what our team

In February 2010, the Envision web design firm decided that it was time to take a look at what we believe in, what we stand for, and what we should be.

What's the point? We now have a set of guidelines that informs all of our decisions, big or small, internal or external. Each team member now has the tools to make sure the Envision way is consistently applied every day, whether we're at work or not.

This list also makes it really easy for people to discover what we're about as a web development firm, and decide if they want to become part of the growing Envision family. After all, we like doing business with people who share our values, and we think you do too.

Our goals from the beginning were:

	To get 100% acceptance from everyone on the team through a collaborative writing process
	To make sure every word comes from the heart
	To make sure everything on the list will still be valid twenty years from now

There were tons of brainstorming sessions and conversations. We collected a gigantic list full of things that were important to us, but it ended up being several pages long.

Then we agreed that the solution was to vote on the things that were essential, and the result is the list you can read below.

Security and Safety come first

We believe that we have a moral obligation to follow professional ethics and web design industry best practices in our work. It is our duty to protect sensitive information on behalf of the clients and site users who place their trust in us. It's our responsibility to test everything we build and make sure we never break that trust.

Try to do more with less

Some of the greatest innovations in history were built with very little materials and a lot of smart thinking. We're talking about efficiency here, and that means finding better ways to handle situations. It means
simplifying wherever possible. It means fiscal responsibility.

Our clients are our fuel - we are nothing without them

This may seem obvious, but few companies these days truly feel this: we really like our customers, and we want our customers to like us!

This means that when a client has a complaint, we own it. It is ours until it is solved.

It means we treat them how we would like to be treated if we were looking for help. It means being transparent and honest. It means understanding their business model, and sometimes even knowing as much about their business as they do, so we can see the world through their eyes.

Considering other points of view is the key to outside the box thinking

If you already feel you know everything, you can't learn. We know we don't know everything! Being humble and open to new ideas lets us really understand the needs of our staff members, our clients, and our partners. It lets us to find new solutions to problems, which is critical for web design.

Kaizen: there is no limit to what we can become

The Japanese phrase 改(kai) 善(zen) means "continuous improvement". We live and breathe Kaizen - in all areas, not only in our technical skills. Learning is a big part of our approach to Kaizen: weekly information sharing sessions, video training, podcasts and an education budget for every team member are just the start. When we grow, we are better able to help our clients grow too.

People are at their best when they have fun in everything they do

Life is too short to waste it doing things you don't enjoy. Having fun means celebrating our successes - even the small ones. It means adding that special unique touch to our worskspace. It means cracking a joke here and there, even when the pressure's on.

Working for better communities benefits everyone

This means giving back to our local community through volunteering and donations. It means helping our earth by recycling, reusing and conserving whenever possible. It also means helping our online brothers and sisters across the web by giving back to the open source community.

Life is bigger than the work we do

Family and health are important - a well-rounded, healthy employee is a productive, happy one. Work is fun, but living a full life allows us to bring more back into our work. Web development firms can't progress unless everyone on the team is engaged and ready to go.

We live for design

Design shows in the way things look and the way things function. But in the end, design is about communicating. Envision's team is always exploring design on the web, in print, and the in world around us. By asking ourselves why things work or don't work, we can all become students of design.

The law of reciprocity:
it feels good to do good

You get what you give. It may be a cliché, but it is crucially important to us. Whenever we can, we share knowledge or do something nice: help another team member, do a favour for a client, share a tip with a partner.

Research and innovation are
long-term investments

Investing time in research and development is critical to long-term success, especially for a web design firm. Perfecting a system, product, or anything else takes time.

We all are unique and have
great potential

We are all born with unique abilities, and life is about finding them and letting them grow. When we stop trying to force square pegs into round holes and focus on our genuine abilities, amazing things can happen!