My team asked me to say something on the occasion of the first-anniversary celebration of Codes For Tomorrow. I was blank at that point. People like me prepare for writing code or building technology, but never about expressing ourselves for special occasions.

So when I checked the mic that day, at that moment, I realized that it’s not about just me, but about us – we, as a team.

Henry Ford’s words – “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is a success.” seemed meaningful at that point.

Completing the first year for any company is special as it is often a combination of many firsts – the first year of a teammate’s career, the first year of new responsibilities, the first year of trusting ourselves, the first year of trusting a stranger who transcends from being a team member to the kind of person you know for a lifetime.

In any startup, people usually spend 9-10 hours daily, which translates to 2880 hours in a year which is roughly 4 months – a third of a year. Interesting! If a workplace doesn’t provide learning opportunities, if it isn’t a place of fun and togetherness, spending that much time is not possible.

Hence, it’s all about that – not me, we.

Big organizations with thousands of employees often run like machines without emotions. It’s as good as a dead entity. Emerging organizations are alive; there are systems in place which run like machines and with emotions.

This makes a team alive, an organization alive.

Frequently Asked Question