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Creating a better world with character strengths

Our mission is to educate leaders and teams about the importance of character strengths as the primary driver to accelerate ethical innovation. We believe that practicing character growth is the only way to improve or solve the most complex problems of our time.

Founder Story
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Our key principles and values

Tilt 365 Manifesto

Advanced technology in the hands of leaders who are self-serving and/or operate from a fear-based, rigid mindset offers, at best, a precarious future because it depends upon whether that one leader’s perspective turns out to be right. As such, character intelligence combined with an agile / growth mindset (open to learning) is an important dialogue at this moment in history. Technology in the hands of leaders and teams with well-rounded character strengths is the best hope for a good future and we at Tilt 365 have devoted our entire efforts to this purpose.

Be kind Extremes are useful in moderation Be bold Character strength is not a soft skill
Reliance on strengths alone is not enough Be wise Agility is the result of whole-person balance. Our core values
Everything is contextual Character strengths come from the inside-out Be unique Be real
Fear is the biggest obstacle to innovation Choosing reality enables character flow Advanced thinking is non-dualistic

Our Team

Pam Boney
Pam Boney
Founder and CEO
Dan Boney
Dan Boney
Co-Founder and Operations
Dr. Steven Toaddy
Dr. Steven Toaddy
PhD, Science Advisor
Erika Peter
Erika Peter
Chief Operating Officer
Loay Isaied
Loay Isaied
VP of Engineering
Bob Ostrom
Bob Ostrom
Creative Director
Katherine Gilliland
Katherine Gilliland
Enterprise Solutions Partner
Amanda Davis
Amanda Davis
Enterprise Solutions Partner
Carol Keith
Carol Keith
Master Agility Coach
Alec Osiecki
Alec Osiecki
Client Success Manager
Marcelo Lopes
Marcelo Lopes
Front End Developer
Amanda Valone
Amanda Valone
PhD, Science Advisor

Our Story

  • 2020
    Over 100,000 users

    Tilt approached COVID head on, helping clients in unprecedented ways and re-inventing the way we do business.

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  • 2018
    Named top 20 again

    Tilt completed the pivot to enterprise teams and this success enabled Pam to build the Tilt 365 Team Agility Profile and accompanying Team Climate Profile for intact teams.

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  • 2017
    The pivot is complete

    As Tilt rounded the corner and began implementing the new strategy, the brand also needed to evolve. Teams needed a playful way to grow a culture where people can learn to

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  • 2015
    A new CEO and strategy

    As often happens in startups, Pam was becoming exhausted from years of research on top of work. She and the team decided to hire a new CEO, Dr. Jeff Smith.

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  • 2014
    More lessons in startup land

    Tilt began to expand the team too quickly, ran low on cash-flow, and had a setback that forced the leadership team to make some hard decisions.

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  • 2013
    An angel comes

    In the fall of 2012, Tilt Inc, accepted a first round of angel funding from investor David Gardner of Co-Founders Capital in Cary, NC.

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Including over 600 certified practitioners around the world

Visit our practitioner directory to view our top 100 practitioners and book one for your company today!

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Our Advisors

David Gardner

Founder, Managing Partner, Cofounders Capital

Tony O’Driscoll, PhD.

Professor, Research Fellow, Academic Director, Duke University

Amanda Valone

Former CSO, Tilt 365


Bob Stevenson

CEO, Flock


Richard Kristoff

COO, TriHelix Investments


Michelle Gale

Chief of Staff, Autodesk


Doug Stevenson

CEO, Quintesse


Jamie Kite

Remote Engineering Leader, Calm


Dr. Jeff Smith

VP Strategic Initiatives, 15Five


Chris Hazard

CEO, Hazardous Software


Jason Stirman

CEO, Lucid


Justin Gehtland

Senior Director of Engineering, Nubank


Johdie Grieve

Former CLO, Tilt 365


John Crichton

Former CTO, Tilt 365

Be kind

The simplest expression of Humanity. It can take a lifetime to learn to be truly kind. When we are being kind we are generally experienced as trustworthy, empathetic and likable. What most don’t know is that it requires a delicate balance or it can quickly turn into something else and go awry. What it doesn’t mean is giving too much and creating dependence in those who could be better served by taking responsibility themselves. Giving too much may actually be self-serving and in service of a need to be seen as a good person by others only to convince ourselves. When our ego is driven by fears of abandonment or rejection, we may unwittingly feel envy and seek approval from others to prop up our own identity, so it isn’t true kindness that results. True kindness does not have the quality of striving. It is carefully balanced by having the courage to know when not to give because it might interfere with another person’s learning to take care of themselves. It’s knowing that creating dependence may make us feel needed but rob others of their inclination to take initiative regarding their own existential questions. In this case, the question is one of independence and autonomy. True kindness encourages others to reach for their own autonomy and independence with a helping hand, but not an endless “hand-out” that robs them of their dignity. True kindness is given with nothing asked in return, nothing expected as a result, and seeks no public recognition. And it is given in small moments, unfancy words and quiet gifts that come at just the right time. Learning to be kind, also means being kind to oneself and balancing it with kindness to others.

Extremes are useful in moderation

This principle is based on the concept Aristotle called The Golden Mean, which is at the core of the Tilt concepts and applied to everything we do. Extremes can be used to get attention, but residing there permanently or too frequently results in a perversion of a good thing. ScrollBars For example, too much compassion can result in permissiveness. Too much discipline can result in rigidity. And so on.

Be bold

The simplest expression of Courage. Being bold means being willing to embrace the certainty of risk and face it anyway so that we can take action in service of forwarding momentum that serves justice for all. When we are being bold, we are generally demonstrating integrity, courage and confidence. And it requires a delicate balance or it can easily turn into something else and go awry. What it doesn’t mean is dominating others by assuming we have the right to save them from themselves in order to serve justice. That may actually be self-serving and in service of a need to convince ourselves that we are not weak, so we strive too much to be seen as the powerful hero. When our ego is driven by fears of vulnerability, we may unwittingly feel anger and seek power over others to prop up our own identity, so it isn’t true boldness that results. Courage doesn’t have the quality of striving. Nor does it seek to dominate to the point that we attempt to take power away from others by letting our anger make us dictators. It is carefully balanced to invite others to take their own actions in service of their convictions, not take actions for them that are actually their right and responsibility to assert. Courage means embracing the value of anger to instigate forward action despite unknowns in order to serve justice, but it also means taking care that one’s actions do not harm another. This requires that clear roles, boundaries and responsibilities are set so that results are balanced with compassion. True boldness is not just about knowing things, but also acting on what one has learned. It requires having the confidence to act in the face of uncertainty or ambiguity and be willing to face the consequences of one’s actions if things do not go as planned. If harm results from an action, it requires the boldness to attend to what is just and make it right as soon as possible. So, learning to be bold requires consideration of unintended consequences but always forward movement toward progress.

Character strength is not a soft skill

We first have to be able to be honest with ourselves before we can cultivate a healthy mind, heart, body and spirit. This is not easy or soft and requires radical honesty with oneself to live in reality instead of convenient or unconscious delusions.

Reliance on strengths alone is not enough

While we think people will experience more flow, passion and energy in their top interests areas (different from strengths), we believe you can’t just ignore negative behaviors that are counterproductive. Our research shows that people who are balanced provide a better climate for success.

Be wise

The simplest expression of Wisdom. To learn to be wise requires training of the mind to be present, calm and alert in the moment and then making a choice that is mindful. When we are being wise we are generally demonstrating perspective, focus and diligence. What most don’t know is that it requires a delicate balance or it can easily turn into something else and go awry. What is doesn’t mean is working obsessively to gain status over others in an effort to control them. That may actually be self-serving and in service of a need to be enough if only to convince ourselves so we strive too much to be superior. When our ego is driven by fears of inferiority and insignificance, we may unwittingly feel pride and seek status over others to prop up our own identity, so it isn’t true wisdom that results. True wisdom doesn’t have the quality of striving or over-obsessing to the point that we make others feel they are less than we are. It is carefully balanced by appreciating the unique nature of every person and how we are each only smarter than another in our own areas of interest and woefully incompetent in theirs. True wisdom doesn’t create hierarchies of control, but rather appreciates that all are part of the whole that contribute to the mission. True wisdom encourages others to reach for our own individuality and earned credibility by demonstrating exemplary prioritization of accomplishments we care about. When we devote our mind to these endeavors it is not to gain status, but to answer our own existential question of purpose. We are here to do something - accomplish something meaningful. Our credibility with others is a by-product that is earned by our own small accomplishments, one at a time, over time until we fulfill that purpose. So, learning to be wise requires focusing on the work we are most meant to do and inspiring others to do the same.

Agility is the result of whole-person balance.

We all have four parts; head, heart, gut and spirit, but naturally prefer two of the four, which we call our True Tilt. Because of this tendency to alienate one or two parts, we may ignore them to our own detriment. Full maturity into balanced character strength means building capacity in all four to integrate all of our parts into one congruent whole. Only then can we truly show up agile in the world and choose to Tilt intentionally to context.

Our core values

The Tilt Framework of organizing principles and metrics was a creative endeavor that evolved over two decades and is now a stable visual model and set of assessments upon which to gauge, monitor and grow character strength in people, teams and culture. The four meta-strengths can be expressed as five simple values; four link to the four dimensions and one encompasses all of them. Our goal is to teach some important, life altering concepts that are less obvious to most of us, yet explain the subtleties of good traits and strengths, gone awry. Only with a lifetime of continuous improvement, one small trait at a time, can balance truly be achieved.

Everything is contextual

One first has to understand the context to discern the right thing to do at the right time. A behavior that is inappropriate in one context could be the best course of action in another. Thus, context is the first step in everything we teach.

Character strengths come from the inside-out

One must develop one’s mind, heart, body and spirit for internal strength to build character and healthy maturity. Only then can we truly interact with the world with true ease and agility without unwittingly betraying our ourselves and others

Be unique

The simplest expression of Resilience. Being unique means finding our creative purpose and fulfilling it in our lifetime. When we are being unique, we are generally demonstrating openness, inspiration and creativity. This requires a delicate balance or it can easily turn into something else and go awry. What is doesn’t mean is having to be so obviously or serially original that it shocks others in order to get attention. That may actually be self-serving and in service of a need to convince ourselves that we are not ordinary, so we strive too much to be seen as special and extraordinary. When our ego is driven by fears of being unworthy of attention we may unwittingly feel shame and seek attention from others even if it’s negative just to feel worthy of being noticed. Being original and unique doesn’t have the quality of striving so much that it seeks excessive attention. Nor does it seek excessive recognition, but instead, finds a creative outlet for expression of one’s authentic self and purpose. Inside each of us lies a very unique set of interests that cause us to be like no other human being on earth. Our blend of interests wires our brain to produce original insights that differentiate us from all others. Understanding the responsibility that comes along with that is essential. True uniqueness is about finding one’s potential to shape and express original, creative insights about a specific set of topics that no one else could ever imagine. It is this blend of interests that make us a genius in some topics and completely uninformed in others. As such, we can be a source of creative wisdom for others who can benefit from our perspective and vice versa. Embracing our originality, then sharing our unique gifts helps everyone be more resilient.

Be real

The simplest expression of whole-person character strength. Being real means all of your parts are in congruence with the others, so you are living in reality to the greatest degree possible while also being human. We are beings that are sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious by nature. We could not possibly be conscious of everything, all the time, or our minds would explode in overwhelm. The human mind at the center of all of our parts must record experiences and consequences in subconscious long-term memory that we can draw upon later, but not always immediately and not always accurately. Our DNA has wired our brains for patterns that have helped many ancestors before us survive an often unfriendly world. That unimaginably complex system is also wired up to help us survive the first systems we encounter, our family of origin. This design worked beautifully a hundred years ago when our entire lives were lived in one geographic area, with the same people, and the same systemic norms. But today, in the age of technology, we are exposed to constant change by exponentially numerous variables and thus anxiety is at an all time high. Our best hope for thriving in such complex times is to focus inward to anchor our inner world with strength of character in all four aspects of whole-self; mind, body, heart and spirit. Only then can we show up being our most authentic self and complete our most important work. This requires checking into reality with awareness and commit to mindful practices that strengthen us from the inside-out. Then we can operate, not from fear, but from inner strength and answer the most important existential questions that lead to ultimate fulfillment and a life well lived.

Fear is the biggest obstacle to innovation

A healthy culture that fosters psychological safety is a prerequisite for optimal productivity, creativity, innovation and generativity. Having a measure and monitor for it 365 days a year will accelerate learning and engagement. Fear, on the other hand, even when it’s subtle, will stop innovation in its tracks because people will stop taking risks and stall forward momentum.

Choosing reality enables character flow

If we develop character, we trigger less drama that distracts us and unwittingly wastes time we could be devoting to our creative purpose. Flow is possible when we are fully immersed and engaged in our work and have the character to stay out of counterproductive human drama.

Advanced thinking is non-dualistic

We first learn by understanding dualities, but then advance to non-dualistic thinking which embraces two polarities at once. Most personality assessments teach us to think in dualities. Whole-person character is non-dualistic. For example, one can be both brave and kind. Not either/or at the expense of the other. And both optimistic and realistic, but not one at the expense of the other. And so on.