Archive for culture
Corporate Culture and Collaboration in Community
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It is amazing how much one can learn in a month after being immersed in an environment. I’ve learned that while our SVP of Business Development can salsa, it’s the Bhangra music and rhythms that get my new colleagues on the dance floor at a company party. I’ve learned that, true to its name, if I drink the Midnight Magic coffee after lunch I can’t fall asleep before 1:00 a.m. I’ve learned that when you get smart people and good technology in a room together, you can play a part to help a poor island nation racked by catastrophe.
My role here at MetroStar Systems is, ultimately, to tell our story. While there is a certain “drinking from a firehose” aspect to the transition of a new executive into a fast growing company – average of 272% in the last three years and 420% growth in the last year – in true MetroStar fashion, I’ve tried to do a lot of listening and observing since arriving earlier this month.
So here’s what I’ve observed:
We are Skywalker Ranch meets the United Nations. Our modern offices are situated on a beautiful pre-Civil War era campus in the heart of what is now bustling, modern, high tech Reston, Virginia. But this exquisite facility is only the shell – the real beauty lies within. At the time of this writing, we have nearly 100 employees with more than 30 different nationalities represented. Walking around the office and meeting my new colleagues has been the absolute highlight of my transition so far. The cultural diversity is a huge strength for a company immersed in using technology in new and innovative ways. We come from different places with different backgrounds and different ideas. When a customer presents a problem, we can offer several unique perspectives and share among our team to create the ideal solution. Innovative collaboration is at the very heart of MetroStar Systems.
We are a company that uses technology to bridge collaboration between people. Sometimes those people are Marines sharing data around the globe; other times we’re leveraging the best social media technology on a global scale in the interest of the State Department’s public diplomacy campaigns. By doing what we do, we effect change in the world.
MetroStar Systems offers a unique ability to collaborate. Indeed, we are true to our tagline – we “Advance Technology Daily“. But we also…
Avance la tecnología cada día
每天先进技术
Zaawansowanej technologii na co dzień
پیشرفت تکنولوژی روزانه
передовой технологии с каждым днем
Avançando a tecnologia diariamente
تقدم التكنولوجيا اليومية
अग्रिम प्रौद्योगिकी हर दिन
Progresser les technologies de tous les jours
предварително технология всеки ден
Kuendeleza teknolojia ya kila siku
הטכנולוגיה מראש כל יום
công nghệ tiên tiến mỗi ngày
사전 기술 매일
teknologi maju setiap hari
Teknoloji avanse chak jou
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/noticelj/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time
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Toaster Oven VS Toaster
On an early Thursday morning last August, I walked into the office with a hole in my stomach. Following my regular routine, I went to the kitchen area and tossed two loaves of bread into the great belly of the toaster oven, which boasts a 12 inch pizza capacity. As usual, I waited for the oven to heat up while I planned my day alongside.
Mo, the HR Director of the company, entered the kitchen and proceeded to caution me. Ali, the company CEO, is not in a good mood … so, I should hurry up with my daily ritual. I decided to give the toaster oven one more minute with my breakfast. The next minute, I am meticulously spreading some peanut butter over my toast.
“How long does it take you to make your breakfast every day?”
Lo and behold, it is Ali at the kitchen door. Now, I know that it is a rhetorical question. So, I patiently wait for the follow-up:
“Add up all the time you spend every morning in this kitchen making your breakfast. And when you get the answer, go tell our closest competition how much you have helped them!”
So, I did. (The first part of what he said at least.)
I finished making my breakfast and took it to my desk, where I looked at the following conservative figures:
- Number of work weeks in a year: (N) = 48 [10 days of personal leave; 10 days of holidays]
- Average number of days/week I make my breakfast: (d) = 4
- Average number of minutes I spend/breakfast session: (m) = 15
- Total number of minutes that I spend/year on breakfast: (T) = N*d*m
- (T) = 48*4*15
- (T) = 2880
- Total = 48 hours
Before I made these calculations, I was taken aback by a CEO’s interference in an issue as “minor” as making a simple breakfast. But after these calculations I realize that six working days of a year is a lot of time to lose for a small business!
So, what next? Blame the toaster oven, of course! It dawned on me: A man is only as good as the tool he owns. Every morning I would sit in the kitchen, submissive to the status quo of the slow burning toaster oven. I was using the wrong tool all along – wasting both time and energy. That afternoon, I went to a Target store nearby and bought a real toaster – you know, the one with two slots for the bread. The following morning my new ‘tool’ would help me cut the length of my breakfast ritual about 75%! The following figures would emerge:
- Average number of minutes I spend/breakfast session (m’) = 4
- Total number of minutes that I spend/year on breakfast (T) = N*d*m
- (T) = 48*4*4
- (T) = 768
- Total = 12.8 hours
It is always convincing when numbers tell you a story. To tell a story, however, needs a visionary intervention. At MetroStar Systems, we are a team of visionaries. As such, we keep our eyes on the bigger picture but we don’t let the “minor” details slide. We don’t cry over spilled milk, but make the best of the situation. We think both inside and outside the box, and if the box is not right, we change it. We are an agile team of active learners and proactive workers – we are professionals.
Celebrating 10 Years of Success
Posted by: | CommentsOn Friday October 16, 2009, MetroStar Systems hosted a 10 Year Anniversary and Open House event celebrating 10 Years of Dedication and Innovation, and the move into our new world headquarters.
On behalf of MetroStar Systems, I would like to thank everyone for attending and celebrating with us. It was great to see our partners, customers, clients, coworkers, contractors, friends, and families at this special event. MetroStar Systems would not be who we are today without the help and support we have received from you!
Sincerely,
Jenni Hubacher
Video courtesy of Derek Yale.
Photos courtesy of Clayton Harrison.
We Are Small But We Are Strong!
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s funny when you have to worry about growing pains in business. I compare this phenomenon to a ten year old kid, where it has learned to walk and talk. Yet, it is still vulnerable to its surroundings = the economy, friends = partnerships, and neighbors = other businesses or competition.
The other day I was told by a large neighbor how would MetroStar manage and survive in this downturn of an economy. Does MetroStar have the relationships? And can it continue capturing new business in this ultra competitive market? Well the quick answer is “YES, WE CAN SIR!”.
I did not spend 20 years of my life in the government building relationships. In fact for the past 10 years, since I graduated from George Mason University I have been an entrepreneur not worried about the bottom line, but working hard building our organization brick by brick with knowledge, courage, and determination. In my ten years of being in business we experienced the following: in our second year the DOT COM bubble busted, our third year we coped with 9/11, a tragedy that shook our nation, but at the same time it taught us to unite and be strong. Finally, the last two years have been compared to the Great Depression of the 30’s and 40’s. With that said, MetroStar has grown at an average of 250% in the past three years. We have been profitable for the past 12 quarters. Every cent of profit has gone back into our organization; to create INNOVATION and JOBS.
Our assets are our people not cash in the bank, our growth is due to our culture not relationships, and our courage is due to the characters of our leadership not our board members. So, the next time a large firm corner’s you and try’s to overpower you with their large sums of cash and tries to intimidate you with their relationships with government officials; stand strong, be confident, and remember that you are a small business owner not in it for the moment, but for the journey.
You are creating jobs and giving back during this crisis, you are not held accountable by members of the board, Wall Street, or Shareholders. Stay resilient, give back, and do not let this market and its bullies overwhelm you and your goals, it will turn to your advantage. Work smart, hard, and efficiently!
