The end of this month marks the 11-year anniversary of Renze Consulting.
As I look back on the past decade, I am so very grateful for everyone who has helped make this company a success.
I believe that much of our success is the result of our company’s mission and core values. They are infused into our company culture and have guided us through many difficult decisions.
So, in the spirit of self-reflection, sharing knowledge, and continuous improvement, I’d like to tell you about the mission, core values, and guiding principles of Renze Consulting. They are the DNA of our company. They drive every aspect of who we are, what we do, and why we do it.
Our mission is to ensure the goals and values of humanity and AI stay in alignment. We do this by researching and developing AI systems that align with human values and by teaching people skills to better align with AI.
To fulfill this mission, our long-term educational goal is to teach AI skills to 1 million people by 2030. As of today, we’ve taught over 500,000 people, so we are halfway to our goal with six years remaining.
Our long-term AI research goal is still in development — as research is a very new part of our business. However, by 2025, we will have a clear goal that is specific, measurable, actionable, timely, and realistic.
Intelligence
Intelligence is what we do. We research and develop artificial intelligence systems and teach people how to use AI responsibly and ethically. This involves performing AI research, creating educational content, using the scientific method, and applying rational data-driven decision-making processes.
Agility
Agility is how we do what we do. We use Lean/Agile principles to be fast, efficient, and effective. We perform work in small increments, iterate on new ideas, use rapid feedback, and focus on continuous improvement. We embrace change to rapidly adapt to changing technologies, markets, and trends.
Essentialism
Essentialism is how we decide what not to do. This involves simplicity, efficiency, and deep work. We have way more opportunities available than we have time to pursue them. So, we must be very particular about the work we choose to do and the work we choose not to do. If it’s not a “hell yeah!”, it’s a “no”.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is why we do what we do. This involves sustainability, reciprocity, and self-reflection. I believe that mindfulness practices are the solution to many of the biggest problems in our modern world. I also believe it is a key ingredient in responsible AI and (likely) a necessary component of AGI.
Sustainable Income
We need to make enough money to fund our mission. We don’t optimize for maximizing profits or sacrifice our mission, values or principles for more money. Rather, we focus on making enough money to sustain our business. That way, we can spend our time doing work that is meaningful and impactful.
Manageable Stress
We don’t take on more stress than we can handle. I’ve seen far too many people end up with serious physical and mental health issues as a result of chronic stress and burnout. So, if an opportunity is going to create unsustainable stress, we don’t do it. If our stress levels are too high, we refocus or pivot.
Meaningful Work
Provided we have sustainable income and manageable stress, we focus on doing meaningful work. We prioritize work that will have the largest positive impact on our world. It might not be the most profitable or glamorous work, but it’s work that will benefit everyone and work that needs to be done.
Our mission, values, and principles are the foundation of our company. We maintain a document with this information, review it regularly, and update it annually. Then, if we’re ever in doubt about a major decision, we consult this information for guidance on the best direction forward.
I hope it helps you to better understand a key component of the success of Renze Consulting over the past 11 years. In addition, I hope this information helps you create or update your own organization’s mission, values, and principles. These are not just words in a document to us… these are values we live!
If you’d like to help us reach our educational goal, be sure to check out our online courses. If you’d like to help us reach our research goals, please check out our latest AI research.