Goodbye to Twitter (for now)
Values are core to who we are. What you believe in and how you behave as a result matters. Early on at Aha! — long before we had even hired our first non founding teammate — Chris and I talked about what kind of company we wanted to build. We wrote first drafts of what would become The Responsive Method and the values that still guide us today. First on the list was integrity.
No drama and no dysfunction. There is no wiggle room when it comes to being honest and having strong moral principles.
Every other Aha! value builds upon integrity. Skill, effort, ambition, learning, and team spirit — collectively each one rests on that foundation of integrity. We do our best to honor our values in everything we do. This enables us to operate a sustainable and healthy business. We do not always get it right but the last decade suggests that we have done fairly well being respectful and putting people first.
We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone is respected for who they are and appreciated for their contributions. Our team and our customers hail from all regions of the globe and are different in many ways. But we treat each individual the same — with kindness and dignity.
Under Elon Musk’s leadership, X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) appears to have increasingly become a haven for hate. The promotion of hate normalizes it and leads to more hate. Tacit approval of bigotry emboldens people who do not respect or care for others, often leading to violent acts.
This is why we can no longer as a company (or myself as an individual) support or engage with the platform. We will immediately cease posting for the foreseeable future. If things change and respectful dialogue is honored, we may return.
There are moments small and large that demand courage. You do what is right because you must. And if not you, who will?
Our leaving the platform will not likely create widespread change. But hopefully sharing our reasoning publicly will inspire others to take action. It is up to you. You can choose to only engage with companies and leaders who demonstrate respect for others. Because without integrity, everything else crumbles from within.
As always, there are plenty of ways to stay close to what we are doing. There is the Aha! blog and newsletters. You can also find Aha! and myself on LinkedIn, where I publish a biweekly newsletter as well. We frequently have lively conversations with the LinkedIn community and would be thrilled if you joined us. (You can also comment on this update there.)
