Starting to work for a new company is always a big change, especially when you have never worked in the specific industry before. While it might take some time to understand everything that the new company does, and get used to how things are done, there are also things one can acquire a good understanding of relatively quickly. For instance, I think it is usually fairly easy to get a feel for the type of staff there are in the office, how they interact with each other, and how they feel about the company as well as its clients. The culture or environment, if you will.
Over the course of my work experiences I have had the opportunity to work in general accounting, public accounting, in different office roles, and even watched my parents create and operate their own business. It has been my experience that change is usually something that is somewhat resisted and generally tends to make people nervous for whatever reason.
For instance, I worked for a public accounting firm during college that did (and as far as I know, still does) all of their audits by hand on paper. Yes, I know, seems crazy right? I think so too. Lugging around gigantic heavy binders with years and years of mangled financial data and manually calculating and repeatedly recalculating numbers on a ten-key is an enormous waste of time. I tried to discuss and explain to the owner the benefits of at least having the financials in an excel document, but he was firmly and very persistently opposed to any alterations to the way things had always been done. This was somewhat painful to watch and be a part of, but also a valuable learning experience at the same time.
That is an extreme example, but it has been a consistent theme that I have noticed. Changes seem to be accompanied by a perceived slow, scary, and unwanted process if they happen at all. This is something that often confused me as I could not quite understand, with all the technology and resources that are available today and how important adaptability is to the longevity of a company, why needed changes and improvements weren’t welcomed and seen as something that is beneficial and necessary.
Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.
Now that I work at SDI however, their approach is one of my favorite things about this company. After only a few weeks I can already see and appreciate that the staff here understand and embrace value added changes and innovation. SDI has been able to establish a culture where thinking outside the box and continuously seeking improvement is more of a lifestyle than an unfortunate side effect of business operation. At SDI it is a consistent theme that is reinforced from the top down and demonstrated as well as encouraged on a consistent basis throughout.
It does not hurt that SDI has a great staff on board who are all extremely capable, intelligent and genuinely care about the company’s continued success. I very much enjoy being a part of this group and the united team feeling we share. It is refreshing to be around people who strive for excellence, have a thirst for continuous improvement and really care about each other, their clients, and the company as a whole. I look forward to working with each and every one of them and am excited to see what the future holds.
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