Most companies write their values down and never look at them again. Ours help us decide how to act in the tough moments when it’s easier to ignore them.
Who we are
Five values, remote working, and some sausages.
Fairness
Do the right thing, not the easy thing.
Humane
Design with real needs in mind, not just clever ideas.
Intrepid
Continue where others pause.
Grounded
Stay close to what matters. No egos, no waffle.
Non-standard
Thunk. A non-standard word, and that’s the point.
Remote first, and deliberate about it
Most of our work happens remotely, with time together in London most months and on client sites throughout.
That balance means we have to plan for the things an office provides. Community shouldn’t rest on whoever fancies a drink on Friday. Serendipitous conversations shouldn’t depend on bumping into someone at the kettle. And the quiet ones shouldn’t stay quiet because the boss spoke first.
We design that into the week rather than expecting proximity to provide it. Meetings get written up before they happen, or they get moved. Conclusions get written down and shared, not carried in someone’s head. So the time we do spend in the same room goes on the work that genuinely needs one.
Silly Ambitious
We have a phrase for the early part of a project. Silly Ambitious means ignoring the obvious barriers on purpose, and planning as though the impractical thing were available to us.
Put the filter up early and you narrow the field before you understand it, and the answer you need is usually sitting just past the point where sensible people stop. So we go there first, then work backwards to what’s buildable.
It only works with people who can hold both. Our work happens in other people’s rooms, and you have to be able to walk in, find common ground and get the conversation going, or the research never happens, however good you are on your own.
Optimism is true moral courage.
Ernest Shackleton
When we do get together
We're in the same room at some point in most months. It could be for work, workshops and client sites, or Thunk tasks that need a room. The rest is just us, partners, kids and dogs included, and sometimes someone brings sausages with the company name on them. When we travel, we'd rather take the train. We're a member of Climate Perks which gives everyone paid days to do that instead of flying.
Join us
We’re always on the look out for like-minded Thunkers.
Check out our open roles.