Recently, I had lunch with somone who had just visited one of our competitors and we got talking about company cultures. As we ate lunch, he began to talk about just how different each company “felt.”

That same day, we had an all hands meeting at Jive. We showed some of the big deals we did in Q2. We had non-traditional “org charts” that showed the teams that pulled it off (Sales person as quarterback, the rest of the company as their team). We then had a section where we applauded the stand-out GNAK’s for the quarter. That’s when I realized the big difference at Jive. We’re very GNAK-centric.

What is a GNAK?

A GNAK is a “Good-Natured Ass Kicker” and it’s a personality trait that we take very seriously. This term has been around since the company started over seven years ago. It’s something we look for when we interview, and it’s behavior we reward.

Ass kickers can be jerks

We’ve all worked with someone who’s out for themselves and who runs over everyone in the process. Sure, they can do a good job but it’s at the expense of a lot of people and oftentimes can be worse for the culture then the kicked-ass gains.

It’s not enough to be good-natured

I’ve worked at places where people are “nice” and just punch the timecard. They’re pleasant to work with but don’t bring fire to their job. It’s important to be careful on this one. Some good-natured people are pretty laid back and it’s easy to think they might not also be an ass kicker. That said, good-natured isn’t enough.

GNAKs

It’s the combination of these attributes that we’ve found to be central to our company and our culture. GNAKs are hard to find but I can easily say that I work with the highest concentration of GNAKs I’ve ever worked with before. Oftentimes I’m asked what the difference is between Jive and other companies. The first thing that springs to mind is that we’re a company of GNAKs. That’s not what I say, of course.