“Culture is built organically in every startup. At Meesho, it all began with how Sanjeev (Barnwal; Meesho’s co-founder and CTO) and I behaved and interacted with each other, and with our associates. We set those examples with the expectation that others will imbibe and follow. The need for documenting these values became apparent as the company got bigger. We put these guiding principles in writing, so that they could be passed down from one new joiner to the next.” These are the words of our co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey.
Meesho Mantras are a set of core values that all Meeshoites follow. Carefully curated, widely deliberated and strongly emphasised, these Mantras are designed in such a way that adherence to them is a sure-fire way to success. On our mission to democratise e-commerce for everyone, these Mantras help us figure out the Meesho-est solution to any given problem.
While these Mantras were first developed in the early stages of Meesho, it’s not a one and done process. We regularly revisit them for better alignment with the company’s rapid growth and rising scale, evolving goals, and employees’ perception and feedback around them.
As our CHRO Ashish Kumar Singh puts it: “Throughout the year, we continuously track the visibility, understanding and inheritance of our Mantras through various interventions like regular pulse checks and Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) surveys, frequent Listen or Die (LoD) exercises, recognitions and performance management data.”
We last updated our Mantras in 2021... until now that is.
So what prompted us to make the latest round of updates – and what are these changes? Let’s dive right in.
>45% of all recognitions were tagged to “Act like an Owner” Mantra
In our company-wide spot appreciation programme, where Meeshoites pat their colleagues on the back for embodying various Meesho Mantras and jobs well done, we noticed that “Act Like an Owner” was disproportionately popular. It had become an overarching Mantra over time, overlapping with other values to some extent.
When we dived deeper, we realised that there was a little bit of ambiguity around it at times. For example:
- “Doing assigned work well means acting like an owner”
- “It’s okay if desired outcomes aren’t achieved as long as an owner-like attitude is displayed”
- “Cannot act like an owner when other teams are involved”
So we decided to rebrand this mantra.
“Extreme Ownership” means that every Meeshoite should think of themselves as Meesho owners and…
- Take ownership beyond our job description to achieve objectives
- Find ways to deliver results, regardless of boundaries
- Be accountable and adapt quickly to changing situations
Listen or Die exercises revealed some gaps in Meeshoites’ understanding of “Speed Over Perfection”
Speed Over Perfection has always been a solid differentiator for Meesho, whether it’s shipping features, piloting new initiatives or undertaking 10X bets. While the intention of this mantra was to embody Meesho’s rapid growth and dynamism, many employees felt it prioritised speed at all costs – sometimes even at the expense of quality.
For example, one responder deciphered it as: “Speed is primary, and quality of output is secondary as long as the timelines are met.”
So we changed it up as well:
What does “90% Impact, 50% Time” mean?
- Prioritise high-impact items first, simplify scope and features, deliver results
- Start with an aggressive deadline, always ask “how can this be done in HALF the planned time
Data showed that Meeshoites have a strong inclination towards experimentation and innovation
Continuous innovation has always been part of Meesho’s DNA. To quote our co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey: The things that have gotten us to this point won’t take us to the next milestones; we need to keep experimenting and take even bigger bets to unleash our true potential.
In our Listen or Die rituals and qualitative feedback gathered from employees, we saw strong demand for a guiding principle that would encourage bold experimentation and bolster our culture of innovation further.
So we got to work and introduced a brand new Mantra:
What does “Bold Experimentation” mean?
- Empower innovation through experimentation and calculated risk-taking by testing multiple ideas and hypotheses
- Think outside the box, quickly iterate and learn
To recap, we updated two mantras and introduced a brand new one. For a refresher on what our existing mantras mean — and what they don’t — check out this blog.
- Think 10X, Think Long Term
- User First
- 90% Impact, 50% Time
- Problem-First Mindset
- Stand Up & Speak Your Mind
- Company>Team>Individual
- Extreme Ownership
- People-Centric Workplace
- Hire & Grow Exceptional Talent
- Growth Mindset
- Bold Experimentation
Revamped and reinvigorated, these 11 mantras will keep guiding us on our journey as we continue to solve for the next billion users.
CREDITS
Design: Rahul Prakash
