Ambition: A Core Value Driving the Locus Culture

“I implore you to create work that inspires you, your co-workers, and the people who aren’t born yet. Let your work outlast you—that is the only worthy way to leave a legacy.” – Nishith Rastogi, Co-founder & CEO Locus 

We live in a world where ambition is no longer seen as a virtue. It’s often used interchangeably with desire for personal gain and even greed. However, true ambition is anything but that. True ambition is the energy that drives one to be better from one day to the next. Those who are ambitious are not afraid to dream, and when they dream, they dream big and do everything in their power to make those dreams come true. 

Ambitious people are also not afraid to fail; they fail often and are quick to get back on their feet. But most importantly, they do things that are worth failing at. In this sense, courage and determination are extensions of ambition. This is also the ambition that Locus looks for in its employees.

Finding selflessness in ambition

Putting the two words ‘selfless’ and ‘ambition’ next to each other seems contradictory, as the word ‘ambition’ sounds inherently selfish. But at Locus, we believe that true ambition is selfless. The conventional idea of ambition shows a narrow path with a select few at the top of the mountain of success. This is far from the truth. Winning is not about one person making it big. There is unlimited space and enough help for those who really want to succeed. 

According to Locus’ Senior Vice President of Business Americas, Walter Heil, selfless ambition is not a mere value to hold but something that we must aspire towards in our everyday lives at work. “The true definition of winning is the ability to elevate and inspire others. This is the breeding ground for selfless ambition, the value we want to strive for and uphold at Locus”, he says. 

Locus Value Awards: A celebration of true ambition

Good work never goes unnoticed and we are always looking for ways to recognize and celebrate the employees who go above and beyond to deliver. Keeping our core values in mind, we have six categories of awards, one of which is the Locus Value Award for Ambition.

This bi-annual process is carried out through polls and the winners are announced during our town hall meetings. The winners are also rewarded with gift cards worth 15K INR as a token of appreciation.

Arun Nalla, Locus’ Tech Lead, was recently presented the value award for Ambition for ensuring a stable and bug-free release of Locus NodeIQ. His manager, Vaibhav Aparmit, is all praise. “During the last 1.5 months of release, Arun powered through 40+ bugs. Arun himself volunteered to move from Frontend to Backend and took up tasks to ease the Backend bandwidth crunch. This quarter he is multitasking between Backend and Frontend, to ensure we release quality features within time”, he says.

Like Arun, anyone who sets high standards of deliverables for themselves and others, is result oriented and has the capacity to set ‘stretch goals’ that are both challenging and achievable reflects the true essence of ambition. 

Investing in self-development for professional and personal growth, displaying a positive attitude and having the ability to take smart risks characterises an ambitious person for Locus. Truly ambitious people choose quality over urgency, make decisions that are backed by data and logic, and speak their mind without worrying about disagreements. In short, they are fearless, and do not hesitate from going the extra mile in whatever they do.