What do you talk about when you have the ear of 70 important people for a morning? That’s the question Jay and I have been dancing with for 3 months in preparation for our annual Summit getaway with our team this past weekend. I’m really happy that for this year’s keynote address, more than every year before – we were able to focus on strategy, vision and looking forward … Sharing some industry trends with our team and painting a picture of where we’re going in the year to come.
It wasn’t just about reporting on our 2013 performance and setting goals (which are tremendously valuable exercises). It was about delivering a Weapons Grade simple message about our priorities. Why was it easier to focus on the future at this year’s Summit? The short answer is the people around Jay and I. In the last couple years a true leadership group has emerged at ITW – and those folks do an amazing job of ensuring that everyone on every team understands their tactical role in what we’re up to. These leaders are shining brightly; balancing technical and really business-focused priorities, cross-managing and constantly inspiring our ever-growing team.
The concepts of standardization and optimization have been our focus for a few years now. NOW – it’s about simplifying. We’ve got the SSAE-16 Accreditation, we’ve built a PMO, our team has put the hard work in to ensure that our solutions are tested, and our processes repeatable.
Simplicity is an unspoken and critical core value for most organizations. It deserves more emphasis. Make it easier to talk about what you do. Make it easier to invoice and bill for what you do. Make it easier for your team to understand the strategic direction that you’re all headed together. Simplify.
That’s what we spent 2 days discussing with our entire team up on the shore of Lake Simcoe. And on Saturday night, we honoured some of our top performers. Each year we ask our team to vote for their most deserving colleagues. Here’s a list of our winners … Next time you are in the office, be sure to congratulate them, check out the banners in our rink, and scope out the primo parking spaces they won!
Best Office Prank – Mark, Michael, Foster, Kevin, and Chris
Continuous Improvement Award – Andrew S (Managed Services)
The Shield – Sean C (Virtualization & DC Team)
The Sword – Chris D (Client Services)
Rookie of the Year – Jamie S (Infrastructure Team)
Most Valuable Weapon – Brett C (Client Services)
