Values = How You Play

The best management lesson I’ve learned came from my friend Charles Brewer, the founder of MindSpring Enterprises. MindSpring, an early ISP, was wildly successful under Charles’s leadership. On my first visit, Charles invited me to the weekly staff meeting.

It opened with an employee reading aloud one of MindSpring’s core values from a sheet, then passing it along until each value was read. It was a wonderful way to communicate the firm’s culture.

Charles wrote the core values before starting the company.

Charles believes that how you play the game almost certainly determines whether you win or lose. He’s right.

– Kip Caffey, Cary Street Partners