I’ve been creating a Wiki for our team and as such have been typing up a lot of stuff over the summer. One of the things that we developed this past year was a set of core values to direct everything that we do. Its a bit deeper than a mission statement but still fairly general.
Does your team have core values? If not, what do you think they would be?
Here are ours:
Family: Our team is more than a collection of students, mentors, teachers, and parents. We are a family. We believe in each other, watch out for each other, and expect each other to succeed. A Panthrobot accepts, respects, loves and most importantly enjoys each other’s company.
Excellence: Every build, every competition, every event, every award; we do each task to our utmost. A Panthrobot is motivated, passionate, and hard-working; never settling for second best.
Outreach: The only way to change a community is to be part of it. Our community is not just our school, our city, or our state. It is every place that our voice, our hands, and our hearts can reach. A Panthrobot consistently looks for ways to interact with our community – both with our excitement about robotics as well as our passion for service.
Fun: We believe that we are our most successful when we are having fun doing what we do. Whether it be cheering at competitions, playing laser-tag during our end of the year party, racing robots with elementary school teachers, or simply enjoying each others company - we want to bring as much excitement and joy to our lives and to the lives of others as we can.
My old team didn’t exactly have a formal set of core values, but what our mentors and myself tried to really push was the motto that our lead mentor had set for us a while back as a joke to get us motivated. That motto was “Plan. Commit. Deliver.”
Of course, that’s more like a mission statement, but I suppose that provides the foundation for our “core values”. While I was on the team, I suppose we tried stressing leadership, teamwork, and competence.
This has the potential to become a very useful thread. I look forward to seeing the other replies.
We don’t have any set core values, but this is something we came up with for our Chairman’s Award Submission that kind of sums up our team.
We are about more than just building robots. We are about making a difference in the lives of every single child of Northern Arizona and beyond. Being a CocoNut means embodying all aspects of FIRST, making it your own, then taking it with you where ever you go. Being a CocoNut means being passionate, dedicated, and professional. We are spirited and loud and we are proud of it. We are always having a good time because we don’t compete, we celebrate. Being a Coconuts means knowing that science, technology, engineering, and math aren’t just a good career choice; they are a good lifestyle choice. We are about being a family and safe haven for anyone and everyone. We are about bringing out the best, and the FIRST, in every child and adult we meet. We’re not just a robotics team building a robot. We are a FIRST family building a community centered around the message and ideals of FIRST. And we couldn’t do it any other way. We are the CocoNuts.
I was searching from 33’s build log from a couple years ago and stumbled across this really great Powerpoint Jim Zondag made over 10 years ago. While it is mostly more technical than value orientated, there are some nuggets of value wisdom. In particular, his first slide.
Students are an Asset – Use Them!
High School students are capable of doing virtually any task related to your team with a little training and leadership. Never underestimate them.
If you think something can’t be done by students, always ask yourself; “Why not?” and “What can be done to enable them to do it?”
If you think something can’t be done by students, always ask yourself; “Why not?” and “What can be done to enable them to do it?”
The more they can do, the more they will do (and thus the less you have to do.)
In time, you will develop student leaders as capable and dedicated as any adult.
Also some great advice about feedback loops at the end of the presentation!
