A lot of companies “define” their values by gathering the leadership team in a room, tossing around words like “integrity” or “excellence,” and selecting the ones that sound good on a slide. Then they hope–maybe even expect–that the rest of the organization will adopt them.
At KaiNexus, where I serve as a Senior Advisor, it didn't happen that way.
In fact, the company's values weren't defined until a few years into its journey–and only after Jeff Roussel (now the Chief Revenue Officer) and Greg Jacobson (CEO and co-founder) realized something important:
“We didn't write down the values and then go about trying to get people to adopt those values,” Jeff said. “These were years in the making of the people at KaiNexus behaving a certain way — and us recognizing that behavior.”
The KaiNexus values didn't come from branding exercises or external consultants. They came from people–how they work together, solve problems, and treat each other. It's one of the reasons I've stayed involved with the company for over a decade: these values aren't just written down. They're lived. Or, we do our best.
A while back, Greg and Jeff shared the origin story of these values in a short video. I encourage you to watch it–it's a great example of leadership reflection, humility, and alignment around purpose:
From Survival Mode to Deeper Reflection
In the early days, the founders were too busy keeping the business afloat to talk about values.
“At the beginning, we were just trying to survive from day to day,” says co-founder and CEO Greg Jacobson. “There was no time to reflect on these things.”
But as the company grew, Greg and Jeff noticed a change. The founding team wasn't interacting daily with everyone anymore. They had reached what Greg calls “critical mass” — a point where culture could drift if it wasn't explicitly defined.
“It became really evident that it was time to reflect on, wait, what got us to this point?” Greg says. “What are the values we believe in that have led to our success? And how do we make sure we keep them as we grow?”
The Five Core Values — With Stories Behind Them
1. We Are a Team
For Jeff, this is the heart of KaiNexus culture.
“One of the most amazing things to me is that people here are willing to put their own ego aside to make each other successful,” he says. “That's rare.”
The annual KaiNexicon user conference is a perfect example. Pulling it off requires marketing, sales, product, and customer success to work seamlessly together. “There's just no way one person can do that,” Greg notes. “We all come together as a team to contribute.”
This isn't a place for lone wolves. “Some people work better in isolation,” Greg says. “I think they wouldn't thrive here because we're so collaborative. We pull in three people from different areas and say, ‘Let's figure this out together.'”
2. Be Kind
Kindness isn't always associated with business success. “In business, people often think kindness is weakness,” Jeff says. “I just don't believe that. The people at KaiNexus don't believe that.”Being kind doesn't mean avoiding hard conversations — it means having them respectfully. “We expect our people to treat each other, our customers, and even our competitors with kindness,” Greg says. “It's especially important when things get tough.”
Jeff adds, “It's a value that shapes how we operate daily. Kindness creates a foundation of trust, and trust is essential if you want people to take risks and collaborate.”
3. Focus on the Customer
When in doubt, the values tell the team which way to lean.
“There are always things we could do to make our lives easier that would make things harder for the customer,” Jeff explains. “This value tells us which choice to make.”
That mindset shows up in product development, support, and even billing. “When the customer's not in the room, we still make decisions with them in mind,” Greg says. “If we stay grounded in their needs, the answer often becomes obvious.”
4. Trust and Be Trustworthy
Trust is a two-way street at KaiNexus.
“I think most people want to act in a trustworthy manner,” Jeff says. “But it's harder to say, ‘I'm going to give trust to other people,' maybe even before they've earned it.”
For Greg, trust is fundamental. “It's at the core of all human relationships — and business is just human relationships,” he says. “If people trust you, they'll partner with you. And if you extend trust to others, you give them the confidence to act.”
This value also guides high-stakes moments. “When we've faced difficult decisions, we've asked ourselves: what's the most trustworthy way to act?” Greg says. “It's amazing how often that clears the path forward.”
5. Work Hard and Smart
“Work hard” is easy to say, but dangerous if it means running at full speed without direction.
“We were intentional about adding ‘smart' to this value,” Jeff explains. “We want people to focus on the most important thing they could be working on right now — and then execute with intensity.”
That combination of focus and effort enables work-life balance instead of burning people out. “If you work hard and smart, you can sustain high performance,” Greg says. “And we've somehow built a team where everyone is a high performer. I've never seen that before.”
Traits That Make KaiNexus People Succeed
The values describe the “what” — the traits describe the “how.”
Defining values was only part of the picture. Over time, Greg and Jeff saw that certain personal habits–traits–made people thrive at KaiNexus. These traits weren't officially part of the values list, but they were connected in practice.
Practice Continuous Improvement
“It would be ironic if we helped customers improve but didn't do it ourselves,” Jeff says. Successful KaiNexus employees constantly refine their own workflows, big or small.
Embrace a Growth Mindset
“People aren't purely fixed or purely growth,” Greg says. “But self-awareness about which mode you're in makes all the difference.” The best performers at KaiNexus lean into discomfort as a signal for growth.
Be Organized
High performance requires systems. “We do too much work to survive without organizational habits,” Greg says. And those habits evolve — top performers continually refine them.
Show Empathy
“To me, creating empathy is the most respectful thing you can do in a conversation,” Jeff says. Empathy helps employees better understand each other, customers, and challenges — leading to better outcomes.
Take Initiative
“Our customers' challenges change too quickly for us to wait for instructions,” Jeff says. People who thrive here act without being told, and they enjoy figuring out solutions in uncharted territory.
Values as the Guiding Light
By linking values with traits, Greg and Jeff have created a culture where expectations are clear–and so is the “how” behind living them. As Greg put it: “Values help guide the thousands of decisions made every day when the founders or senior leaders aren't in the room.”
For Jeff, it's simpler: “When you see these values and traits in action, you know exactly why KaiNexus is what it is–and why it's a place people want to be.”
More Than Words on a Wall
What's striking about the KaiNexus approach is how operational the values and traits are. They're not just aspirational statements; they're active tools.
“We manage to these values every day,” Greg says. “They guide thousands of decisions — most of which happen without a founder or senior leader in the room.”
In a sense, the values are the company's operating system. They tell new hires what's expected. They reinforce the behaviors that keep the business healthy. And they ensure that as KaiNexus grows, it stays anchored in what made it successful in the first place.
Learn more about KaiNexus and our mission to spread continuous improvement:
https://www.kainexus.com
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Let’s build a culture of continuous improvement and psychological safety—together. If you're a leader aiming for lasting change (not just more projects), I help organizations:
- Engage people at all levels in sustainable improvement
- Shift from fear of mistakes to learning from them
- Apply Lean thinking in practical, people-centered ways
Interested in coaching or a keynote talk? Let’s talk.
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