This summer Sophisticated Systems will celebrate 25 years in business, which is sometimes difficult to imagine. A great deal has changed; in fact more has changed than not. That being said, the most important things have remained the same. Our path has been a blessed one and similar, I suspect, to many entrepreneurs.
What has changed for SSI? First, our clients have multiplied and their business models have altered significantly, such as what they buy, how they buy, etc. This is driven by changes in the environment (more complex), economy and a host of other factors like globalization.
For example, one of our business lines continues to be IT staff augmentation. I remember sitting in my home office in 1990 calling potential clients and seeking opportunities to provide COBOL programmers. We never discussed offshoring, outsourcing, shortages of skill sets in the marketplace, how the data collected could be used for predictive modeling and the importance of considering security when developing applications. (How often did you discuss the disruptive challenges associated with being hacked in 1990?)
For both our firm and clients to remain competitive in a changing landscape, we adjusted our business model, approaches and strategies to ensure our value proposition continues to resonate with clients. I know that you have done the same.
Satisfying clients and employees
But let’s look at what hasn’t changed over the past quarter century — and whether your company has been in business a few years or several generations I suspect that you might agree. First, our unrelenting desire to satisfy our clients has only intensified.
Long before reading the popular book “Raving Fans,” I knew we didn’t want to simply have “happy clients,” we need to be committed to delivering results that created “raving fans.” Anything less than our best simply was not acceptable.
SSI, like all companies, has fallen short on occasion. We, however, have used these invaluable lessons to enhance our service. This drive to deliver is both internally and externally generated. Yes, our clients demand our best, but just as importantly our team demands the same.
The other important thing that hasn’t changed is our company’s commitment to its employees. As an employee stock owned company, we refer to one another as fellow shareholders. We care about our business. We also care about one another and our community.
Steer toward the future
Regardless of the number of years your firm will celebrate in 2015, please take the time to appreciate the efforts of those who have brought your organization to this point — your clients and teammates. Acknowledging this creates an opportunity for an even brighter future, building upon your key principles and culture as well as proactively seeking out opportunities to move your businesses to higher levels.
As leaders, yes we should celebrate the past — like I just described — however it is critical that we also steer toward the future. Just “glance” and don’t “stare” in the rearview mirror. You want to continue to look forward with energy, excitement and an open and innovative view of the endless possibilities that the future holds.
