Culture & Values
- 20260529_Team Building - Values, Culture - Way Ahead.docx
- Team observations from the first six months of Hub operations
Discussion Summary
We began our conversation by discussing the importance of focusing on real mission outcomes rather than just getting bogged down in contract compliance and box-checking, noting that the dual-use technologies we find can ultimately save lives. We talked about maintaining a sense of curiosity when exploring advanced technologies and trusting one another to spend time investigating new company leads. A large part of our discussion focused on our connection to Minnesota; we talked about solving global problems with local solutions by balancing a local focus with a regional reach and national coordination to help our local businesses connect to federal opportunities. We also emphasized our need to take individual initiative to solve problems on our own, the necessity of strict integrity when handling sensitive company data, and the importance of a "whole person approach" that respects our personal life challenges and aligns our individual career goals with the everyday work of our hub.
Whiteboard Capture
Photo of the values brainstorm captured during the session.
Draft Values Statements
The following seven statements were generated from our conversation and are offered for the team's iteration and confirmation.
- 1
Focused on Mission and Outcomes
- Deliver real mission results: We deliver real mission results rather than just focusing on contractual compliance or box-checking exercises.
- Support the warfighter: We support the warfighter by finding practical, dual-use technologies that can solve real-world problems and save lives.
- 2
Guided by a Curious Mindset
- Explore frontier technologies: We explore advanced, frontier technologies that keep our team excited and looking past obvious solutions.
- Trust the team to hunt: We trust each teammate to actively investigate and hunt down interesting new companies or technologies.
- 3
Inspired by Minnesota's Environment
- Solve global problems locally: We solve massive global and geopolitical problems by leveraging local capabilities built right here in our state.
- Connect local companies to federal funding: We connect local companies to federal funding by combining a regional reach with strong national coordination.
- 4
Oriented toward Innovative Missions
- Find novel uses for technology: We find novel uses for technology by looking at what a product can do, rather than just what it was originally designed to do.
- Accelerate defense solutions: We accelerate defense solutions by taking successful commercial products and adapting them to meet national security needs.
- 5
Empowered through Proactive Initiative
- Proactive permission to perform: We practice proactive permission to perform against our vision and mission without waiting for outside instructions or formal orders.
- Deliver answers from right here: We push forward with the daily belief that our team can deliver answers from right here instead of assuming they must come from somewhere else.
- 6
Centered on Integrity and Trust
- Protect sensitive information: We protect sensitive and privileged data from private companies with strict ethical boundaries.
- Give candid feedback: We provide candid, straightforward evaluations because our military stakeholders rely heavily on our word.
- 7
Synchronized through Personnel Empowerment
- Value the whole person: We value the whole person by respecting individual team members, supporting each other, and recognizing life challenges outside of work.
- Align personal goals with the mission: We align our personal career growth and motivations with the hub's goals so that our daily work is productive and fulfilling.