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Spotlight on our values: One year of reflection on Pinterest values reimagined

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A year ago, we evolved our values as Pinterest grew and transformed. Today, Christine Deputy, Pinterest Chief People Officer, is sharing how we’re continuing to immerse our core values into our culture and how Pinployees (Pinterest employees) can live our values each and every day. 

By: Christine Deputy 

Our values are at the heart of everything we do at Pinterest. They reflect who we are and who we aspire to be, and most importantly, they help us live our mission to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love. 

A year ago, I shared that we evolved our values to ensure that they will support our next stage of growth and impact while remaining unique to Pinterest:

  1. Put Pinners First – We are relentlessly focused on Pinners’ diverse needs so that all our product, business and policy decisions are centered on their wellbeing. We actively invite Pinners to the conversation, so that we’re creating with them, not just for them.
  2. Aim for Extraordinary – We build extraordinary products and experiences because we start with a higher bar. We push ourselves—and each other—to bring the courage, craft, and quality of execution needed to win big.
  3. Create Belonging – We each take responsibility for creating a culture of belonging, we value individual perspectives and life experiences. Divergent thinking, honest debate, and real-time feedback are understood as the fuel for innovation and growth. By extending ourselves to others we build strong connections and support the well-being of our people.
  4. Act as One – We put energy into helping others succeed—and our wins belong to the entire team. We are resolute in our commitment to eliminate silos in how we work. Once a decision is made, we enthusiastically rally behind a chosen direction.
  5. Win or Learn – To achieve our mission and grow, we must constantly evolve. We make big bets and take smart risks to increase our chances of step-change results. Whether we succeed or stumble, we ensure the learning is never lost by working hard to actively bring the lessons to our next effort.

Since then, we’ve taken intentional steps to bring our new values to life and integrate them into our culture and moments that matter. We started with a “Living Our Values” series where members of our leadership team shared examples of how they model our values in their day-to-day work for all employees to see and emulate. Then, we introduced our values to all of our Pinterest teams at our Vision & Values World Tour. This was a series of virtual sessions for everyone to dive deep and understand what each value means and how they show up daily in their work. During these sessions, we asked Pinployees to write statements representing what it means to live our values, and we received a total of 3,000 statements from across the business. After reviewing, we selected 40 that best aligned with our values and showcased them in a carefully curated Life at Pinterest board for everyone to see. Check out the board and find all of the ways you’re living our Pinterest values in your professional and personal lives.

Next, we wanted to create a meaningful and true-to-Pinterest way of celebrating and rewarding Pinployees who are living our values. This month, I was thrilled to introduce the Pinterest team to Spotlight – our revamped employee recognition program that’s anchored in our values. This program gives our global team a chance to show appreciation for each other’s inspiring contributions. In the coming weeks, we’ll share stories of Pinployees who embody our Pinterest values and culture. 

This is just the beginning of our values journey, and I look forward to sharing what’s next as we continue building an inclusive and inspired culture that’s grounded in our mission: to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love.

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