EPIC — What it means to Andelans

In the heart of Africa, in the city of Lagos in Nigeria, there is a set of people I have been fortunate to come across. They call themselves “Elite engineers”. It sounds like a cliché right? I thought so too until I was able to stay more around them beyond the time it takes to see an ad on the web.

When I went in for the simulated sprint organized for aspiring techsters, I heard many more mantras. Few are TIA, YOYO and EPIC. Each one standing for what Andelans (as they are called) hold dear, and it serves as a compass and mainstay to every of their conduct. I will be shedding more light on one of these mantras at Andela and what it means to them.

The word EPIC in the Andela values stands for 4 values which stands Andela out as a formidable giant amidst corporate organizations. No doubt, other organizations have these values at their core also, but Andela has made a point of raising the significance of these values beyond what others have done in time past.

EPIC stands for Excellence, Passion, Integrity and Collaboration.

This is the core of what drives growth, relationship, interactions and yes, recruitment in Andela.

Excellence

According to Microsoft Encarta 2009; excellence means ‘superiority: the quality or state of being outstanding and superior; it also refers to it as an outstanding feature a person possesses at an activity or character’.

In any human endeavor or undertaking one is to embark upon, there is always a place of acquiring the skills needed to be able to succeed in such an endeavor, but when the knowledge comes, something separates the ‘just good’ from the exceptional. And that one distinguishing factor is EXCELLENCE. In order to be able to discuss more about success with the application of excellence, the other values will have to be substituted into the equation because they all work together to dispense all-round success.

Passion

For excellence to be achieved, there must be an innate love for what one is doing and that is where the place of passion comes into the equation in achieving success.

There’s no new height gained in any new endeavor without its accompanying challenges. But what keeps one going even when the tide is against an upward and forward movement is the innate love for the cause. At Andela, the belief is held dearly that for success to be achieved, there has to be a commitment to loving what you do and put in ones very best in achieving a great result.

Integrity

Integrity can be defined as the possession of firm principles and living by it even when no one is there to check you.

In Andela, this belief is at the topmost of every interaction, and it’s no surprise that this is so, because a height that is gained on the wings of deceit will only keep one up but for a little while.

In order to get an excellent mark on the Richter scale of success, integrity must never be compromised in any way as this will be tested at some decisive points in one’s career and in life generally.

Collaboration

No one is an island of knowledge so goes an age-long saying. And true to the words. No one can make meaningful progress within a short time in isolation.

When you walk alone, you go fast, but when people walk together, you go far.

With this understanding, Andela holds the place of synergizing, asking questions, seeking feedback, teamwork very dear. And this takes a pivotal role in the way things are organized in the organization.

With these understanding of what EPIC stands for at Andela, it is no surprise then that the organization is growing in leaps and bounds. The Andela EPIC values is in itself very much complete as it contains all the ingredients needed for success in every clime and altitude.

I can say without an iota of doubt about the effectiveness of these EPIC values on the people that come in contact with it because I have been a recipient and I have seen its impact first hand. Firstly, on the part of excellence. I have always been a kind of person who can settle for the ‘good’ without really wanting to venture out to do the extra things, but with the understanding of Excellence imparted, I have become dissatisfied with that kind of mindset. I have learnt that to become better and achieve excellence in anyway, the race is against oneself and not others.

I have also learnt to really channel my passion towards what I love doing while at the same time being truthful in all my dealings never letting room for any form of dishonesty to creep in.

Collaboration I have learnt is essential if one is really going to achieve great heights in anything, leveraging on other people’s uniqueness in order to get things done has become an easy thing to do since I came in contact with the Andela culture.

This goes to reason why the Andela culture has been able to bring out the hidden greatness in African developers like never before.

So, of a truth, Andelans are actually “Elite Engineers”.