Yesterday’s home
Have you ever heard the phrase, “May you live in interesting times?” With everything going on at ITW lately, I keep rolling this phrase around in my mind. Apparently, scholars and bloggers dispute whether this is some kind of ancient Chinese blessing, or if it’s really a mean-spirited curse. Think about it… it sounds nice at first, but there is a thin line between what is ‘interesting’ and what is ‘trouble’! It reminds me of that lesson we learn as kids, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.”
For IT Weapons, these are definitely interesting times… and thankfully, I am surrounded by a team that doesn’t just rise to meet new challenges, these people love them.
Our move to the new Weapons Lair is only 3 days away. This is the biggest change we’ve made in our 9+ years. And yet, it is only one of many big things on December’s dance card. First was the big brainstorming trip to the Caribbean with Jason. Then, last week was my 40th birthday party. Jason just inked a deal for one of our most significant and innovative consulting projects. This Friday we’re having our legendary Christmas party (at the new Lair, of course). And on Saturday we finally say goodbye to our home on Bonhill Road. We had 8 great years in this building. These walls watched our headcount grow from 5 to 37.
Interesting times indeed! We might need seatbelts.
The office is buzzing with excitement this week. Boxes and bins are everywhere, project plans and blueprints are being checked and rechecked, the loose ends are getting tied off. All this and the company is busier than we’ve ever been. We just finished our busiest November, following our busiest October…. and December is already our busiest on record! Did I mention a certain consulting project?
We definitely need seatbelts.
Tomorrow’s home
On Monday, the team starts operations at the new office. I can’t wait for the big reveal on Friday night. Our new home will have plenty of innovative creature comforts: a spacious lunch room—with plenty of natural light, meeting rooms all over the building, customer workspaces, training rooms, conference facilities, large washrooms (with showers), lots of parking, higher security, more configuration/build/test space for our technical team, our very own think-tank, a gym, plenty of room for us to grow into… and even a synthetic ice hockey rink!
Jason and I are incredibly proud of this team. Everyone has worked so hard and they definitely deserve some nicer digs. We want to ensure ITW continues to be a fun place for people to spend their days.
But it’s not all for us to enjoy internally. We are adding real value for our managed clients as the service arm of ITW continues to grow. We’ve got more alternate workspace, increased seminar, training and lab space, even more Cloud resources, and a state-of-the-art solution demonstration area. This new office is a big investment for us, but we’ve never shied away from a challenge. This is what customers and colleagues have come to expect from us… innovation, excellence, and fun. We’re moving from 6,500 sq ft to 37,000 sq ft. Wow!
May you live in interesting times… I know we do.
