Rippling

Many companies have a document that new employees receive when they first join, laying out certain values that are important to the organization. They often include things you’d expect: lead with positivity and empathy; do the right thing even if it’s hard.

San Francisco-based Rippling has one too, laying out principles for its leaders to follow: Rippling leaders “go and see” problems in person; they should set “maximally ambitious goals” for their teams and themselves.

But then there’s a head-scratcher: “Rippling leaders go to Western Union.” What does that mean?

The question leads to a story from the company’s earliest days that in its repeated retellings turns that phrase into internal shorthand illustrating Rippling’s fierce determination to do right by customers when something goes wrong.