Sumo Rules Of Engagement

Chris Von Wilpert

Last Updated Nov 15, 2021

When the Sumo Leadership Team get together they work on some big ideas. 

In this article I’m going to show you something they came up with called the “Rules of Engagement.”

These aren't "rules" per se, but more guidelines for how everyone at Sumo can all interact and work with each other respectfully. Everyone on the Sumo team reviews them, practices them, and encourages others to.

Take a read and see if you can come up with Rules of Engagement for your own business.

CHALLENGE PREVAILING THOUGHT

Never take, “this is the way we’ve always done things”, as the standard

ALL PROBLEMS PRESENTED WITH SOLUTIONS

Always come with solutions or ask for help to problems instead of complaining

NO “MIDDLEMEN”

When appropriate, go directly to the person you need to speak with

MANAGE UP

Let your manager know what’s happening instead of waiting for them to come to you

TALK IT OUT

If you're frustrated go talk to your manager, don’t complain to your peers

SPEAK UP IN MEETINGS, NOT AFTER

Discuss and debate issues in meetings and once a decision is made buy-in and support it

BE ON TIME

Meetings start and end at the specified times, don’t be late or run over

MEETINGS ALWAYS HAVE AN AGENDA

Do not schedule a meeting without an agenda

ALWAYS BOOK CONFERENCE ROOMS

If you reserved a conference room for a meeting it’s okay to ask others to leave

CHECK CALENDARS BEFORE SCHEDULING

Always check the calendars of attendees and conference rooms before sending invites

ALWAYS DEBRIEF FAILURE

When something fails or didn’t work, ask, “What could we have done better?”

DOCUMENT EXPERIMENTS WITH HYPOTHESIS AND RESULTS

Before running experiments document your hypothesis then record the results after

ALL ROLES HAVE A ONE-SHEET PLAYBOOK

Document how someone else would continue your role if you won the lottery tomorrow

ADD TO CALENDAR IF UNAVAILABLE OR OUT OF TOWN

Add your name, reason, and availability to the Sumo Calendar

THREE MINUTE RULE

If you can accomplish a task in under 3 minutes, do it rather than adding it to a to-do list.