Over time, we realized that everything we do or strive for at Redmond generally falls into five categories. The specifics of our values have shifted over the years, but here’s a basic rundown of our Redmond values and how they can change your life like they’ve changed ours!

Our Redmond Values + Tips For Using Them TODAY

Our core values are at the foundation of everything we do as a company and individuals at Redmond. How might these fit into your life?

Passion for Contribution

If you didn’t have a schedule or obligations, what would you do with your time? 

You might want to sit on a beach with a cocktail or binge Ted Lasso for a while, but eventually, you’ll want to DO something.

We believe people WANT to contribute to something bigger than themselves. We want to make things, fix things, and be helpful. This is how we find passion in life!

We are deeply motivated by continual learning, self-discovery, and pursuing our deeply rooted passions. We believe in practicing consistency and intensity, and in creating momentum for the future.

What do we mean by consistency and intensity? 

Think of exercise, for example. We all know the benefits of doing 20 minutes of some sort of physical activity each day. And while one workout is great, exercising consistently is how you’ll really see benefits!

However, that routine lacks intensity. If you signed up for a marathon or a Spartan race, that type of training would be much more intense and your workouts may have more purpose, and therefore create much more momentum for your physical conditioning and overall growth!

Consistency and intensity fuel passion and generate momentum. It all fits together!

Where do you have passion in your life? Where do you enjoy contributing the most?

Try this: Ask someone close to you like a partner, sibling, coworker, etc., what you do that is helpful. Understanding where we contribute and where we’re already being helpful to others can shed a lot of light on our passion and where we can grow!

Occhiolism

Occhio-what?

Bear with us.

The definition of Occhiolism can be boiled down to this: The awareness of the smallness of your perspective.

We actually found this on Thoroughly Depressing Word of the Day, but we don’t find this depressing at all!

We love this because when we realize that we are just ONE perspective, we can get curious about OTHER perspectives, and about the world in general. We make room for seemingly contrasting ideas, for ego-free conversation (or as ego-free as you can get), true listening, and for continuous, open-minded exploration. We are constantly asking ourselves why, what, and how. 

Another thing we say a lot at Redmond is “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” (We got this from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, which is a super good book, by the way.) 

This is a great idea, but it has to start with Occhiolism and understanding the limits of your own perspective. 

Do you appreciate other perspectives? How can different viewpoints help you see the world more clearly?

Try this: The next time you brush up against an opinion or idea that makes you uncomfortable, pause. Ask questions. Suspend judgment and try to understand. It might surprise you!

Ubuntu

Here’s another word you might not recognize!

Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term that we’ve interpreted to mean, “I see you, I see me, and I am because we are.”  

Powerful stuff, right? 

Ubuntu is about seeing and understanding yourself, appreciating and seeing others more clearly, and seeing the interconnectedness between all people. It’s believing that people are inherently good and want to DO good as well. 

This also perfectly encapsulates the ideas of interdependence and synergy. When we see ourselves and others clearly, we deeply appreciate their strengths, differences, and perspectives, and hope they volunteer their uniqueness more frequently. We see their inherent value. We will actually seek each other out because we see how we complement each other, and how together, we can create greater work than we ever could individually. 

We stop competing and start seeking each other out because we need each other. 

Pretty amazing, right?

Try this: Think about someone you butted heads with recently. For a few minutes, think about their good qualities. Think about why they may have acted the way they did. See their humanity. When you see them as a whole person, how do you feel toward them?

Reflect 

It’s easy to charge through life without pausing to assess how far you’ve come or where you’re going, what you could do better, or even just to rest!

Reflection allows us to get the most out of what we experience, and to learn from those experiences. When we take time to think about and learn from our experiences, that's when we really learn and grow. 

When we take the time to pause, assess where we are and where we want to go, to ask ourselves the right questions about whether we’re living in integrity with our values, we can consciously choose our next steps instead of just reacting our way through life!

Honing our talents and skills, adapting our perspectives, and embracing our discovery of self also allows us to be more helpful!

Try this: Set aside 10 minutes today to ask yourself “What’s working in my life? What isn’t working? What can I change?” You can write these down in a journal, discuss them with someone who sees you clearly or even just think about them. Whatever helps you process these questions, do that!

Renew

And also…don’t forget to rest and fill your cup. After all, muscles don’t grow during your workout. They grow while you’re resting. Our minds and spirits are the same way!

When you’re sleeping, your brain performs all kinds of detox functions and moves information from the day from short-term to long-term memory. 

Renewing can also be giving yourself permission to start over or even celebrating where you are so you can move forward on your journey of growth.

Finally, simply enjoying yourself, resting, filling your cup with hobbies and family time, and whatever helps you feel renewed, helps you be a more effective person overall.

Try this: Take even a few minutes today to do something that truly refreshes you and fills your cup. Think exercising, reading, journaling, enjoying nature, or spending quality time with loved ones. It could even mean taking a nap, if that’s what you need!

This renewal is crucial because it allows us to approach life from a place of fullness so that we have more to give (which cycles right back into Passion for Contribution. It all connects!)

It’s a Journey

Another important thing to remember, and something we have to remind ourselves of frequently: you will never “arrive.” You won’t reach a perfect place where you don’t have to grow or learn anymore. And that’s a good thing! We’d get so bored if we had nothing left to learn. 

We believe the trick to real growth is to enjoy the journey and actually get a kick out of learning and challenging your perspective. 

It’s about the process!

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