We work so hard to make Dragon Army the best company for the world. How do you do that? For me, it starts with re-thinking how companies should operate, especially companies in our industry (agencies…yuck).

I’m a planner. I try my best to map out the journey ahead and think hard about how to get there. To that end, I spent some time thinking about what makes a great place to work, and here’s what I came up with.

13 characteristics of a great place to work

1. An inspiring reason for being (company purpose). Your company should stand for something more than simply increasing shareholder equity. At Dragon Army, our purpose is to inspire happiness. We live that every day. Meet a dragon and tell me that’s not what they’re trying to do. I dare ya ;)
2. A clear vision and identity. Employees want to know where the company is pointed, what the company believes in and what everyone is working toward. We use a format called PVTV (Purpose, Vision, Tenets & Values). More on Dragon Army’s PVTV, and more on how you can find yours.
3. Honest leadership. The Great Game of Business helps us do this.
4. Provides “flexible” growth for employees. As an employee of a company, you should have the ability to change career paths if you’ve proven you’re a dependable, hard-working and passionate team member.
5. A culture of collaboration. Collaboration creates better work, better results, and a better culture.
6. As little politics as possible. While politics are always going to happen in a work environment, great companies have very little of it and work hard to stomp it out when it creeps up. And by politics I mean the back-stabbing, the title-grabbing, and the finger-pointing. No thanks.
7. Promotes meritocracy. Simply put, if you show that you are going to do great work, your career will grow accordingly.
8. Open communication. Great places to work are open about how the company is performing. The Great Game also helps us do this. Our team sees our financials every week, top to bottom. Here’s how I learned (the hard way) to be a better communicator.
9. Craves honest feedback from its employees.
10. A fun atmosphere. At the very start of my entrepreneurial journey, Raj and I always felt that if people are going to spend most of their waking week at the office, it should be a fun environment. When people are having fun, they work together better and they produce better work.
11. Filled with passionate people. Companies that only look at resumes and experience when hiring are far less successful than ones that hire people that are passionate about their work and the industry. And most importantly, passionate about your company purpose. I’ll hire passion over experience any day.
12. Approachable leadership. The more people feel open to talking to their leadership, the more problems will get solved and the more job satisfaction people will have. It’s one of the reasons I prefer not to have an office.
13. A great environment. A fun, open, energetic and creative environment can make a big difference in the overall atmosphere of a company.

I’m pretty sure if you follow that recipe, you’ll have a kick-ass company :) How about you? What are things that you think make a great place to work?

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