The credo is a list of the core values that everyone at TMHQ strives to live and work by each day. Our culture is our most precious asset and this credo is designed to codify and protect the way that we work together, so that we all understand what types of behavior are expected at TMHQ. Each value below should guide TMHQ team members to become more thoughtful and consistent in decision making. Click on each value to see how TMHQ teammates interpret the credo.

1. Have fun

To take our work not ourselves seriously.
“I think this value is crucial. It speaks to a lifestyle that is healthy and workplace that is equally healthy. We need to be a company that can have fun, be it on Friday night, after an event, or on a random Wednesday afternoon. The balance between life and work is big, and very tricky at times. I think this value speaks to this balance as well as many other things, and is something I like to remind myself all the time.”
- Evan Seely, Events

Create enthusiasm.
“Being enthusiastic makes for a more enjoyable, motivated and productive environment, but sometimes we wait for enthusiasm to happen. This empowers people to just decide to be enthusiastic.”
- Lee Smallwood, Strategy

Cheerleader.
“For creating fun team activities, reaching out to new hires, encouraging team bonding, and bringing fun into the day-to-day work lives of TM employees.”
- Catherine Lecesse, Finance

2. Push boundaries

Pushing Boundaries.
“We need to push ourselves and this company outside our comfort zone. This can be applied on a personal level or companywide. We may think we cannot do a 20k event in one day, but we need to push our boundaries to get to the ideal. We must picture where we want to be, and push our boundaries to get there.”
- Kelley Kantarian, Events

Willing to take risks and willing to fail.
“As we have all heard and seen, if we do not push ourselves out of our comfort zone, we will not be able to achieve greatness. Each employee at TMHQ needs to be willing and able to push himself or herself independently in order to reach new heights both for the betterment of the individual and the company.”
- Jane DiLeo, Marketing

To strive for innovation/creativity in all practices.
“Guard against complacency and always look for a better way of doing business.”
- Nicole Puhl, Marketing

3. Take Responsibility

Deliver on Promises.
“In order to create a culture where people trust one another, we must deliver on our promises.”
- Garth Wilson, Course Manager

No task too small.
“I think the idea of collective responsibility is something we need to reinforce; this means that no task is too small. We are all responsible for our successes and failures, and it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that even the smallest tasks are taken care of.”
- Jane Di Leo, Marketing

Responsibility.
“We accept responsibility for our actions, no matter how insignificant they may seem, and the potential impact that could occur down the line.”
- Miller Casale, Human Resources

Leadership with a little l.
“You don’t need to be a line manager to be a leader.”
- Brian Von Ancken, Legal

4. Ask why

Learning from our Mistakes.
“We all make mistakes. Being open to admitting mistakes and learning from them is crucial for personal growth and for the growth of Tough Mudder.”
- Catherine Lecesse, Finance

Challenge the status quo.
“Tough Mudder needs to stay ahead of the game, and that means constantly questioning how and why we do the things we do.”
- Anonymous

See the Broken, Be the Broken, Fix the Broken.
“We have to be aware of what needs improvement around it. We must have empathy for why it is broken and the people in the situation to design an effective solution. We must act once the solution is designed, and overcome roadblocks to change for the better.”
- Peter Wylie, Marketing

5. Be Honest

Honesty.
“We can only function well if people are up front about everything. Hidden surprises and problems grow larger as time goes on.”
- Eli Hutchison, Course Manager

Don’t Lie.
“Seems simple, but it often isn’t. This is the wrong place to sweep things under the rug. Challenge your assumptions, be honest when you screw up, and you’ll be rewarded.”
- Peter Wylie, Marketing

To be honest with yourself and coworkers.
“This emphasizes our open feedback community and integrity in all aspects of our business.”
- Nicole Puhl, Marketing

Self-awareness and ability to accept criticism.
“A necessary condition to getting better is accepting that we aren’t and never will be perfect, and crucially, being able to understand this even before someone points it out to you.”
- Hunter Manchek, Operations

Listen (Understand before being Understood).
“This value is so key to TMHQ. There are so many people and such a need to work together that if we cannot take a step back and think about all positions in the room, we will not be able to make the best decision possible.”
- Jane Di Leo, Marketing

6. Embrace Change

Make no excuses about constant improvement.
“We are growing so quickly that we just simply don’t have time to apologize for changing for the better in rapid succession. You have to become comfortable with your work changing on a consistent basis as the company evolves and iterates. We are rarely going to get anything right the first time, so it’s important to remember to roll with the punches as we make improvements for the better.”
- Matt Johnson, Marketing

Flexibility.
“Flexibility is extremely important as we all wear multiple hats and must be able to adapt on the fly, whether its switching projects or changing processes, as needs change on a daily basis.”
- Brandon Pape, Accounting

To continually evolve.
“To evolve incorporates innovation, creativity, and efficiency while adding a sense of natural progression to the value. While we should always strive to make our events, company, and culture “better” I think that we need to also accept natural changes (such as the growing pains we feel right now) and learn from these changes. Evolution is a slow process, however at Tough Mudder, we need to do it constantly in order to maintain our market and become the distinct leader in the industry and eventually, a billion dollar company.”
- Evan Seely, Events

7. Accept only the best

Extraordinary Work.
“What I mean by this is going above and beyond what is expected. I think we have a culture where people always try to exceed expectations. I think it is important to focus on this idea that we always want to be ahead of the rest and want to exceed expectations in all areas.”
- Megan Ryan, Events

Take Pride in Your Work.
“In order to produce the best, you have to care about what you are doing and accept nothing less than your best.”
- Tina Fekula, Events

Discipline.
“To be able to stay focused on the key tasks.”
- Dan Weinberg, Marketing

Efficient.
“To maximize the output of our staff we need to be as efficient as possible.”
- Garth Wilson, Course Manager

8. Focus on the long term

Take 1 step back to take 3 steps forward.
“A commitment to constant improvement is hard when you have a short term perspective because improvement usually requires you to take a step back to understand what is going well and what isn’t. Taking a step backwards doesn’t make sense if you’re only thinking in the short term, so it’s absolutely critical that we all adopt a long-term perspective and make the commitment to sustainable improvement. This goes for individuals as well as the company as a whole. Taking a step back in order to learn and then take 3 steps forward is a central philosophy to TMHQ.”
- Matt Johnson, Marketing

To share knowledge and help each other develop.
“Through career development and TMU.”
- Nicholas Harris, Site Search

Vision.
“To see and understand the big picture objectives for TM over the upcoming years.”
- Dan Weinberg, Marketing

9. Look Out for Each Other

Teamwork.
“Teamwork is important as a lot of us are often out of the office and need to always remember that even though our teammates are out working on other projects, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t reach out to help them.”
- Kacie Duffy, Events

Be good to people.
“If we want to truly be great, we need to be good people at the core.”
- Tina Fekula, Events

Crossing Borders.
“Working beyond our job titles and outside our departments to create interdepartment communications and relationships and create solidarity among the individual departments.”
- Catherine Lecesse, Finance

10. Enjoy the journey

Enjoy People and the Journey.
“Everyone wants to be happy and have fun in their life and in their jobs. We must remember it is not about the final destination or end goal, but it is about the journey along the way. We must enjoy the people we work with, and the journey we are taking with them along the way. If we cannot enjoy people and the journey we are taking, we will not be working at our highest, happiest level.”
- Kelley Kantarian, Events

Enrichment of life through experience.
“Working at TM is predicated on the idea that the journey is sometimes painful, difficult and stressful, the end results and experiences make it worthwhile (same idea for TM events).”
- Hunter Manchak, Operations

Passion.
“Whether people are passionate about TM, their jobs, the culture, passion is essential to TM’s culture. This is something we need to highlight and ensure that people who join TM are passionate.”
- Megan Ryan, Events