Ten years ago, I saw something unique in our industry — corporate values that I felt in my heart. Not the usual generic platitudes, but five words that blended soul and fire, heart and hustle, purpose and passion.

During an executive offsite I was facilitating, these values emerged through hours of brainstorming, debating, and refining. Back at my consulting firm, I took in all that I heard offsite and crafted the language around these values to reflect the Ultragenyx way. Looking at the result, I remember thinking, “Now that’s a company where I’d be proud to work.” Little did I know this client would soon become my career home for the next decade.

Leaving my management consulting career for a full-time role with Ultragenyx wasn’t part of my plan. Yet, I can see now that I couldn’t have designed it better. This move allowed me to transform a bold company vision into reality, and watch the organization grow and evolve tremendously, while staying anchored to a set of distinct core values:

• Generous: We are committed to helping — sharing our knowledge and skills with our patients and their families, our field, and each other
• Courageous: We go where others won’t — targeting untreated diseases and taking on the challenges that move our field forward
• Relentless: We won’t give up fighting for rare disease families — together always searching for solutions
• Dynamic: We learn and adapt — constantly searching for deeper understanding, and rapidly evolving our plans based on our insights
• Possibility: We seek the undiscovered discoveries — we’re committed to finding options for those who don’t have any

At Ultragenyx, these values transcend website copy and onboarding documents because they’re woven into everything we do. You can recognize it and feel it. These values are our cornerstone, connecting us to our purpose, expertise, desired impact, and each other. We don’t just recognize and reward these values; we hold ourselves accountable to them, ensuring they thrive both internally and externally, in our interactions with employees and patient communities.

Further, we use our values to assess where we are, and what we could do differently – ensuring that they serve as a guide for how we can go beyond each day. We will often ask ourselves: where could we be more courageous, how can we be more dynamic, what alternative possibilities should we explore, and how can we remain generous and relentless while facing challenges. This alignment between our culture and actions creates the kind of authentic impact that is foundational to our identity as a next generation rare disease company.

In a world where values often become mere wall decorations, we’ve chosen a more courageous path: a steadfast commitment to creating a culture, built around our values, where people feel inspired and equipped to do their best work. That’s why we’ve been recognized as a Top Workplace across the USA and for our Cultural Excellence – and our engagement survey results show:

• 95% favorability: pride in working for Ultragenyx
• 88% favorability: feeling personal accomplishment from my work

We track and measure progress on this each year, because we know these sentiments fuel us to lead the future of rare disease medicine and show the industry that by doing the right thing, you can build a successful, sustainable company.

Fifteen years. Countless breakthroughs. Lives changed forever. All supported by a culture where values aren’t just preached, they’re practiced. Where every team member knows that doing good and doing well aren’t competing goals – they’re perfectly aligned, and together, create a deep sense of fulfillment and pride in not just what we do, but how we do it.