#2, It is a very special place, because of our people. Some of us just got back from a marathon on the road - NYC, Mobile, Gulf Shores and some very complex networks and builds. One guy is still rolling back from the coast and the integration of systems/software built for a medical institute. Another left work after several days with little food and less sleep - just to go home and start some more work! The men are amazing - I can't get them to stop. They know the mission and "they know how to ship" - we set nearly impossible deadlines for ourselves and then work to see if we can beat them. We do it by caring for one another.
If two of us are baked, another jumps in and keeps the pace rolling. Since we build all of the stuff we sell ourselves, there is a very real sense of ownership. It has to be perfect. Mis-align so much as a label, and the case is donated to charity and one starts over. Code? it has to be as perfect as a man can make it, or it is re-written until it meets that standard. Same is true of the UX - we spend way more than most companies think is reasonable to make apps interfaces look as good as the best designers can make them. There is just so much respect for the work, our customers and one another, that each inspires all the others.
Super simple rules: "The Fourth Rule - do not lie; do not cheat; do not steal; and do not tolerate those that do." This means that no matter what happens, or what breaks, men are fee to be candid - so we can fix it and move on. "You today, me tomorrow - today you may be weak and tired and I will carry you - because tomorrow I may be flat on my backside." And the most important rule - "Do the right thing regardless of the personal consequences" - this is how we define character. Rule for leaders are even simpler - "take care of the men and they will take care of the mission." That drives every thing I do. I tell my men, "I don't owe one thing - I owe you everything." They know I mean every word of it, because of what I do - place them first. If that and an environment filled with only the very best of all equipment interests you, give me a holler.
We do use a lot of MS SW and tools, but we don't really know them. We like a lot of their work, but we like our own and we like being a small unit. We work really hard, but the rewards are probably a lot greater, too. Per person, we smoke them and their earnings on a per capita basis.
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