10X has a set of core values — the 10X Values — that we established at the end of 2019. These are the "heartbeat" of the company, the values that underpin everything we do. After two years of operating under them, we've updated them. Here's what changed and why.

TL;DR

  • The company has changed significantly, so the whole team revisited the 10X Values and updated them. We'll run with this version for roughly two years before reassessing.
  • Since the 10X Values inform every interaction with every stakeholder, being transparent about the thinking behind them matters.
  • We want to work with people who share these values!

Why an Update Was Needed

In the second half of 2021, we started noticing more and more moments where the 10X Values weren't working as intended, given the rapid changes in both our business and our organization.

This showed up gradually through member feedback and day-to-day friction or misalignment.

Changed Circumstances

When we first drafted the 10X Values, Stailer as a product didn't even exist yet, and we had about ten employees.

Now, Stailer is firmly in a scaling phase, and headcount is approaching sixty.

The underlying assumptions had changed dramatically. An update was essentially inevitable.

Sample Member Feedback

Here's one example of feedback I received directly:

I think the current Values have felt very individually focused. But I think we're entering a phase where we need to shift from "individual" to "team." I'd love for us to find a way to convey that we're aiming for big outcomes as a team, while also empowering individuals through the team.

Looking at the current 10X Values: "Reverse Engineer" is fine, but the other two — "Autonomy" and "Lead by Example" — read as individually focused (though you could interpret them as applying to teams too, I guess). As we enter a more execution-heavy phase, having a value more explicitly focused on team outcomes would help cultivate better culture.

It particularly stood out that even newer members gave this kind of feedback. When you're inside a company, it's hard to notice certain things or keep them in focus. A fresh perspective from someone new is genuinely valuable, and I want to protect a culture where that kind of feedback can be shared — and actually received.

Why Share the Context?

These values aren't just internal. They matter equally in how 10X engages with the outside world. So we felt that everyone who's interested in 10X should have access to the context behind them.

For instance, the 10X Values are used in:

  • Every stage of our hiring process, where evaluation forms are built around them
  • Semi-annual performance reviews, which include feedback on how well each person embodies the values
  • Reviews of partner communication plans to check alignment with the values
  • And more

The values are the background behind how everyone at 10X — including me — acts and speaks.

Proactively sharing the context behind an update is, I believe, basic respect for all our stakeholders.

The 10X Values

Let me introduce the new Values.

We kept the format of "Value + Recommended Behaviors (Dos)" but updated the three Values to:

  • Think 10x
  • Take Ownership
  • As One Team

Individual Values moved from Japanese to English, the Dos became simpler, and the content evolved — but the core spirit remained. Think of it as an upgrade, not a rewrite.

How We Did the Update

We started by surfacing and articulating the gap between where members were and what the company needed — including a lot of 1-on-1s where I listened directly to people. My early read was that the core theme was a transition from "individual" to "team."

From there, we followed a structured process:

[Process for updating the 10X Values]

The company-wide offsite was a particularly important step. The format was simple: divide everyone into groups of five, run a KPT (Keep/Problem/Try) exercise on the current Values, and have each group present. With so many members who rarely work closely together day-to-day, having everyone focused on the same topic — the Values — and aligning on it was irreplaceable.

The consolidated output across all groups looked like this:

image

From there, leadership identified three core issues:

  1. Add a distinct Value that explicitly addresses throughput as a team
  2. Consolidate "Autonomy" and "Lead by Example" to reduce interpretive drift and redundancy
  3. Update "Reverse Engineer from 10x" to allow for more appropriate interpretation

When working on high-abstraction projects like this, convergence is hard. But asking "If you had to name the three most important, concrete things to solve, what would they be?" tends to make the path forward much clearer. Highly recommended.

After that came many rounds of deliberation in leadership meetings, repeated rewording, debates over Japanese vs. English, member feedback on our drafts, and incorporating that feedback — until we arrived at the final version.

(The full process is documented in an internal doc — come see for yourself if you're curious)

How Long Will We Use These?

Just as this update was necessary, the 10X Values aren't something you set once and forget — they need to evolve alongside the company.

I had a conversation about this with Miyata-san from SmartHR/Nstock, who mentioned that SmartHR sets a two-year shelf life for their Mission. Eye-opening. Two years is absolutely long enough for a startup's foundational assumptions to shift completely.

So we're setting a target shelf life of approximately two years for the new 10X Values as well.

How's It Going Post-Update?

Since this was an upgrade rather than a complete overhaul, there's no big "the company has changed!" feeling. But gradually I'm noticing the new Slack emoji stamps being used more, the hiring evaluation forms updated, and more day-to-day opportunities to actually use the values.

The original spirit of the 10X Values, for me, goes back to a Day One mindset from the founding. I want to keep leaning into them fully.

Finally — We're Hiring (Hard)

The hiring energy radiating from 10X right now is extraordinary. Of course, investing in hiring requires a business that's growing fast enough to justify it — and right now, 10X is hitting the accelerator hard to respond to strong market demand.

Building "organizational resilience" and "a structure where diverse outputs translate into business results" is this year's defining challenge. Hiring is the frontline of that work, and leadership is fully committed (especially our CTO Ishikawa-san, whose evolution in this area has been genuinely impressive).

As of February 2022, we have 28 open positions on the business side, 7 on the corporate side — 35 total. There's likely a fit for your background, skills, and the values described here.

If you're even slightly curious, please reach out — through our regular Open Office events, my Meety page, or a casual chat with any 10X team member. Links at the bottom.

We hope you'll continue to support the new 10X Values and the 10X ahead!