Note from Ali Winkle, CEO:

When we started Just Drive Media nearly 20 years ago, we didn’t set out to build a company with defined values. Like a lot of startups, we focused on the work: what we could create, who we could help, and how to build a team that cared about doing it right.

But over time, we realized that the best work wasn’t happening despite the lack of structure, it was happening because we were living by an unwritten set of rules. We knew what mattered to us. We just hadn’t named it yet.

That changed after I attended a founder event where someone shared how articulating their values transformed their company. It helped align their team, attract the right people, and make tough calls easier. I went home and started digging in, researching what makes values meaningful, how to avoid the trap of generic corporate-speak, and how to make them stick. That work, plus years of real experience, helped us land on the five words that guide everything we do today: curiosity, mastery, integrity, partnership, and courage.

These aren’t aspirational. They’re how we’ve always operated. And by naming them, we gave ourselves—and everyone on our team—a shared foundation.

It’s helped us become the best version of who we’ve always been. And it’s why we’re proud to be named an Inc. Best Workplace for the third year in a row.

We didn’t land on our values overnight

Our values are a product of years of real work, hard calls, team growth, and learning from others. What started as notes from messaging sessions and inspiration from leaders we admired turned into something lasting.

We studied what made our team tick, and what made us different. We drew inspiration from leaders like Chip Conley, Ray Dalio and Jeff Weiner, and programs like Scaling Up and Flow Research Collective. We got clear on the difference between values you aspire to and values you actually live. And we kept asking: What do we show up with every day? What do our best partnerships have in common?

Curiosity, mastery, integrity, partnership, and courage aren’t just words, they’re shorthand for how we work. They’re baked into every part of the business, from hiring and onboarding to performance conversations and peer reviews. They’re why we’ve said no to work that doesn’t align, and why amazing people stick around and do the best work of their careers.

Here’s what these words mean to us:

• Curiosity - We have a deep desire to know more, to dig deeper and ask questions to stress-test our thinking and become more informed, so that we can offer the best possible counsel to our clients.
• Mastery - We are committed to the pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement in all that we do. We aim to be masters in our craft. Echoing Robert Greene's "Mastery," we hold that excelling in any field stems not solely from inherent talent but from the persistent pursuit of specific skills and knowledge.
• Integrity - We do what we say we’ll do, with pride and integrity. We are accountable for ourselves and our work - there are no shortcuts to success.
• Partnership - Success stems from a sturdy foundation of win-win relationships for everyone involved - our company, our customers, our partners and ourselves. We are a collaborative group and seek out customers and team members that will join us in this crucial spirit.
• Courage - We have the courage to try new things, to speak up and voice ideas, be bold with clients, and to share and accept critical feedback. Courage to do and be more is what helps us grow in the pursuit of mastery.

When values are this embedded, they show up in everything

Our values show up in the way we invest in learning—not just through internal coaching and training, but through book clubs chosen by the team, Flow-based development sessions that connect growth and recovery, and custom growth and development programs based on what people really want to learn.

They show up in how we experiment. From testing out new AI tools and generating ideas for our AI challenge, to launching creative campaigns that stretch our thinking, we create space to try new things, and turn good instincts into better outcomes.

They show up in how we support each other. We’ve built a culture where feedback is expected, thoughtful, and part of how we grow—reinforced by monthly two-way check-ins, ongoing peer recognition, and a strong sense of shared responsibility. Our managers lead with transparency and care. Our team leads with trust.

And they show up in the benefits we offer, like tenure-based sabbaticals with spending stipends, our lifestyle stipend (expanded from a health stipend to support everything from elder care to therapy to gym passes), and flexible time off that’s actually taken—because we believe recovery is essential to mastery, and care for one’s self is essential to being a true partner to others.

Most of all, they show up in the work. The quality, the consistency, the way we solve hard problems together. The way we listen. The way we lead.

How our values are carrying us into our future

And while these values have always been part of how we operate, today they’ve more important than ever. In a world where everything moves fast and changes even faster, our values bring clarity to our work, how we do it, and how we treat people along the way.

That’s why we’re proud—really proud—to be named to the Inc. Best Workplaces list for the third year in a row, and to Ragan’s Top Places to Work for Communicators in 2024. These awards don’t just recognize a great place to work. They reflect what our values make possible: high-trust, high-impact, purpose-driven work that delivers for our clients and our team.

So if you’ve been wondering whether company values still matter, we’ll say this: ours have never mattered more.