It’s become quite vogueish in the tech world to publish a culture book. It’s increasingly recognised as an important part of the mix when starting up and building a business, espoused by business leaders like Zappos’ Tony Hsieh. It’s something we’ve been working on – hard – at Techdept for the last four years or more. We realised early on that our culture was a sustainable competitive advantage: our secret sauce! Someone could set up down the road, call themselves Tech Depot, and employ some developers. But they wouldn’t be Techdept. It’s helped us hire the right people, glues us together in tough times, and papers over any cracks in our systems. We’ve created a common framework not only for what we do, but how we do it. Oh, and it isn’t just a case of going out for a few drinks every now and then (though we do like that!). Our aim is to be as open as possible in the way we operate. We genuinely want all our team - from the intern to the MD - to be able to put their hand up and be heard. It is only through being open to new ideas, ways of seeing, and of thinking, that we will be able to thrive. We believe that a modern business leader should create a platform for their team, lead by example and create a working culture and vision that’s worth fighting for. Then our team can put their eyes on the horizon, and achieve our goals as a shared effort – having some fun along the way. And while we’re not quite a ‘manager–less’ business, we have adapted concepts like Holocracy to better fit our small growing business, as well as stealing other concepts like “Flow”, “Intrinsic Motivation”, and strengths based management. Anyway, have a read, see what you think – this is 100% as it comes if you worked here. Hopefully it will help you grow your business too. Dan Kirby & Rick Grundy Founders

1. OUR OPEN BUSINESS
{aculturebook}
Last updated: January 2015
© Techdept.
www.techdept.co.uk

2. © Techdept.
PREFACE:
our Open Business System
› The Open Business System is a management
method we have made in house. It brings together a
few different strands of thinking, and blends them
with a culture where we believe everyone can
contribute
› Our approach has been heavily inspired by:
The idea of creating a ‘Franchise Model’ of your business
– a System – from the book The e-Myth
Intrinsic Motivation (Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose) from
Dan Pink’s book & TED talk
Flow – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept that you are
more productive when doing something that you are
good at and enjoy – you reach a state of ‘flow’
John Hagel’s concepts of Knowledge Flows and a shift
from Transactions to Relationships
› This comes from a genuine belief that the founders
and directors cannot be the font of all knowledge
› The objective is to pool all our team’s experiences
into documented best practice. We cumulatively
agree ‘the best way’ to do things – and write them
down in a series of checklists
› We are reliant on each other for success, and you
cannot know everything in advance, so agility and
open-ness to ideas from any source is critical
› We should aim to learn as we operate – to create a
learning organisation
› This means that we can simultaneously lock down –
and open up our operations. This creates
robustness when under pressure, but flexibility to
adapt. It helps guide junior’s progress, as they
benefit from our pooled insight and willingness to
listen
› Ultimately The Open Business System is designed to
deliver our Promises (keeping our clients coming
back) which itself is a sales and marketing machine

3. © Techdept.
WE SAY TO ALL OUR TEAM:
”The system is the boss.”
“You can change the system.”
“Therefore you are the boss.”

4. © Techdept.
NOTE:
on industrial democracy, manager-less companies & Holocracy
› The ultimate in open-ness is in companies where
the workers run the business. Perhaps the most well
known of the proponents of
industrial democracy isRicardo Semler – owner of
Brazilian industrial conglomerate Semco. This
helped us in our thinking, but we’re not there yet…
› We were more influenced by an article from
Harvard Business Review:
First, Let’s Fire All The Managers, which describe
the practices of Californian tomato processing
plant Morning Star (revenues of $700m
› The article is a great insight into methods of
creating transparency and distributing authority:
”Morning Star, which has seen double-digit growth
for the past 20 years, has no managers. That’s right
—no bosses, no titles, no promotions. Its employees
essentially manage themselves.”
› What we liked about Morning Star’s approach was
the idea of creating a peer review system which
essentially managed the business, acting like an
interconnected support structure. As one worker
said: “around here no-one is your boss, and
everyone is your boss”
› The more recent Holocracy movement, has codified
an approach to a ‘manager-less’ business
http://holacracy.org/
› The problem we found with Holocracy is that it is a
lot of overhead. We’re not sure anyone who isn’t full
time employed to implement Holocracy could make
it work. But there are definitely things to learn from
their thorough approach
› We also admire Buffer’s Open Business Blog, and
the ways they are pushing the boundaries of
transparency
› We hope that The Open Business System takes the
best aspects of these approaches and makes them
simple to implement, while staying true to the
principles of a more open organisation

5. © Techdept.
THE ROLE OF CULTURE
› To foster an open business, you
need an open culture – as neatly
illustrated here by Tom
Fishburne…
› This doesn’t happen overnight,
or with a new ‘social’ intranet –
it’s a genuine commitment from
the top down to open up and
listen – and systematically act
on the feedback
› Also, no “system” is perfect.
So we rely on our active and
clearly defined culture, goodwill,
professionalism and initiative to
help identify & plug gaps in how
we do things
› At the centre of our culture is
the aim to Be Collaborative

6. © Techdept.
THE OPEN BUSINESS SYSTEM: 5 COMPONENTS
5. Personal structure
– Clear job description,
and responsibilities,
lines of authority
– Organisational chart
– ‘Personal Mission
Statement’
– Documented direction
and candid feedback to
staff
– Quantifiable Objectives
and Key Results
1. “Building Blocks”:
Mission, Vision, Brand
Essence, Promise
2. Clearly defined Values & ‘ways
of behaving’: Culture
3. An agreed operational System
– Clearly defined business
systems (checklists) for
all areas of the business -
which everyone follows,
no matter their status
4. Ways to feedback on and
iterate the System
– Post Project Reviews
– Structured
departmental meeting
agendas
– Tinypulse – which
allows anonymous
feedback
– System Team meeting:
where we review and
prioritise Innovations

7. © Techdept.
OUR BUILDING BLOCKS
› Our Brand Essence
The expert
digital colleague.
› Our vision:
We will be known
all over the world as a
centre of excellence for
creative and marketing
technology innovation.
In 5 years we will turnover
£10m, with NP of 20%
› Our Mission
(to June 2015)
To create a
rock solid business
to meet our future
ambitions.

8. © Techdept.
OUR PROMISE:
• We’ll imagine great new technology ideas, but only use those
appropriate for the job.
• We’ll speak in plain English: explaining benefits, risks and
costs upfront.
• We’ll test our work before handing over, and be proactive to
ensure we launch on time.

9. © Techdept.
OUR BRAND
the expert digital colleague
OUR
VISION
“what we will be”
OUR
MISSION
“what we will do”
OUR
VALUES
create a great working
culture which glues us
together, retaining good
staff and clients
OUR
PROMISE
to each other
and our clients., focusing
and committing us to
the most important
aspects of our complex
work, which will then
support our vision
& our brand
OUR
OPEN
BUSINESS
SYSTEM
captures lessons and
insights to continually
find the ‘best way’ to do
things. These will be
turned into a series of
checklists which will
deliver our work better
every time.
Our Building Blocks:
We will be known all
over the world as a
centre of excellence for
creative and marketing
technology innovation.
We will turnover £10m,
with NP of 20%
Collaborative, Positive,
Imaginative, Clear,
Precise
To create a rock solid
business to meet our
future ambitions.
>Cascades into
people’s OKR’s<
COMPANY
OKR’s
OUR BUILDING BLOCKS: OVERVIEW

10. © Techdept.
OUR CULTURE:
Culture is the glue that keeps us together when systems,
processes and technology are incomplete or incorrect.
It is as important as any technical skill.
We should guard our values carefully, as they form
a key part of our sustainable competitive advantage. Other
companies can copy our name, products, services –
but they will struggle to copy our culture.
This is the thing that keeps customers
coming back for more: our secret sauce ;0)

11. © Techdept.
OUR CULTURE: “THE 5 BE’S”
5. Be Precise
- Check, check, check: Only the
paranoid survive! Do you know
it works?
- Get it right first time, every time:
follow the checklists
- Write things down
1. Be Collaborative
- Work with your client, colleague,
partner
- ‘Maybe They’re Right’ > discuss,
listen, reflect
- Build strong relationships,
through honesty + delivery
2. Be Positive
- Proactively manage all
relationships – don’t sit back,
drive the process. Be upfront if
problems occur.
- Bring energy & passion to the
job...it rubs off!
- What could or should be there?
Suggest and improve
- Think around a problem, don’t
drill through rocks
3. Be Imaginative
- Steal from the world:
be aware of what’s going on &
use it
- Think different – don’t do what
you’ve always done
- Stay fresh! Keep updating your
knowledge
4. Be Clear
- ‘No wobble gobble’ > use plain
english
- ‘Which means that...’ > focus on
the benefits
- ‘Short is sweet’ > brevity is clarity
- ‘A picture says...’ > communicate
visually

12. BE
COLLABORATIVE
Consult.
Discuss.Listen.
Suggest.
This is
our most
important
value

13. © Techdept.
“THE EXPERT DIGITAL COLLEAGUE”
Our brand is built on the idea that we are “an expert colleague”.
This is the role that we play to each other and our clients.
How can you be an expert colleague?
It is a mixture of our culture, and your specific skills & insights.
Are you approachable, thoughtful and a great communicator?
Do you really listen and empathise with people?
Are you knowledgeable, yet hungry to learn?
Are you willing to stretch yourself, thinking laterally?
Are you adding value at every interaction – whether with your team or client?

14. © Techdept.
Overview of our ‘Business Systems’

15. Sales &
Client Servicing
System
Workflow
System
Production
System
Management System
Operations & IT Systems
Culture
Accounts
System
Data > Actionable Metrics
R&D

16. © Techdept.
Management System

17. © Techdept.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
Our Guiding Principles
• Strengths Based Management
If people do what they enjoy we create the state of “Flow” – where people will enjoy their work more, and
be more productive
• Intrinsic motivation: “is better for 21st Century tasks where the rules are ‘mystifying’
and the solution may not exist”:
– Autonomy:
The urge to direct our own lives
– Mastery:
The desire to get better and better at something that matters
– Purpose:
The yearning to do what we do in the service of something bigger than ourselves
• Be Collaborative
Consult, listen, suggest, discuss. Be open and honest. Listen, empathise and communicate. Ask for help,
share problems. Be clear eyed. A good ‘expert colleague’.

18. © Techdept.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
overview of management planning
› 3 year vision:
This sets the context for the strategic decisions we
make. Our longer term objectives.
› Annual
We create an Annual Business Plan, financial plan &
sales targets. The plan creates focus for activity through
the year, and will be the benchmark against which we
measure success.
› 6 months
We review everyone’s personal development plans /
personal missions. We review financial forecasts and the
business plan.
› Quarterly
We have Strategy Team meetings to review activity vs
the Annual Business Plan.
› 6 Weekly
We hold staff 1 to 1’s every 6 weeks to discuss their
OKR’s, and any other opportunities, issues or concerns
› Monthly
We have a monthly meeting schedule, which reviews
output and identifies issues and areas to innovate /
improve.
› “Actionable Metrics” Reports are generated from our
tech platforms to focus future actions
› Meetings include:
− Team meeting
− Sales
− Accounts
− Studio
− Creative
− System Team
− The System Team is the people in leadership
positions review and prioritise innovations and review
operational performance
› Weekly activity
Production meeting,, sales meeting, check back up
› Daily
Studio ‘huddles’, Project meetings, Management by
Walking About, Task Management, CRM

19. © Techdept.
MEASUREMENT & “ACTIONABLE METRICS”
› A Business Performance Report will
be prepared and presented to the
System Team every month
› “what gets measured gets managed”
Peter Drucker
› We should measure the impact that
any innovations to our systems have
to our business
› Key is to measure only a handful of
things – focusing only on the most
important
› We want data from which we make
decisions & take action: Actionable
Metrics
› Armed with specific information we
will be able to make better
decisions, with greater urgency
› Our Actionable Metrics are:
q Actual GP vs Target GP
q Sales GP vs Rate Card Hours Spent
{on a Job}
– Problem Jobs: why?
– Good Jobs: why?
q Budgeted Hours vs Actual Hours
– Problem Jobs: why?
– Good Jobs: why?
q Time to be paid
– Good / bad payers
q Number of pitches vs win rate

20. © Techdept.
Personal Development Plans,
OKR’s & 1 to 1’s

21. © Techdept.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS:
process overview
Company
mission
& goals
Personal
mission
& goals
OKR’s:
6 month review
Line manager
1 to 1’s
every 6 weeks
Annual
Personal
Development
Plan
(PDP)
&
Business
Planning
Process
OKR’s:
1/4ly review
Objectives, Key Results

22. © Techdept.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:
Personal Development Plans
Our aim is to make sure everyone knows what is expected of them,
and that feedback is regular and structured, aiming for us all to focus on our strengths.
The Personal Development Plan (PDP) process is designed to create a forum to do just that.
The full PDP process (with pay review) takes place in June each year,
the first month of our new financial year.
At the annual PDP we invite all the team to anonymously give feedback
on every other team member (no matter the status) based on our values, and key areas of
personal focus (eg proactivity, communication). We are all one team working towards a
common vision so feedback from our peers is really important.

23. © Techdept.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:
the Personal Mission Statement
Everyone is tasked to create their own Personal Mission Statement
through the Personal Development Plan process
This is a statement of why they come to work
– their higher purpose – not the tasks they perform day to day
So this could be:
“To create customer delight”
“To create wonderful designs”
“To get things right first time every time”

24. © Techdept.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:
OKRs and 1 to 1’s
During the PDP process, we will establish our Objectives & Key Results,
the method we use to progress our personal development
First you define an Objective (eg “I will learn XYZ new skill”)
And then the Quantifiable results that show you have achieved it
(eg “read book on that skill, employed it on x3 projects, taught someone else”)
People should have no more than 3 OKR’s per ¼ (equivalent to one a month).
They are saved for everyone to see in OneDrive.
This to be reviewed every 6 weeks in a session with their line manager – called “1 to 1s”.
This is a forum for the employee to discuss how things are going (in general)
and review OKR’s. We were very influenced by this article on Buffer’s Blog:
https://blog.bufferapp.com/a-simple-guide-to-better-coaching-and-feedback-in-your-company
If OKR’s are not being achieved, we should reduce them,
so the staff member can focus on the most important one(s)

25. © Techdept.
MORE ABOUT OKR’s
› OKR’s should originate from the employee
› They must have the ability to track results on a
quantitative basis – ie can be measured
› Be openly discussed:
looked at every quarter, every week, every day
› Have objectives that push you to your limits – they
should be a stretch
› Be public – so everyone knows everyone else’s focus
› Be tied to developing skills, particularly for
commercially focused people {this could be as simple as
reading a book}
› Not be tied to PDP’s / pay reviews
{they should be ambitious, and should motivate and
align people}
− Pay reviews should come from 360 feedback + available
budget + annual assessment of performance, as documented
in the 1 to 1s
› For a good in depth argument for OKRs, which we used
as a basis for our system, read:
http://firstround.com/article/How-to-Make-OKRs-
Actually-Work-at-Your-Startup

26. © Techdept.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:
annual PDP process
› Pre meeting
i) Staff are presented the yearly Business Plan
(only in June PDP)
ii) Team fills in & submits PDP Documentation:
a) PDP Meeting 1 Document
b) 360 Peer Review sheet:
1-5 scoring on:
The x5 Be’s
Communication (written / verbal)
Proactivity
Personal QA
Good At, Could work on
(open field feedback – not shared to team, any
feedback is summarised)
iii) System Team discuss & review 360 feedback + any
‘Quantifiable Data’ eg logging time / sales
iv) Line manager writes up feedback (general or
specific)
› Meeting 1 Agenda
- Review & discuss
i) Previous Personal Mission
ii) This year’s PDP documentation & peer review
- Review key themes and changes in Business Plan
- OKR review
› Post Meeting 1
- Line Manager writes up any notes & feedback from the
meeting
- Discusses with System Team to get group feedback if
any issues
- Staff member writes their Personal Mission Statement

27. © Techdept.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:
annual PDP process
› Meeting 2 Agenda
Ø Discussion around the last PDP notes, specifically any
issues or concerns
Ø Staff present their Personal Mission Statement to
discuss
Ø Write down further feedback from discussions
Ø Pay review
Ø Reiterate key themes of Business Plan
› Post meeting
- Line manager writes up any further notes, to create
definitive PDP Feedback Document for employee
- This document is added to their file
• Mission Meeting
- We all meet as a group and each staff member discusses
their Mission & OKR’s for the next ¼

28. © Techdept.
PDP PROCESS: MISSION MEETING
After the PDP process is complete we hold a “Mission Meeting”
where everyone in the company shares their:
o Personal Mission Statement
o 1/4ly OKR’s
This is important so we all have an understanding of everyone else’s
focus and priorities.
This will help us to work better as a team – an interconnected structure.

29. © Techdept.
Operational & Workflow Systems

30. © Techdept.
OUR OPERATIONS:
• There are 3 core components which make up our
day to day operations:
1) Our People
› Clear roles and organisational structure,
communicated across the team
› To understand not just what we do, but how we
should do it. This is our Culture.
2) The Way We Do Things
We aim to create checklists to define the best way to
manage each area of our business. We call these
checklists ‘systems’.
These systems include working processes, templated
documentation, key stages of development or testing
procedures.
They are designed to evolve as we learn, so we always
refine “the best way” to do something.
3) Technology
These are the tools we use to support our work,
record and measure activity, and deliver our projects.
› If any aspect of these 3 core components is not
working properly, it is up to all of us to suggest
improvements:
You Can Change The System
› We are one team working together, so we need
everyone’s perspective to ensure a harmonious
business:
Therefore You Are The Boss
› Feedback and innovations should be suggested via
our Monthly Meetings schedule, Post Project
Reviews, or via Tinypulse

31. © Techdept.
Workflow System

32. © Techdept.
THE WORKFLOW SYSTEM
Our Workflow System is the engine by which we consistently deliver excellent work.
Out of all our operating systems, this is the one that impacts most people, most of the time
The Workflow System is a marketing machine.
Why?
Because it keeps our promises. This keeps our customers coming back
and recommending us to their friends and colleagues.
It helps us to get our work right first time, every time.
It reduces miscommunication, misunderstandings and mistakes,
and all the stress and hassle that creates, which no-one wants!

33. © Techdept.
THE WORKFLOW SYSTEM:
designed to change
The Workflow System is designed to support us as we go about our work,
acting as a working blueprint of the ‘best way’ to do what we do.
This will support us when we are all busy with many things going on at a time.
Critically, this working blueprint is designed to change.
And it is YOU who have the power, and responsibility, to change it
Our mantra is:
The System Is The Boss
You Can Change The System
Therefore You Are The Boss

34. © Techdept.
THE WORKFLOW IS A RELAY RACE
Successfully passing the baton requires both parties
to make a focused effort to get it right first time.

35. © Techdept.
HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY RELAY:
1.
Comms First,
Task Second
Talk to your colleagues and clients, make
sure everyone truly understands the task
before diving into work.
3.
Personal QA:
“Check Check Check”
Do you KNOW it works?
Have you checked every spelling?
Your work should be bulletproof when it
leaves your desk – don’t leave others to
do your tidying up.
2.
If In Doubt,
Shout!
If you’re not sure what to do, don’t carry
on blindly. Ask around, often people
have solved an issue on a previous
project, or have a fresh perspective.

36. © Techdept.
1.
Define
2.
Design
3. Build
4. Test
5.
Launch
6.
Learn
THE WORKFLOW SYSTEM: OVERVIEW

37. © Techdept.
Sales & Client
Servicing System:
Sales
&
Account
Manager
Teams
1) Define
Sales
&
Account
Manager
&
Studio
Teams
TK
2) Design
Design
Team
3) Build
Dev Team
Account Manager Team
Red flags if any production issues
DS RG
WORKFLOW SYSTEM > PROCESS
(1 of 2)
TK TK

38. © Techdept.
5) Test
& Launch
Personal QA
Testing
&
BETA
processes
Sign off
processes
Marketing
campaigns
6) Learn
Ø Post project
reviews:
Lessons learnt
Ø Job
profitability
reports
System Team Meeting
RG
DK
JR
JK
TK
DS
CF
AM Team
Team Meeting
Issues /
Ideas /
Innovations
MONTHLY MEETING SCHEDULE
BusinessPerformanceReport
Innovations
WORKFLOW SYSTEM > PROCESS
(2 of 2)
Red flags if any production issues

39. Dan Kirby, co-founder & CEO
www.twitter.com/thedankirby
www.techdept.co.uk
www.twitter.com/techdept
DRAFTED BY:
© Techdept.

40. © Techdept.

41. WE’RE A MARKETING TECHNOLOGY AGENCY:
We often act as the ‘bridge’ between marketing & IT departments.
Or with a creative vision and a technical reality.
We understand form as well as function.

42. © Techdept.
WE ACT AS
YOUR EXPERT
COLLEAGUE
Our team’s background is diverse.
Branding, advertising, social media,
IT, entrepreneurship. And - of course -
web design & build. This helps you
navigate our new digital world.

43. WE’VE HELPED:

44. GET INSIGHTS AT BLOG.TECHDEPT.CO.UK