Last month, our Leadership Team came together for our annual Major Strategic Offsite (MSO), a time for reflection, planning, and team-building. This gathering allows us to focus on the strategic initiatives driving our mission of creating the best possible products for our customers.
Beyond brainstorming and discussions, this year’s MSO included a special opportunity to give back to the community—a hands-on visit to Habitat for Humanity in the San Gabriel Valley. This experience not only deepened our understanding of the challenges faced by families in need but also reinforced the values that guide our daily work.
Building Walls, Building Futures
Habitat for Humanity aims to decrease homelessness for populations in our own backyard. Did you know California has the third lowest home ownership in the nation? To support Habitat for Humanity’s goal of creating more opportunities for low-income working families to own a home in California, our team was tasked with creating fifteen walls for two families in need.
“With our mission centered on student success, Aeries Software recognizes that it is impossible to separate personal and familial demands that students face from the purely educational ones within their school settings. Housing instability is just one such challenge that has drastic effects on students and their families. We immediately recognized that the mission of Habitat for Humanity and for Aeries Software closely aligned in our desires to help families establish certainty and give their children a place to thrive.”
– Brent Lloyd, President of Aeries
Lessons from the Build
Our team found many similarities between building the framework for a house and creating great products. These lessons highlight the values that guided us throughout the day:
- Collaboration: We worked in sub-teams with specific tasks, building an action plan that capitalized on everyone’s strengths. Much like building a great product, building a house requires the skillset of all divisions.
- Respect: We stayed focused on our mission and the families we were serving. As the sun beat down, we kept our eyes on the prize.
- Resilience: When mistakes happened, such as mismeasuring or improper hammering, we quickly regrouped, found solutions, and remained supportive.
- Innovation: Our pace steadily increased throughout the day as we discovered effective shortcuts and creative solutions. At times, this involved assigning more team members to measuring tasks, while in other cases, it meant repurposing wood for new project pieces. By thinking outside the box, we worked smarter and more efficiently to meet our goals.
- Customer-Centric Focus: Most importantly, we kept the needs of these families at the forefront of everything we did. We approached the project with empathy and a deep commitment to understanding what would make the greatest impact on them. Just as we tailor our products to the unique needs of our users and students, we made sure every decision on-site focused on supporting the families’ well-being and securing their future.
Carrying the Spirit of Service Forward
Our day with Habitat for Humanity wasn’t just about building walls—it was about strengthening our connection to the values that drive everything we do. We gained a renewed sense of purpose and teamwork by stepping outside of our usual roles and working together to support families in need.
Brent added: “With housing and rental affordability a constant uncertainty shared by most families across the nation, bringing our leadership team together to assist in solving that challenge for even a few deserving families felt extremely gratifying.”
This experience reminds us that the impact we make extends far beyond our products—it’s about empowering communities to thrive. Together, we can continue building strong communities and positive societal changes. Because when communities thrive, our students thrive.
Learn more about how you can get involved with Habitat for Humanity.