A few weeks ago, Spheric helped small entrepreneurs by lending them money through Kiva. Kiva is a site that allows people to make micro loans to developing-world entrepreneurs. Check out how Kiva works.

One of the entrepreneurs that we helped is Valentina Obrucheva. Valentia has just received the loan money and in the next 12 months, she will be repaying the loan. Here's a short description from her profile on Kiva:

Every company has some collection of core values they work around or think they follow. These values are created either by the company founders as part of the company creation or by a marketing team to help make the company look more attractive to clients. In either case a disconnect can develop between these core values and the way the company actually works.

In the case of founder defined values, what was once true with a few employees may not be accurate with many. No doubt, they are still followed to some extent but as with anything, with growth comes change.

Marketing defined values may not have any relation to the company's internal operations. They are a public relations tool designed to increase sales. These type of values are focused on obtaining new clients and feeding the company's bottom line.

At Spheric our company core values were founder created (Dan Martell, Adam MacDonald, Cory Schop, Myself). They were built around how we were running and wanted to continue to run the business. Their focus was around bootstrapping, getting involved, and encouraging innovation. These all continue to be true today, but at the same time they are true to almost all smaller companies and startups just because of their nature.

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* Collaborative learning
* Transparent and positive environment
* Lead and own the results
* Continuous innovation on a strong foundation (Internal)
* Proven processes creating flexible solutions (External)

The original values are forever built into Spheric's DNA but the new principles we created are an updated vision of our company by our company and how we work everyday. Being generated from the team as a whole makes them truly unique to us. Every member of this team stands behind them and had the opportunity to add their own input into each of the principles listed.

Founder created values are inline with the company at the time of inception but as that company grows and matures they need to be reevaluated by the company as a whole to hold true.

Photographer - Nam Nguyen

Let’s face it, driving during rush hour significantly contributes to our pollution produced, not to mention the uncontrollable bouts of road rage. Congested traffic leads to the idling of vehicles and this is one of the worst offenders when it comes to city smog. There are a few easy solutions to this problem, some are even likely to improve employee morale.

The first solution is to telecommute. Staying home means not having to drive during rush hour. The rising price of gas is one more reason to avoid using our cars. Most of the employees at Spheric work from home and it has helped reduce our carbon footprint.

If telecommuting is not an option, flextime is another solution. Flextime allows your employees to choose what time they want to go into work, breaking the 9 to 5 tradition. This allows them to avoid the morning and evening rush hours. Some employees may make good use of this by doing their favourite activities, like biking or skiing, in the morning. Then they can put in their full 8-hour day. Some morning people might choose to go into work earlier and leave earlier. This solution also allows for employees to work during hours they find themselves to be their most productive.

When flextime and telecommuting are not possible, carpooling is another great way to reduce rush hour pollution. Carpooling reduces the number of cars on the road and having someone to chat with can stave off the boredom of long commutes.

These are just a few of many solutions to help the environment by reducing rush hour traffic. What changes has your work place instituted to boost employee morale while cutting their carbon footprint?