Skellig was started in 2010 with a very simple idea: try to take care of engineers.
I always wanted to start and grow a company. I spotted my opportunity to begin when I saw how some fellow engineers and myself felt like we weren’t empowered to help solve engineering problems. Instead, we were expected to fall in line, do what we were told, and not to ask questions about why things are the way they are. “Be thankful to have a job” seemed to be the maxim.
I remember reading the following quote from Howard Schultz before I read his book, Onward:
“You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed your employee’s expectation of management.” -Howard Schultz
I don’t think we’ve cracked the code and done everything well in the eyes of everyone. However, coming back to that quote years later, what I have learned is >don’t try to be all things to all people. Figure out who you are and what you stand for.
The best you can do is to explain your vision for the future. Be as honest as you can about it. This is the best way to let people who might be better off in another company make that choice for themselves. More importantly, it’s the only way to cement a team around a common goal.
I have big plans for Skellig. I want to see it empower engineers to be the best professionals they can be. My role as leader is to build them a stage to perform on.
In any venture find the right people who believe what you believe. Then figure out how to exceed their expectations. Onward!