Dear Potential Splento Hero,
Thank you for your interest in working with us! You could be our next Hero!
We are just as excited as you are, but we feel it’s only fair to warn you — we are a very peculiar bunch of people who are incredibly passionate about what we do, and we have a particular work, career and life ethic.
We are always on the look-out for other exceptional people with just the right mix of can-do attitude, stubbornness, and creativity to join our ranks.
Below is our Hero Manifesto. Take a look and see what makes us so…..Splento
WE TELL OUR BOSSES WHAT TO DO
It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do.
We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.
ONLY EXCELLENCE MATTERS
We don’t care about your gender, sexual orientation, race, creed or colour. We divide the world into two
groups: Insanely great people (Heroes) and everyone else. It’s that simple.
A HERO IS RESULTS-ORIENTED
We measure our contribution by the results, not by the work we do.
SEEING-THROUGH
We start only those things that we plan to finish. We don't stop and go and switch between tasks.
TRYING
We try new ideas, techniques and methodologies all the time. We don't wait for others to figure out and
re-engineer our work and industry — that’s our job!
WE GET THINGS DONE
Our minds are for having ideas, not holding them. We follow the Getting Things Done methodology to make
sure we can concentrate on things that matter.
WE MAKE IT HAPPEN EVERY DAY! WE DON'T CARE ABOUT CREDITS
We care about results and change they bring.
PLUGGED IN
We are plugged into what’s going on both inside and outside the company.
We don't wait for someone else to tell us what’s going on in the industry.
ALIGNED
Our work is aligned with our personal long-term goals.
Splento helps us achieve our goals faster than anywhere else.
CHANGE
Constant change is here to stay! A Hero embraces change.
KAIZEN
We pursue lifelong personal improvement even as we seek continuous improvement in our business.
READING
We are voracious readers. We know that the more we know, the more we know we don't know! Every day is a
school day.
PRACTITIONERS
They say knowledge is power. They are wrong.
Knowledge is potential Hero power.
We constantly learn in order to do things better, not for the sake of knowing.
PROACTIVE
We take responsibility for everything that happens to us at work. Circumstances and conditions never
control us.
A HERO EATS FROGS
We eat frogs first thing in the morning! Our “frog” is our biggest, most important task and the one we
are most likely to procrastinate on – so we tackle it first.
EXTREME OWNERSHIP
We own everything in our world and blame no one else.
RADICAL CANDOR
A Hero says what they think to colleagues, but still gives a damn about the person they’re saying it to.
HERO WORK-LIFE CONTINUUM
For us — work and home are parts of the same continuum. We don’t multitask. We work and rest in focused
sprints.
PEAK PERFORMANCE
We know that performing at your peak 24/7 is not possible even for the best Hero. We embrace
periodisation — times of uninterrupted excellence mixed with periods of rest and play.
LEARN FROM FAILURES
Anyone who has never failed has never tried anything new. We treat failures as opportunities to grow. A
Hero uses the ‘5 Whys’ to determine the root cause of a problem: Repeat the question ‘Why?’ five times with
each answer forming the basis of the next question.
The ‘5 Whys’ make a wise Hero.
LOVE WHAT WE HAVE
Some people only search for jobs that give them drive. A Hero turns what they are doing into something
that drives them.
HEROES HAVE A ‘WHY’
We don't get up in the morning to go to a job. We get up in the morning to make a better future — for
our family, for our company and for the world.
NO FACTS INSIDE THE BUILDING
We talk to our customers all the time. It’s difficult to solve their problems without leaving the
office.
EXPECT TO BE HEADHUNTED
We create teams where Heroes are actively headhunted. But they prefer to stay.
HEROES ARE FLEXIBLE
We change our minds often.
In fact, one day we hope to get into the Guinness World Records as the largest team that falls under F.
Scott Fitzgerald's definition of intelligence — The ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the
same time and still retain the ability to function.
HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND REPUTATION
We wholeheartedly agree with Warren Buffett — it takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to
ruin it. We live by this maxim.
INITIATIVE
We proactively nurture initiative.
CRITICAL THINKING
We question everything.
FOCUS
We say no a lot.
DEADLINES
Deadlines are the lifeblood of great execution. Heroes commit to them totally.
WE DISAGREE A LOT
But we fully support the decision that is taken.
HERE IS WHAT THE DATA SAYS
Is a great start to any Splento conversation.
THANK YOU AND SORRY
We take pride in apologising and we thank our stakeholders all the time.
CO-OPETITION
Heroes respect our competitors and spend a lot of time understanding how they work and learning from
them. Where possible — we cooperate.
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
The Devil is always in the detail – Heroes live for the detail.
TALENT IS OVERRATED
We know that excellence comes from Deliberate Practice — not innate talents.
EVERYTHING IS A PROCESS
Whether we’re compiling the code, hiring staff, or making breakfast — we strive to model everything as a
repeatable production process. Understanding inputs, outputs, timing, limiting steps, quality controls,
variability lets us create and improve the “machinery” needed to fulfil our organisational goals.
HIGH OUTPUT
A Hero aims to achieve the same thing: high-quality results in less time with the least waste.
UNCONDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Even in the face of factors beyond our control, we understand that there is always a degree of choice in
determining how to respond, regardless of the specific context.
HUMILITY
We do not have a special claim on reality or truth. Others have equally valid perspectives deserving
respect and consideration.
EMOTIONAL MASTERY
When our emotional circuits are strong, anyone can withstand strong charges. When they are weak, intense
emotions can blow your fuses and disable your conscious mind. We continuously try to act consciously in sync
with our best abilities when confronted with stress.
HEROES MEASURE WHAT MATTERS
We collect relevant data to track progress and measure what matters. We embrace the OKR methodology. We
us it to focus and commit to priorities, align teams and pull in the same direction. We are relentlessly
accountable and religiously track progress; we work smart and stretch beyond what’s considered possible.
ADD VALUE
We add real value to the team every day. "Just doing your job" is considered wrong.
WE ARE NOT SO SMART
We accept that cognitive biases, heuristics, attribution errors, self-handicapping, groupthink and lots
of other logical fallacies (which we have no conscious control over) have a huge influence over our thinking
and actions. However, we try to understand them so we can deal with them.
CULTURE OF CONNECTION
Every interaction is an opportunity to make a connection. We proactively collect, connect and nurture
relationships inside and outside of Splento.
POSSESSING A SUPERPOWER
The superpower each Hero brings to the table is very difficult to replace.
WE PLAY TO OUR STRENGTH
We focus on — and enhance — our strengths. We manage around our weaknesses.
NOTHING IS EVER GOOD ENOUGH
Everything can be improved, no matter how long it’s been the default option.
WE SEE SMILEY FACES AT THE END OF EACH ELECTRONIC MESSAGE
Emails and text messages don’t have facial expressions. By default, we assume each message is written
with a smiley face at the end of the sentence.
WE CHERISH CRITICAL FEEDBACK
We welcome critical feedback. Giving and receiving frequent and transparent feedback can be painful at
first, but long term it makes our team noticeably happier and more productive.