This past month our team participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Thank you to all who participated, organized and carried out this event. It is likely that all of us connect, in some way, to the ravaging effects of cancer. As a team, we remember Kristian--Geoff's (our head engineer) younger brother and one of our first and brightest engineers--with this event. It is a way we can help in the search for a cure. We are committed to this annual event and invite our partners, friends and family to participate with us.
A relay is a good metaphor, not only for the fight against cancer, but for our daily responsibilities to our home, church, and work families. A relay requires an inter-dependence on each person to carry their load and help the next team member succeed. No one is asked to do more than they are able, but all are challenged to do their best.. and through this symbiotic relationship, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. We lift each other to become better than we are.
How can the concept of a relay benefit us in any environment? Let's look at the 2016 Olympics and the values that turned four average Japanese sprinters into silver medalists. Not one of the sprinters had recorded a sub-10 second time over the one hundred meter dash, yet they defeated every team with faster runners (except Jamaica). This is how they did it:
Trust
Almost every team in the world uses an overhand exchange in relays. This allows the runner to look over his shoulder, watch the baton come down into his hand, turn his head and accelerate. Japan uses the underhand exchange that keeps the lead runner looking forward while his hand rests near his hips with the hand open. This requires a trust in the sprinter with the baton, that he will slip the baton into his hand. And because he is looking forward, will be able accelerate quicker. As we work with our partners, trust is important because we want to help each other accelerate the growth of our businesses. When you are not taking your eyes off your goals and trust us to provide the technology you need, you can move forward rapidly.
Excellence
One of the words that other coaches have used to describe the Japanese team is 'precision'. In the dictionary it uses the phrase 'quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate' as a way to describe this phenomena. When the coaches studied films of baton exchanges, they discovered there were specific locations in the exchange window that would maximize the momentum of the first runner and allow for quicker acceleration for the lead runner. Excellence is one of our goals at Adept Solutions. We are continually improving our processes so we can provide fast and precise resolution to issues. We continually train so we can give the excellent service that you deserve.
Teamwork
The oft-heard saying is 'teamwork makes the dream work', and while it can be considered trite, it is also true. The challenge of relay races is that many times, you do not know who is going to be running with you or what order you might be in. This can be because of injury, current performance or just a visceral judgement call. Because they had all practiced together in multiple orders, they trusted each other, knew they could be precise in the execution and lowered their times in each race up to the finals. We are passionate about developing teamwork with our staff and our partners to understand your needs and to execute on that need. We also spend many hours documenting everything about your network so the baton can pass from engineer to engineer without missing a beat.
The Relay for Life and this fight against cancer puts our work into perspective. It has renewed our goal to give back to our community and reinforced the values our company is based on: Trust, Excellence and Teamwork.
