Glossary
These are terms used in the handbook that pertain to the operations of the company. Building science terms are available separately in Topical Primers.
How We Work
Section titled “How We Work”360 Review
Section titled “360 Review”A consent process meeting where team members present their updated work plan and get feedback from consent and advice stakeholders. This replaces traditional top-down performance reviews. At Cadence OneFive, everyone runs these at least once per year (or more often if helpful) as part of our horizontal performance management approach.
All-Remote
Section titled “All-Remote”“All-remote means that each individual in an organization is empowered to work and live where they are most fulfilled. By including the word “all” in “all-remote,” it makes clear that every team member is equal. No one, not even the executive team, meets in-person on a daily basis.” - Gitlab
Async/Asynchronous Work
Section titled “Async/Asynchronous Work”Work completed at different times by different people, typically documented in writing rather than happening in real-time meetings. This allows for flexible schedules across time zones and creates a record of decisions and discussions. Contrasted with synchronous work (real-time collaboration).
Manager of One
Section titled “Manager of One”Someone who sets their own goals and executes them without needing hierarchical oversight. You do what a manager would do—set priorities, assign work to yourself, determine what needs to get done—but you do it autonomously.
Critically, being a manager of one means you’re accountable TO your teammates, not just FOR yourself. You coordinate with peers, give and receive feedback, and share responsibility for team outcomes.
Adapted from 37 Signals/Basecamp with our emphasis on peer accountability.
Meeting Hygiene
Section titled “Meeting Hygiene”Conditions or practices conducive to maintaining “healthy” (i.e. effective and efficient) meetings. There are a bunch of “how to have a good meeting” lists out there (e.g. here and here). To summarize:
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Ask “Is this best done in a meeting?”
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Meetings are for making decisions, not status updates.
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Right people at the “table”
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Convener invites only the people who must be in the meeting for decisions to be made
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If an invitee deems it unnecessary to participate, that person removes themselves.
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If someone who was NOT invited deems it necessary to participate, they add themselves.
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Good agenda, distributed in advance
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Items have designated owner and duration
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Items are formatted as decisions to be made rather than topics
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Recaps of follow-ups at the end
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Reflection on meeting management at the end (“what went well; what should we change”)
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Documented for all-remote
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Allows people to avoid FOMO (Here’s GitLab’s take)
Term seems to have been coined in 2009 by this guy: Paul H. Burton.
Open Books
Section titled “Open Books”The practice of making financial information transparent to the company community unless there’s a specific reason it would harm the company or individuals. At Cadence OneFive, this includes sharing our operating model (available to all permanent employees via Causal) and maintaining transparent, equitable compensation structures.
Self-Management
Section titled “Self-Management”A workplace approach where team members make decisions about their work individually and collectively without traditional hierarchical management structures. At Cadence OneFive, this is supported by horizontal practices like the consent process, work plans, and 360 reviews.
Short Toes
Section titled “Short Toes”Having short toes means allowing people to communicate clearly and honestly by cultivating an environment where people don’t feel the need to think “I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.” We borrowed this unashamedly from Gitlab.
Velocity
Section titled “Velocity”The team’s shipping speed, not individual output. Being personally productive matters only if it helps the team move faster. If you ship 10 lines per week but you’re integral to the team going fast—through mentoring, unblocking others, architectural decisions, or reducing friction—you’re a hero. Conversely, you get no cookies for being a monster shipper if it’s not helping the team’s velocity.
SMART Goals
Section titled “SMART Goals”Framework for objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Used in work plans to ensure goals are clear, actionable, and aligned with broader objectives. While not every goal at Cadence OneFive fits the SMART framework, it’s a useful tool for checking whether goals can be made more concrete.
Work in the Open
Section titled “Work in the Open”The practice of defaulting to public communication and documented decisions so information is accessible to everyone. This means communicating in channels rather than DMs, using text rather than ephemeral verbal conversations, and making decisions transparent even if not everyone participated. Part of our commitment to transparency as a core value.
Work Plan
Section titled “Work Plan”A self-created document articulating what success looks like for an individual, approved through the consent process by stakeholders whose work depends on yours. Work plans replace traditional top-down goal-setting. They should answer: What are your top priorities? How will you measure success? Where do you need support? Work plans are living documents that get updated and reviewed regularly through 360 reviews.
How We Decide
Section titled “How We Decide”Advice Stakeholders
Section titled “Advice Stakeholders”People with relevant expertise who offer insights and suggestions on a proposal or decision, but have no veto power. Their input is valuable and should be seriously considered, but the proposer decides how to incorporate their feedback. See also: Consent Stakeholders.
Consent Process
Section titled “Consent Process”The decision-making method at Cadence OneFive where consent stakeholders must agree a proposal is “worth trying” and “safe to try” before it proceeds. Different from consensus (everyone must love it) or advice process (one person decides after input). The consent process balances individual autonomy with collective wisdom—you make decisions about your work while getting input from people affected by those decisions.
Consent Stakeholders
Section titled “Consent Stakeholders”People whose work is significantly affected by a decision and who must consent before a proposal proceeds. Can raise concerns about whether something is “worth trying” or “safe to try” and work to reshape the proposal. Don’t need to love the idea, just consent it’s worth trying AND safe to try. See also: Advice Stakeholders.
Horizontal Practices
Section titled “Horizontal Practices”Horizontal practices are workplace habits and procedures designed to enhance everyone’s ability to make decisions individually and collectively. We use Samantha Slade’s Going Horizontal as a starting point, and there are many other great resources shared by August Public.
Our Mission & Values
Section titled “Our Mission & Values”B Corporation / Certified B Corp
Section titled “B Corporation / Certified B Corp”A for-profit company certified by B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. Cadence OneFive achieved B Corp certification in 2025, demonstrating our commitment to using business as a force for good alongside our Public Benefit Corporation legal structure.
Climate Justice
Section titled “Climate Justice”The principle that actions to mitigate or adapt to climate change should equitably distribute their benefits, remedy existing inequities, and dismantle institutional racism and other forms of systemic injustice. This is one of the two specific public benefit purposes in Cadence OneFive’s articles of incorporation as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation.
Default Alive
Section titled “Default Alive”A startup financial state where the company can reach profitability before running out of money, based on current revenue and burn rate. The opposite is “default dead”—when a company will run out of money before reaching profitability unless something changes (like raising more funding or significantly cutting costs).
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion—the framework for discussing and responding to social power dynamics within work relationships. When we talk about climate justice, we’re talking about the impact we wish to have on the world through the work we do as a company. When we talk about JEDI, we’re talking about how we do our work day to day as an organization to create safety for employees of all backgrounds so that we can deliver on our mission.
Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)
Section titled “Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)”A Delaware corporate structure where public benefit mission is enshrined in the articles of incorporation alongside profit motive. Cadence OneFive is a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation with two specific public purposes: (1) accelerate large-scale building decarbonization and adoption of climate-adaptive building technologies, and (2) promote the principle of climate justice.
Restorative Conversations
Section titled “Restorative Conversations”Structured approach to addressing conflicts that focuses on reestablishing dignity, worth, and interconnectedness to allow people to be fully contributing members of their communities. Part of our broader commitment to restorative practices in the workplace.
Restorative Practices
Section titled “Restorative Practices”“Restorative as an adjective…describes how an individual’s or group’s dignity, worth, and inter-connectedness will be nurtured, protected, or reestablished in ways that will allow people to be fully contributing members of their communities.” - The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education
Social Justice
Section titled “Social Justice”When we talk about justice, we mean primary justice:
“Justice honors the inherent worth of all. It is enacted through relationships. Primary justice, sometimes called social justice, is the condition of respect, dignity, and the protection of rights and opportunities for all, existing in relationships where no one is wronged. Secondary justice, or judicial justice, is understood mainly as a response to harm or crime.” - The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education
SOC 2 Type 2
Section titled “SOC 2 Type 2”A security compliance certification demonstrating that an organization has proper controls in place for data security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. “Type 2” means these controls have been independently audited over a period of time (typically 6-12 months), not just at a single point in time. Cadence OneFive achieved SOC 2 Type 2 certification in 2024, ensuring customers can trust us with their sensitive building and project data.
Our Product
Section titled “Our Product”Building Knowledge Base (BKB)
Section titled “Building Knowledge Base (BKB)”A comprehensive database of building characteristics organized by actual buildings (not just tax lots). BKB validates data through statistical consensus across multiple sources rather than trusting any single dataset, resulting in more accurate building attributes even when government data conflicts.
Calculation Service
Section titled “Calculation Service”The computational engine behind Momentum that models retrofit scenarios, energy savings, and compliance pathways at any scale—from a single building to thousands across a portfolio. Runs the physics and economics of building retrofits, from electrification to carbon emissions reductions to Local Law 97 compliance forecasting.
Momentum
Section titled “Momentum”Cadence OneFive’s software platform for multifamily building decarbonization. Purpose-built for the complexity of affordable and market-rate multifamily retrofits. Helps building owners, contractors, and lenders plan and execute electrification projects—explore retrofit scenarios, compare equipment options, estimate costs and savings, and track compliance with local emissions laws, all in one place.