Kinetics
The forces that move us
In science, kinetics is the study of forces that cause motion.
This page – Kinetics – is about the forces that influence our motion and direction at Kin. It’s about what motivates us and what guides us. It’s about our intentions and actions. It’s about where we’re going, and why, and how we want to get there.
Observations and Beliefs
Forces to be reckoned with: how we see the world
(Our observations and beliefs)
Our observations
There are a few fundamental and long-held observations we have about the world that got us to starting Kin in the first place.
1. The first is that people and money generally aren’t good together. People + money = stress, unhappiness, unhealthiness, and a string of other states (emotional, psychological, physical and practical) that nobody wants to be in. And since money impacts almost everything we do, either directly or indirectly, this is a large problem.
2. The second is that money is often bad for relationships. When people do money things with other people, there tends to be anxiety, awkwardness, anger, jealousy, frustration or (again) one of many other states that no one would choose to be in. And again: since, one way or another, money comes into most of our relationships, and certainly our most important ones, this is a problem.
3. The third is that money is not part of the natural world; no laws of physics dictate how money works, nor how we work with money. The way we think about and use it can be reimagined and reinvented. We need not be prisoners to unhealthy conventions and habits. We don’t have to be the way we are with money.
Our beliefs
The observations above are not unique. We doubt that many people would argue against them. But we at Kin do have other beliefs about the world that we know are more subjective; that come from our own personal experiences and professional journeys; that reflect who we are, how we want to be, and what we want to do.
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We believe in the greater good.
In doing something for the benefit of others, preferably many others. We believe in trying to make things better, and leaving the world in better condition than it is.
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We believe that the quality of our lives largely comes from the quality of our relationships.
We also believe that the better a relationship gets, the better each person in it gets. Therefore it is worth doing something to improve people’s relationships.
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We believe that we can improve the way people are with money.
And if we succeed in doing that, we will improve the way people are with each other.
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We believe that people learn better, faster and more willingly from each other.
Because of their relationships, their common goals and the trust they have in each other.
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We believe that big change comes from small steps.
It’s progressive, and it’s a journey. We believe this is true for individuals and for companies. It’s how we hope to help our customers grow, and how we’ll grow our business.
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We believe that the impact we can have is almost infinite.
Regardless of location, age or income, everyone has a web of different relationships – with other people, with organisations, with money – and a positive effect on one of them can have a compounding effect on so many of them.
Purpose and Vision
A force for good: why we’re doing this
(Our purpose and vision)
Our purpose
The primary reason we come to work – our driving force – is to be a force for good. We come to work to pursue a purpose, which is:
To improve people’s relationships with money and each other.
We want to help people do money better together, so that ultimately we have better relationships with each other. For us, that applies to the relationships we have with our customers, colleagues, shareholders, business partners and our other kin: family, friends, businesses.
We aim to stay mindful of our purpose in many ways, every day. We try to incorporate it into the way we make decisions, design things, handle difficult situations and work together.
Our purpose is our simplest and clearest compass: everything we do should be directed toward it.
Our vision
We have a picture of what success will look like for Kin – our vision – which is:
To be the world’s best money collaboration network.
We don’t use the word “best” lightly. We know our ambitions and aspirations are lofty. But, we’re trying to help solve a mammoth problem. We can’t do that by using the same old “solutions” that haven’t worked before. We can’t just be or do better than them. We have to be audacious. We have to aim higher – not just a little bit, but exponentially so.
We also know that our vision feeds our purpose. If Kin is the world’s best money collaboration network, we will improve people’s relationships with money and each other.
Values
Forces of nature, to nurture: what’s important to us
(Our values)
There are some forces that we believe people naturally aspire to and instinctively want to bring to relationships; forces that, if nurtured, will help those relationships thrive. We value these forces.
The ones described here are neither exclusive nor exhaustive. But, for us at Kin, they are our cardinal points; our north, south, east and west.
They’re also ideals, and at times we may fall short of them. But the more mindful we are of them, the more we hold ourselves to them, and the more we use them to direct our thinking and behaviour, the better we’ll be at improving people’s relationships with money and each other.
Our values
The force of Humanness:
We put people first.
We value empathy. We show compassion and kindness. We respect others, and act in their best interests. We listen well. We show goodness, decency, humility and humanity.
The force of Togetherness:
We embrace connections and connectedness.
We believe that being human is a team sport.¹ That I am because you are, and also because we are. That the relationships between us are more important than each of us. We favour “we” over “me”, because we’re in this together, and we’re better together.
The force of Trustworthiness:
We do the right thing.
Again and again and again. We’re consistently honest and honourable. We hold ourselves to high standards of integrity. We are impeccable with our actions. We don’t lie or obfuscate. Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, so we never betray it.
The force of Openness:
We’re open-hearted, open-minded, open-built.
We’re mindful to stay generous of spirit. To want the best for people and think the best of them. To be inviting. To welcome newness and difference. We listen to hear, not to answer. And we try not to judge. We make it safe for people – to fail, to express themselves, to have difficult conversations.
The force of Extraordinariness:
We don’t settle.
We are dreamers. We’re grateful for what we have, but we yearn for more, for what could be. We want life to be affirmed. We want to be awed. So we seek inspiration and wonder and beauty. We imagine and explore. We experiment and play. And we give a damn. We persevere. Because it’s better to have tried and failed than to die wondering what might have been.
Behaviours and Ways of Being
Forces of habit: how we do things
(Our behaviours and ways of being)
Our observations and beliefs about the world inform why we do what we do (our purpose) and what’s important to us (our values). Our purpose and values, in turn, inform how we do what we do: how we behave, how we “are” day-to-day, how we make decisions.
Our behaviours and decision-making
We don’t intend to write rules or formal procedures to follow. Rather, our purpose and values are cardinal points, like those on a compass, which guide our actions and decisions.
They are helpful and logical ways for us to be and behave, in almost any context or situation. Any individual or any team, at any given moment or working any given project, might ask themselves: what should I/we do? Consulting and considering our purpose and values gives us clear direction to base our actions or decisions on.
Our ways of being
In specific situations, certain values might suggest specific behaviours. However, there are some ways of being that are more universal, encompassing all of our values simultaneously. They seem to both simplify and amplify how we express or display our values. And they should come to describe us the way you might describe someone by their most outstanding personality traits.
We’re mindful
Mindfulness helps us to be more conscious of our ourselves and others. So we check in with ourselves and each other. We try to be present; to be here, now. We try to know ourselves, individually and as a group, and to remind ourselves who we are.
Mindfulness also helps us to stay aware of our purpose and our values, and to be true to them: humanness, togetherness, trustworthiness, openness, extraordinariness… they all serve mindfulness well, and all are better served when we’re more mindful.
We’re generous
Generosity is also inherent in each value. And there are so many ways to embrace it. Being generous of spirit. Aspiring to have the best intentions. Wanting the best for others and thinking the best of them.
We like to give: whether it is time or value, an ear or an idea, something useful or interesting, a random act of kindness or senseless beauty. And we give with no expectation to get anything back.²
We have the difficult conversations
Most people shy away from difficult conversations, but we know they are the best route to making relationships better. Through hard conversations we hear, learn, grow closer, do better. We also know that difficult conversations needn’t be adversarial; we take care to have them with love, with good intent, with open hearts and minds.
Kinship Manifesto
The Kinship manifesto
We are about people. And we are about relationships.
We’re not a tech or financial services business. We are a people business. And we are in business to help people. So we put people at the start and centre of everything we do. And we work hard to build extraordinary relationships with them.
That means we do right by other people. We consider other people. We’re mindful to treat others the way we want to be treated: like fellow human beings. That, after all, is what kinship is.
It means our business decisions and trajectory are guided, first and foremost, by people – not profit. If Kin makes and does things that people value, more people will use Kin. And if more people use Kin, Kin will profit.
It means we respect and aggressively defend people’s privacy. We will not use their data for our own gain or in ways they don’t want us to. Nor will we deliberately obfuscate information, indulge in perverse incentives or otherwise take advantage of anyone in any way that benefits us at their expense.
It means that we can never put our trustworthiness and integrity in doubt. We will be honest, honourable and humble, always.
And it means that, beyond simple decency, we should also be generous: we should offer something of value, whether that is a product or service, ideas or information, support or empathy. If we are to belong in people’s lives, we have to earn our place there.
This is how we see kinship. If you invest in, partner with, work with or use Kin, you can and should hold us to it.
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¹ Thank you, Douglas Rushkoff.
https://www.ted.com/talks/douglas_rushkoff_how_to_be_team_human_in_the_digital_future
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² This is worth a read: To Give or Take? The Surprising Science Behind Success.Thank you, Adam Grant.
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*This is a living document. We expect it to evolve and become more crafted over time, as we learn and hear from people who read it and who work at Kin.