It's not a rock band, sorry. But if we ever form one, dibs on that name! The basic definition is that an Imaginaree is a person who works at Imaginary Cloud. Ok, nice, but this definition does not really say much about us, does it? Hopefully, the next lines will give you an idea of what it is like to be an Imaginaree and what it genuinely means.
Being human-centric is key to us. Our team is undoubtedly our biggest asset. Hence, our priority is to provide an environment where everyone feels like they truly matter and where there is room for Imaginarees to express themselves as individuals. Being part of a welcoming, fun, and empathetic team has a massive impact on the well-being of each member.
In order to do what is best for everyone, it is essential to know how unique each Imaginaree is and what makes them happy. The better a person feels, the more that person will be motivated to contribute to the team. Consequently, the more efficient and collaborative teams are, the closer we are to our mission to improve people's lives through technology.
Not to be cocky, but our team is genuinely good. We know, we know, it sounds like a presumptuous statement, but let us explain. Yes, we have a lot of experts, and their technical knowledge is paramount to our success. However, the point that we wish to highlight here is that everyone is very approachable and willing to help. This is not always that easy to achieve in teams. Yet, it has been a big part of our culture, and it definitely played a major role in our accomplishments.
We take the time and effort to help our colleagues overcome an obstacle one day, and the next day that person will do the same for another Imaginaree. Sometimes more complex issues might need the help of several people, but no one is left adrift and stuck at a dead end. At Imaginary Cloud, we believe that a great professional is the one able to help and motivate others as well. It is not just about executing one task perfectly, but rather about the end goal of each project and how proud we are as a team of what we delivered.
We enjoy being up to date and sharing the latest news and trends. This applies to technology and design topics, as well as to new restaurants, recently launched songs, and sports and cultural events. The habit of sharing what we are reading, listening to, and discussing what new things are coming up, is also a great way to start interesting conversations and get to know each other. Plus, it pushes us to acquire new skills and deepens our knowledge.
That's our soft spot. We are so proud of our four-legged friends that everyone's pets are famous at Imaginary Cloud. Most of the time, the pets are just sleeping or doing their thing, but they look so cute that we HAVE TO take a picture and share.
We are currently working from home (due to COVID-19), but the office door is open for our hairy friends to come and hang out with us. For now, we have to settle for pictures shared through Slack, which also gives everyone a boost of good mood.
We enjoy reading and are big admirers of the power of books. At Imaginary Cloud, every Imaginaree can access the shared library, pick a book, take it home and return it when it is over. If we do not have the book someone wishes to read, that person can also ask for it, and the company purchases it.
The topic does not have to be technology or design-related. It can be about anything. For instance, one of the books is about motorbikes' mechanics. It is not even slightly close to Imaginary Cloud's services (not our strong suit, yet), but it still matters simply because it was an interesting topic to the Imaginaree who asked for it.
It just fits! It is the ideal emoji to express our emotions at least 80% of the time. Someone's birthday, party-parrot. A bug is fixed, party-parrot. It's Friday, party-parrot. Our pizza arrived, party-parrot. We have a new client, party-parrot. We have a workshop on how to make your own bread, party-parrot. New Imaginaree is joining, party-parrot. Again, it just fits. It is fun and lifts our celebratory mood.
As our excessive use of the party-parrot emoji suggests, we are really into celebrations. This mood applies not only to our shared conquests as a team but also to each person's victories, both in and out of Imaginary Cloud.
We try to get to know each other as individuals and are each other's fans at all times. No holding back when it comes to cheering! Overall, we are very lucky to be surrounded by Imaginarees that have been distinguished for their cooking skills, academic success, brewing talent, and so many other expertises that make them great people to work with and to learn from.
The love for technology is definitely something that we all share in every department. It's incredible how disruptive technology can be. Thus, at Imaginary Cloud, we constantly seek new ways to make the most out of it and to understand how technology can benefit people's lives. We enjoy having avid conversations and debates about the best tools for software development, design , and how certain technologies impact the users and even society as a whole.
Well, this should not come as a surprise, but we are not perfect. Who is, and where is the fun in that?! Despite the curious minds our Imaginarees have, there are some things that we do not master, such as drawing. Truth be told, most of the team cannot draw (except for the design Imaginarees). Our Pictionary games require a lot of abstract interpretation, but we manage and have loads of fun!
One of our values is "Respect and Care", meaning that an Imaginaree has a deep respect for others' individuality and beliefs. This is absolutely vital to us. Yes, we share a common love for technology, and we all have a geeky side (which we proudly express). However, we are also very different from each other, and we embrace those differences, which often lead to random polls, like "who is team pineapple on pizza?" or "Who would like to jump out of a plane in our next team event".
All in all, we have different backgrounds, life paths, ages, interests, languages, and dialects, etc. We could easily continue adding aspects to our disparities, but we work and grow as a team no matter what. We identify ourselves with Imaginary Cloud's values, and we share the same purpose. Yet, our diversity is also what makes us unique.
We are very far from knowing everything. In fact, the more we know, the more questions we have, and that is an amazing thing. We do not settle for straight answers without considering all the hypotheses and the most relevant and recent information on a certain topic.
The technology industry changes so rapidly that we need to learn to stay updated and improve our efficiency constantly. What is true today might not be the same tomorrow. Therefore, we would rather have a more humble and innovative approach based on research (allowing us to be flexible and adapt) than conforming with what we already know.
An Imaginaree is much more than just a job role. As we have explained at the beginning of the article, at Imaginary Cloud, we follow a human-centric approach, and that also means that we are well aware that someone's life is about more than their job. We believe in job roles that are aligned with our Imaginarees' professional and personal goals and values. Further, we also believe in the importance of providing the time and conditions for our Imaginarees to follow their passions and fulfill their ambitions.
As a team of enthusiastic people, it would be too limiting to label ourselves just according to our job title. We are our job position, plus numerous other "stamps" that also matter to describe us, such as world travellers, parents, multilingual, athletes, bakers, puzzle masters, and so much more! Therefore, we wish to create an environment where everyone feels good about their job and simultaneously feels the support to follow their passions (and maybe even discover new ones).
To wrap it up, being an Imaginaree is so much more than working for the same company. It is a group of exceptional and enthusiastic people who truly work as a team and enjoy learning from each other. We are very proud and thankful to work with people who are always willing to help a teammate and who identify with our purpose to improve people's lives through technology.
We seek to provide a positive environment that follows a human-centric approach at all times. Thus, it is vital that every Imaginaree feels like there is room to share who they are and express how they feel, as well as their goals and passions. It's incredible how unique each person is and how contagious the Imaginarees' enthusiasm is!
COO @ Imaginary Cloud and advocate for human-centric culture in organizations. Tech enthusiast, Gin lover, problem-solver.
Marketing intern with a particular interest in technology and research. In my free time, I play volleyball and spoil my dog as much as possible.
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