A GROUP OF PEERS ON ABOLD MISSION#culturecode

To help humanity thrive by enabling all teams to work together effortlessly.

O N A M I S S I O N

MISSION STATEMENT

Image: Nyaya Health uses Asana to help improve healthcare in rural Nepal.

We’ve set out to do great things. Our mission statement is clearly defined, so everyone at Asana is aligned towards the same ultimate goal.

O N A M I S S I O N

SHARED VALUES

• Reason balanced with intuition

• Mindfulness• Balance• Honesty & transparency• Willful intention without

attachment to results• Action in the face of fear• Leverage• Pragmatic craftsmanship• Equanimity (Chillness)

• Being a mensch• Company as collective of

peers• Investing in ourselves & each

other• Admitting when you’re

wrong• Fixing problems, even if

they’re not yours• Trust wisdom over rules &

incentives

Clearly-defined values drive our culture and decision making:

Adding a to a task in the product shows gratitude or support. In the office, we treat everyone as a peer, with kindness, love, and respect.

O N A M I S S I O N

WITH LOVE

O N A M I S S I O N

INSPIRED BY ASANA USERS

Our users’ missions inspire us to continue improving Asana and motivate us to achieve our own mission.

Images: Customers Baggu, Mission Bikes, & Emerald Therapeutics

WE’RE A GROUP OF PEERSAsana is a collective of peers. We hire extraordinary people who share our values and believe in our mission.

A G R O U P O F P E E R S

EXPERIENTIAL RECRUITINGWe use an unconventional approach to recruiting. Instead of hiring quickly, we take our time to find people who are among the best in the world at what they do or who have the potential to grow into the best.

We follow 4 principles for building a world-class team:1 Get to know the whole person2 Communicate company values3 Meet people now who you might want to hire later4 The best people want to work with the best people

“How we hire” on the Asana Blog: http://asa.na/hire

A G R O U P O F P E E R S

GOLDILOCKS MANAGEMENT

Dustin Moskovitz“Goldilocks Management” on Medium

Too much management blocks creativity and the ability of teammates to reach their potential, while a completely “flat” structure keeps people from growing as much as they could. A balanced, “just right” approach gives people the freedom they need to contribute at their full potential, while also providing the support that helps them grow to become even more capable.

A G R O U P O F P E E R S

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY “AORs”Instead of having all decisions flow through management, we distribute responsibility as evenly as possible. Everyone at Asana has clearly defined AORs, for which they are the ultimate decision maker.

A G R O U P O F P E E R S

SHARED EXPERIENCES

Off-sites, learning lunches, company trips, soccer games, shared meals, birthday celebrations, and office rituals build camaraderie and help us remain a tightly knit team as we grow.

WE’RE HEALTHY & HAPPYWe believe people operate at their best when they are focused and at ease. Our culture and environment are designed to enrich our mental, physical, and professional selves.

“Asana” is the Sanskrit word for “yoga pose.” We believe in embracing the inhale and the exhale of the work day.

So, we have yoga sessions in the office.

H E A LT H Y & H A P P Y

BALANCE THROUGH YOGA

.

Fast Company: “Stop Obsessing About Productivity—Why Asana Embraces Mindfulness

as a Business Model” asa.na/mindfulness

Note: This is not an actual Asana yoga session. but a scene from a Hackathon video. For more on Hackathons, see slide 23.

H E A LT H Y & H A P P Y

HEALTHY FOOD, HEALTHY MIND

Good food gives us energy, and good conversations bring us together. Our culinary team serves three meals a day made from local, organic, and ethically raised ingredients.

Forbes: “Tech Bites: Asana – Food Focused on Productivity & Health” asa.na/mindfulness

Instagram @asanaculinary

H E A LT H Y & H A P P Y

A SPACE WE LOVEAsana’s office is conveniently located in San Francisco’s sunny Mission District, with sweeping views, comfortable lounge space, and even a grand piano.

Instagram #asanasunsets

H E A LT H Y & H A P P Y

BENEFITS KEEP US AT OUR BESTIn addition to healthy food, yoga, events, and our beautiful SF space, we offer other perks to ensure Asanas contribute at their best. • Up to $10K for our desk

setup.• Executive & life coaching to

develop and hone our skills.• TaskRabbit & Uber credits

monthly to make activities outside of work easier.

WE GET THINGS DONEAs a company, we’re devoted to improving teamwork, so it should come as no surprise that we’ve set up a structure that enables us to prioritize, get things done, and do great things.

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

EPISODE BY EPISODEWe organize our company calendar into “Episodes.” Approaching our work in focused periods of time helps us prioritize, keeps us accountable, and ensures we’re always moving forward. • We plan and define goals before the start of

each episode during Roadmap Week.• Every team sets goals for each Episode called

Key Results. • Each Episode has two special weeks: Polish

Week and Grease Week. Quora: “How are Sprints & Episodes Structured”

asa.na/episodes

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

ACHIEVING KEY RESULTS or “KRs”We give equal attention to our mission and the small steps that will get us there. Each day, we focus on putting one foot in front of the other, but never forget that we’re shooting for the moon.• We set goals, called KRs, at the beginning of

every episode, and use Asana to track our progress.

• At the end of each episode, we share a summary of our work with the community, which aligns with our value of transparency and holds us accountable to our users.

“End of Episode 8 Summary” on the Asana Blog asa.na/e8

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

SETTING MILESTONESIn addition to setting KRs for the entire episode, we set milestones to maintain momentum along the way. • We commit to

achieving a goal by a due date.

• Milestones are tracked in Asana and visible to everyone.

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

5 WHYS FOR IMPROVEMENTWe treat “failures” as opportunities for growth. • When things don’t go according to plan, we run a “5

whys” exercise. • For example, if we miss a deadline, we ask:

Why did we miss the deadline? We underestimated the time it would take. Why? We didn’t have the right tools set up. Why? etc.

• By the time you get to your “fifth why,” you get to the root of the problem.

• Then, you can better avoid the same issues in the future.

“Episode 8 Polish Week” on the Asana Blogasa.na/polish8

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

POLISH WEEK

• Every episode we take a week away from our normal schedule to make user-facing improvements.

• Polish Week is also a fun time in the Asana office: We dress up, eat Polish food, and even paint our nails and faces.

Building a well-designed product requires pragmatic craftsmanship, which is one of our values.

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

GREASE WEEK• Grease Week is Polish

Week’s counterpart.• During Grease Week, we

make internal improvements, like fine tuning our processes and updating tools.

• We don’t add any new features during Grease Week, but the work we accomplish is vital to our ability to ship features efficiently in the future.

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

HACKATHONS

There are only a few rules for Asana Hackathons:1 Hackathons are held once per

Episode.2 Everyone participates, even

non-technical teammates.3 Have fun. Get creative.

Challenge yourself.4 Ship it & show it at Hackathon

demos. “Thankshacking” on the Asana Blog

asa.na/thankshack13

Hackathons give us time to do the things we don’t normally do, learn something new, or do something totally outside our comfort zones.

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

NO MEETING WEDNESDAYS• We really don’t have

meetings on Wednesdays. It sounds simple, but requires discipline.

• The goal of NMW is to ensure that everyone gets a large block of time each week to do focused work.

• Free from interruptions, we complete more tasks and have more time to focus on what needs to get done.

Business Insider: “Why Every Office Should Try ‘No Meeting Wednesdays’”

asa.na/nmw

Wednesday 1/15

About to write an email?Write a task comment instead.

Have a team announcement? Use the shared Asana project.

Need to ask a question or get an updated file?Create a task.

We’ve eliminated the vast majority of internal emails. Instead, we keep work & conversations together in Asana. Here’s how we do it:

01 02 03

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

TEAMWORK WITHOUT EMAIL, IN PRACTICE

G E T T H I N G S D O N E

WE USE ASANA AT ASANAAsana is more than a product, it’s a way to work together. Every time we improve our product, we improve our own ability to work together, and get one step closer to achieving our mission.

DO GREAT THINGS.For more information on our culture and team visit asana.com/team.To change the way your team works together, sign up at asana.com.