I've been at Box for over 2 years, and what I most valued about Box after my first few months remains at the top of my list of awesome things about Box. It's our cultural values. They aren't a list of words written in some electronic document, or splattered around the office on ignored posters. I see Boxers living and acting on these values every single day. Just listing out the value in this post could seem trite... because those would just be words. It's really our actions, reflecting those values that give them life. Recently I've been thinking about one of those values - Make Mom Proud*
My thoughts led me to a new way of interpreting that value. To explain I have to go back about 18 months, to a day when I noticed a colleague showing a couple around the office. Obviously these were his parents. I'm of European descent. My colleague is from India. His parents looked exactly like mine! I saw it instantly. I saw in these parents the same look of curiosity, pride, and thirst that I've seen in my parents my entire life.
If you are reading this post you are probably a software engineer or work in the high tech industry. You are a professional, likely drawn to this industry because of it's exciting, challenging, and dynamic environment. It takes education to get started and intelligence and dedication to succeed. Great stuff. And I bet you have a mom, and/or dad, or grandparent, or uncle, or aunt, or sibling, or someone who was instrumental in your life, helping you get to where you are today. Like the parents I saw walking the halls that day. Like my parents. The thirst that I previously mentioned is a thirst to get a deeper glimpse of what their son or daughter or grandchild or... had become. My parents don't understand the technical details of what I do, but they have a thirst to know if I do it well, if I do it with compassion, and if I have gained the respect of my coworkers. I saw that thirst in my colleague's parents. I saw his mom being proud and wanting to experience more of which she could be proud.
I introduced myself to his parents and we chatted for a few minutes, knowing that just like my parents, they would love to hear firsthand words about their son. Later that day his parents approached me and asked to have a picture taken of us. Ah... something my parents would totally do! I imagined that they wanted to take some record of this interaction home, all those thousands of miles away, to have something tangible to share with their family and friends. They would point to the picture saying here is our son's colleague. He had very nice things to say about our son.
Just last month this coworker went home to visit his family. I bet his parents asked about me during his visit. They would want to know, like my parents, that we were still working together, strengthening their prideful picture of their son's life oh so many miles away.
Here lies the new dimension of Make Mom Proud. Yes, it's fabulous that Box puts a great and sincere premium on acting in a kind and respectful manner at work. Even in times of stress it's remarkable how Boxers stay true to this value. Another take on Make Mom Proud is to look for opportunities to give your mom (or dad or grandparent, or... whomever it is that helped you get to where you are today) reason to be proud of what you have become. Give him or her insight into aspects of your life that are otherwise hidden. Find a way to show them who you are as an adult, an engineer, a professional or a parent. Make them proud.
It's actually a wonderful gift to give. I mean that literally. I recently shared with my parents my last performance review and LinkedIn recommendations. My Dad said it was the greatest gift I've ever given him. Pretty cool. I made my Mom and Dad proud. And I thanked them for being my mentors and role models.
P.S. The Make Mom Proud value has a tongue in cheek footnote:
*unless she is evil
