attitude towards user's trust is not what we believe in, but more importantly not what makes sense in our context.