musings...

1. Live the Company Values
Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Leadership, Integrity, People. Integrity must characterize everything we do. We want everyone who comes in contact with us to know that we do things the right way at Shifting Sands Studios we don't take short cuts.

2. Focus on Operating Excellence
Shifting Sands Studios is very well positioned strategically. We must focus on program performance to deliver on the full operating and financial potential of our company.

3. Act  With Speed
Shifting Sands Studios will always meet their timelines and will make sure that any customer no matter how small feels honored and nurtured by our amazing and expedient customer care at all times.

4. Communicate Openly
We want good news to travel fast and bad news to travel even faster up the line. We need to be mindful of the importance of honestly communicating problems as well as breakthroughs. The sooner we communicate a problem, the easier it is for us to marshal our company's resources to solve it.

5. Collaborate Across the Company
Shifting Sands Studios power comes from the talented people who make up our company. By cooperating and sharing our knowledge with each other seamlessly, we can make our company even stronger.

We take responsibility for QUALITY…
Our products and services will be "best in class" in terms of value received for dollars paid. We will deliver excellence, strive for continuous improvement and respond vigorously to change. Each of us is responsible for the quality of whatever we do.

We deliver CUSTOMER satisfaction …
We are dedicated to satisfying our customers. We believe in respecting our customers, listening to their requests and understanding their expectations. We strive to exceed their expectations in affordability, quality and on-time delivery.

We provide LEADERSHIP as a company and as individuals…
Shifting Sands Studios leadership is founded on talented employees effectively applying advanced technology, innovative manufacturing and sound business management. We add more value at lower cost with faster response. We each lead through our competence, creativity and teamwork.

We act with INTEGRITY in all we do…
We are each personally accountable for the highest standards of behavior, including honesty and fairness in all aspects of our work. We fulfill our commitments as responsible citizens and employees. We will consistently treat customers and company resources with the respect they deserve.

We value Shifting Sands studios PEOPLE…
We treat one another with respect and take pride in the significant contributions that come from the diversity of individuals and ideas. Our continued success requires us to provide the education and development needed to help our people grow. We are committed to openness and trust in all relationships.

We regard our SUPPLIERS as essential team members…
We owe our suppliers the same type of respect that we show to our customers. Our suppliers deserve fair and equitable treatment, clear agreements and honest feedback on performance. We consider our suppliers' needs in conducting all aspects of our business.

A CEO’s responsibilities: everything, especially in a startup. The CEO is responsible for the success or failure of the company. Operations, marketing, strategy, financing, creation of company culture, human resources, hiring, firing, compliance with safety regulations, sales, PR, etc.—it all falls on the CEO’s shoulders..

Creating culture, building the senior management team, financing road shows, and, indeed, the delegation itself can be done only by the CEO.

What is the CEO’s main duty? Setting strategy and vision. The senior management team can help develop strategy. Investors can approve a business plan. But the CEO ultimately sets the direction. Which markets will the company enter? Against which competitors? With what product lines? How will the company differentiate itself? The CEO decides, sets budgets, forms partnerships, and hires a team to steer the company accordingly.

The CEO’s second duty is building culture. Work gets done through people, and people are profoundly affected by culture. A lousy place to work can drive away high performers. After all, they have their pick of places to work. And a great place to work can attract and retain the very best.

Culture is built in dozens of ways, and the CEO sets the tone. Her every action—or inaction—sends cultural messages. Clothes send signals about how formal the workplace is. Who she talks to signals who is and isn’t important. How she treats mistakes (feedback or failure?) sends signals about risk-taking. Who she fires, what she puts up with, and what she rewards shape the culture powerfully.

Team-building is the CEO’s #3 duty. The CEO hires, fires, and leads the senior management team. They, in turn, hire, fire, and lead the rest of the organization.

The CEO must be able to hire and fire non-performers. She must resolve differences between senior team members, and keep them working together in a common direction. She sets direction by communicating the strategy and vision of where the company is going. Strategy sets a direction. With clear direction, the team can rally together and make it happen.

If vision is where the company is going, values tell how the company gets there. Values outline acceptable behavior. The CEO conveys values through actions and reactions to others. Slipping a ship schedule to meet quality levels sends a message of valuing quality. Not over-celebrating a team’s heroic recovery when they could have avoided a problem altogether sends a message about prevention versus damage control. People take their cues about interpersonal values—trust, honesty, openness—from CEO’s actions as well.