Bandwidth.com, like any company our size, has a unique working environment that’s all our own. Projects get done in a particular way, communication happens in ways subtly different from other companies and individual and team work patterns are done in a way that I think is different from organizations. In aggregate, all of this makes up our corporate culture. That we have a specific culture isn’t unique, of course, but I’d like to think that our culture is unique just the same.

As with most organizations our culture is primarily influenced by three constituencies: our leadership, our values, and our people. Of the three, our values are the most important as they shape the other two.

David and I wanted to see the same core values drive the company that drove our life. For us that means that we focus on Faith, Family, Work, and Fitness…in that order. We believe that if we balance all 4 of them well and in that order that we’ll be successful.

Faith
We firmly believe that our success has come from God, and that it’s for his glory that we work. It’s impossible to spend any meaningful time with us and not know that our Christian faith is what guides and drives us. That being said, David and I don’t pass out tracts at work, and in fact, have people from several different faith backgrounds at the office. I believe that all feel valued and not judged (but there’s nothing like posting a blog like this to find out if that’s so :). Don’t get us wrong, we’re always ready to share why we have the hope that we have, but it’s most important for us to model Faith as being the most important part of what we live for. And it’s our faith that allows us to submit our work product and relationships with fellow employees, partners, suppliers and customers to what we consider to be the highest standard…a Biblical standard, even though we often fall short, we are always aiming toward that goal.

Family
I came down from New York to North Carolina, and while New York City doesn’t have a monopoly on the 70 hour work week, there are few places on Earth where that value (or anti-value) is more prominently on display. I know way too many families and lives that have been shattered by overwork. David and I have 9 children between us, and we’re all to aware that we have 2 hours at most to be a Dad during the week. For us, it’s the hours of 6:30 to 8:30. We cherish that time with our families, and we want our employees to be able to as well. There are no heroics in staying in the office late at the expense of family. We all have plenty of time to get back online once we’ve put kids to bed. That happens most nights. One night it won’t happen is “date night”…that’s when I get to take the boys’ Mom out to tell her how much I appreciate what she does.

Without a firm Faith and Family commitment, the next value just doesn’t happen:

Work
David and I love our work. We like to lead, we like to create and innovate. We like to compete, we like to win. We like to challenge those who work with us, just as they challenge us. We like to question, we like to listen. We can always be better, and we love that too. Work is the manifestation of so much of what we are and what we do.

Fitness
Work hard, play hard…mens sana in corpore sano…just about any cliche works here, and they all operate at Bandwidth.com. David and I will head out on a run or a bike ride for an hour or so just about every lunch when we’re in town. Our employees follow that lead and depending on the day of the week, droves of co-workers will head out for a game of ultimate frisbee or soccer on the fields near our office, or basketball on the campus court (we are, after all, on Tobacco Road). Some of our best partner retreats and senior management trips have revolved around fitness. We’ve had epic trips to ride mountain stages during the Tour de France, gone surfing with our channel team in Costa Rica and have gone heli skiing several times. Fitness, particularly when done in groups, provides some of our best camaraderie, exchange of ideas and rest from work.

So there you have it: Bandwidth.com is all about Faith, Family, Work and Fitness and, God willing, we always will be.

Tags: Bandwidth.com, culture, Henry Kaestner, history, values

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