When DISTek began its 25th year in business back in March, we knew we wanted to celebrate this rather significant milestone, maybe have a party, take in a ball game, go out to dinner, or have a family picnic. 25 years ago, any of these ideas would have been possible with not much more effort than calling the wife, locking up the office, and heading uptown. Ah, the simpler times of yesteryear!
Early last year, I wrote in this space about my new title – “employee owner,” after DISTek founder Matt Dickinson decided to share a part of his company with his employees by forming an ESOP – an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
I noted back then that my immediate responsibilities wouldn’t change, and from the standpoint of my day-to-day tasks, they really haven’t.
The book Team of Teams, by Stanley McChrystal, covers a lot of topics that strongly relate to the direction that DISTek is heading. Some of these concepts, such as shared consciousness, cooperation across silos, localized decision-making, and information sharing, I hope to write about in future blog posts. In this blog, however, I will discuss how the structure of Team of Teams fits with DISTek and how we are setting up our organization to be adaptable to growth.
A funny thing happened to me at work the other day – my title changed. On December 31, 2014, I, and most everyone else here, became part-owner of DISTek.
Another year has come and gone and many eventful happenings took place in the history of DISTek. We may look back at 2015 as a turning point due to the substantial changes we made in all aspects of our business. Those end-of-the-year cards you get in the mail always seem to be bragging a little too much, but that is just what I am going to do because I think the year DISTek had is worth bragging about.
There is a long standing tradition at DISTek around the holiday season. In late November, as we gear up for Thanksgiving break, where we spend time with our families reflecting on all the things we have to be thankful for, simple white boards adorned with green and red tags make an appearance in the break room. These tags list basic necessities and wish list items from local families, who are struggling to make ends meet. This year, DISTek was fortunate enough to be able to adopt two families and play a small role in making their holiday season a little bit brighter.
It was 8 years ago that my wife, Julie and I moved from Minnesota to Iowa, when I became the IT Manager for DISTek.
Somehow I happened to fall into the last slot of the year for the DISTek blog. I am not complaining as it gave me a few more days to prepare. …
Before reading this book, I had the belief that everyone can be a leader and that in every role within an organization, leadership skills can be demonstrated and can add value. When I first saw this book title, I was intrigued if the book would substantiate my belief. It did and more.
What is leadership? Mark Sanborn states leadership is influence. He lists six principles of leadership, which are:
