Sophilabers Explain Our Values: Aim High

Our values provide a strong foundation for all the work we do at sophilabs. They shape our approach to our day-to-day activities and our long-term goals. They define our relationships with our clients and with each other. We state these values proudly at the very beginning of our Playbook:

• Be a team player
• Love your craft
• Aim high
• Work hard

In this post, we'll delve deeper into Aim high using the words of our own team members. We'll explore what this value really means and why we consider it so crucial to continually strive for excellence.

On What it Means to "Aim High"

When asked how they would define this value, our team members had a lot of great insights. A recurring theme was our focus on customer success and our dedication to delivering high-quality work.

"Aim high" means to me that the outcome is well thought out and will fulfill its purpose smoothly even in unexpected scenarios. Every tiny detail is taken care of.
– Martin Prunell, CSO & Co-Founder

For me, aiming high is all about continuously and creatively finding ways to exceed expectations; it is about being bold, trying new things, reflecting on the outcomes, and learning to push the boundaries of where "high" may lay.
– Rafael Morante, Agile Master & Product Manager

Sophilabers also emphasized how this value impacts their individual performance, inspiring them to give their all.

I believe aiming high is to try and give your best, and be your best, both in your work as a whole and in specific tasks. For me it's not working myself to the point of exhaustion, but making sure that every little task that I do is done striving for quality and excellence, and I believe that only happens if you are fully committed to it. Aiming high is also about knowing you can do better and not settling until you have done your best.
– Valentina Bianco, Sales Assistant

"Aim high" means to me that you always need to deliver high quality in whatever task you're facing. This applies to writing a blog post, creating technical documentation, testing, and of course development.
– Kelian Puppi, Software Engineer

To me it means to always reach for the best you can do, and to use your full potential in everything you do.
– Gabriela Golmar, Software Engineer

At sophilabs, we genuinely care about the quality of the work we do as individuals and as a team. Setting ambitious goals for ourselves pushes us to achieve great things together.

On Why Aiming High is Important

Our team members went a bit deeper and unpacked the reasons this value is vital to our work. Sophilabers mentioned how going above and beyond allows us to build truly valuable, scalable products.

It is important because envisioning a high-quality product and thinking beyond its initial use case creates a higher value in the short term as well as lays the foundation for bringing new ideas on board seamlessly in the future.
– Martin Prunell, CSO & Co-Founder

Our team members also reflected on how aiming high facilitates personal and professional growth, an idea that's fundamental to our culture of continuous improvement.

It sets you on a path towards "the ideal," towards excellence. Anyone who's striving to incrementally better themselves could really make good use of ambitious goals that push you out of your comfort zone and help you think outside the box. Aiming high provides a great framework for that.
– Rafael Morante, Agile Master & Product Manager

I think aiming high is important because it helps you to keep moving forward and improve your craft and skills. It pushes you to improve constantly.
– Valentina Bianco, Sales Assistant

When you aim high, you help your coworkers and yourself achieve goals more easily in the future, and the quality of work improves.
– Gabriela Golmar, Software Engineer

For us, it's about always looking for ways we can hone our skills and create even better solutions.

On What We Accomplish When We Aim High

The results of this value are evident in what we've been able to achieve for our clients, as well as in the learning and development we've experienced in our own careers.

The new notifications engine we implemented for Oxford Economics is a good example of aiming high. This was quite a challenge. The team had to build a brand new service that couldn't fail once it was live, as it involves sending/not sending emails to real clients who pay for the service. We made sure every detail was covered until we finally released the engine. We tested every functionality, discussed all the edge cases, and we were able to achieve a great platform. The client required emails to be sent within five minutes, and in the end we were sending them in less than three.
– Kelian Puppi, Software Engineer

At a given point in my professional career, I got involved in rolling out technological infrastructure through projects of regional/continental reach that were fairly outside of my scope, and that landed me even greater challenges, a promotion, and a great deal of valuable experience.
– Rafael Morante, Agile Master & Product Manager

It's clear that when sophilabers aim high, the sky's the limit. It's part of how we love our craft, and we strive to reach our goals together like true team players. We hope you'll stay tuned for the last installment in this series, a close look at how we Work hard. And if you identify with the way we work, please don't hesitate to get in touch!