The Raconteurs’ Manifesto

“In order to become the most trusted security partner for our customers, we stay curious, insist on clarity of purpose and pursue our true north. 

We dare to begin before we are ready, we do not let perfection get in the way of done, and we know that real artists deliver. 

Assuming good intentions, we communicate with urgency, gratitude, honesty and accountability: TRUST is the currency of a distributed organization. 

We care for ourselves and others. We solve problems, ask for help, and learn together as one team. Celebrating diversity everywhere, we thrive through change. 

Playing to our strengths as customer-obsessed, infosec experts, we do the best work of our lives. We deliver accurate, bold, compelling content. Attracting and nurturing the best technology marketers on the planet, we tell stories with swagger. 

We are raconteurs. Always on message and always on a mission.”

I lead a team of cybersecurity product marketers who are doing their best work of their lives at a time when our profession is growing in stature and our industry is white hot. 

At the time I took this job, the team had been through a period of transition and needed renewed direction and purpose. In search of a team name that was memorable, non-corporate and hopefully a little aspirational, I landed on “The Raconteurs” based on storytelling that is at the heart of product marketing.

Whether we are the voice of the customer in go-to-market planning, an advocate for the product in launch planning, content creators, or evangelists, the essence of what makes us successful is the ability to find the great stories in our industry, make them better and tell them to the right audience.

Rather than crank out a list of principles for a PowerPoint slide at our first team meeting, I wrote the manifesto above and we’ve read it aloud at the start of each meeting since to remind us of the tenets we sign up to each day as members of the team.

It’s designed to set the standards for the way we show up, how we choose what to focus on and the standard of work we contribute. It’s a guide for managers, individual contributors, new team members and anyone in need of a reminder of my expectations of them and advice for their success.

It’s also about writing down the expectations I have for myself and letting others know that I will hold myself to these standards as I ask them to meet them. 

Lines from the manifesto get quoted to others - and sometimes back to me - to explain, justify or set context and that gives everyone a framework within which to choose their actions. Is it longer and wordier than concise bullet points on a slide? Sure. But it has developed a life of its own and a longevity beyond the usual words on a slide. 

The sticking power of these words, as a rallying cry and blueprint for success, is testament to the fact that you should always consider a story as your anchor. It may not always be possible or fitting, but if you don’t try, you will never know and your message might fail to become a mission