Ycenter
1608 Walnut Street,
12th Floor, PA 19103, USA
DEFINING OUR COMMUNITY
OF PRACTICE
& what makes us who we are
The journey of Ycenter since its inception in 2014, has been a fascinating one.
We often get questions as basic as what is Ycenter and how can we work with you?
To address this and many other things about Ycenter, we decided to design and
publish a Handbook. This handbook clearly communicates our value system, our
culture, why we do what we do and more importantly what does this mean to you -
if you are a potential employee, partner, client or just about anyone who wants
collaborate with Ycenter and be a part of our global community.
Are we a training company helping the young people build entrepreneurial skills?
Are we a design consultancy that helps companies innovate faster? Are we a
humanitarian impact-focused problem solving agency working on ground with
communities and NGOs?
Yes we are all of these, clubbed as a service based design enterprise made up of a
bunch of hopelessly optimistic people.
This handbook is a culmination of reections of our past actions, our current
standing and most importantly focused on the future we plan to build with Ycenter.
Doing the right thing despite being scared
You do it despite being scared, because it is
the right thing to do.
You are ready to challenge the status quo.
You are ready to be Rebel for a Cause.
You can be courageous and vulnerable at the
same time, which means, you also have the
courage to ask for help.
Breaking the chains of conformity to produce something unique
You are open to trying something that isn’t
on the internet.
You find respite in breaking conformity.
You find new ways to do more with less.
Your work is unique.
You bring a trans/interdisciplinary approach
to problem solving.
Engaging in constant seeking of questions & answers
Whether you are watching a movie, listening to a
podcast, reading a book or even writing one, you
are always expanding your horizons.
You ask questions because you want to learn.
You are seeking to learn by doing. As a service
driven startup,sometimes the opportunity window
to learn something new and implement it is very
narrow. So the velocity of learningis important.
You focus on the WHY of doing something. The
“what’s and the how’s” will fall in place.
Ownership and accountability for every project in its entirety
You believe it is never the wrong time to do the
right thing. You show high levels of
accountability.
You have the discipline to work by yourself.
You have the knack for project ownership in its
entirety - process, goal setting, outcomes.
When need be, you are ready to help others
succeed in light of achieving the higher shared
goals at Ycenter
Designing every project and outcome to be people-centric
The heart of every process is people-centric
You go an extra mile for your clients and
colleagues to make sure they “feel good”
about working with and for Ycenter.
Our bottomline growth is meaningless without
Ability to feel someone else’s perspective
You have the ability to see problems from a
dierent perspective.
Your default reaction to learning about a
problem is to feel it andnot just read about it.
Even if you have never faced the problem
yourself, you have acompulsive need to make
the situation better.
Presenting using an authentic and engaging style of narrative
Right from our business cards to our
workshops, storytelling is how we engage
people. People today can talk to their mobile
phones if they want facts and information. So if
you are presenting something, it better be
more interesting than the internet.
If you believe you subscribe.
Its very much like sitting around a campre
with a bunch of fellow backpackers. Replace
the re with your computer screen and
backpackers with your team members.
Practicing evolution beyond one’s domain of expertise
You are willing to evolve in dierent directions
to acquire, share and expand your know-hows.
You do not believe in the phrase “this is how
things are always done”
You bring something new to the table, even if
it is food.
You have a T-shaped personality, with
expertise in one domain and a breadth of
knowledge in other domains.
1608 Walnut Street,
12th Floor, PA 19103, USA
