In his first weeks as Augury COO, Roy Eitan set out to the front-line: to connect with Augury customers and the Augurians who serve them. Roy learned a lot. The first drive alone already offered a whole highway of insights. “I was impressed with the people Augury could attract. They are not only capable,” says Roy. “They are also driven to do good. And they believe machine health is a great means to do that.”
As I covered in previous posts, part of my job as Chief Operating Officer is to empower those on the front-lines so they, in turn, can empower the manufacturing clients we serve. Obviously, I needed to witness first-hand the actual environment of customers so I would be better equipped to help build the products and processes to help expand and accelerate this empowerment. So, I hit the road.
The Drive To Do Good
The learning curve already shot upward during the ride from the airport to the first facility I was set to visit. Over the two-hour drive I had time to get to know my driving companion Michal Gutelzon, who is our Director of People Ops in the US.
She told me about her background. I was impressed. She had not always been in HR. After pushing her a bit, I learned she has several law degrees from top schools. And she had previously been an environmental lawyer dealing with sustainability issues at a law firm in Israel. In fact, I knew this firm to be one of the best in the country. But Michal did not mention this since modesty seems to be one of her characteristics. Moreover, a couple of days later, I heard she was a driving force in arranging a generator for a colleague who had been impacted by a recent hurricane – and let me stress that such actions are not standard procedure for HR.
Her story resonated with the one I heard over dinner just a few hours later with our Field Team Lead Chris Morrison – now Training Content Designer. He was responsible for the site preparation. He’s an ex-Marine who later worked for contractors for the US Army. He had spent six years in Afghanistan and two years in Syria. He was obviously about serving causes much bigger than himself.
Over the next few weeks, as I continued to have my one-on-ones with the entire team, I clearly saw a common thread: shared values.
The Power of Positive Impact
Meeting and talking with Michal and Chris told me a lot about the secret behind Augury’s amazing culture: A) They are somehow attracted to Augury and make the personal choice to join, B) Augury recruits genuine and genuinely good and committed people, and C) they are given space to expand on their diverse experiences to make an impact and grow. What could be better?
It all comes down to shared values. It used to be that you’d work for the shareholders of a company, but that’s an old-fashioned view. Work should be seen as a way to have a positive impact on people’s lives – the lives of both your colleagues and your customers. In this way, Augury is less about stopping unplanned downtime and more about giving our customers a good night’s sleep because they know we have their backs in keeping their machines running.
As COO, it’s my duty to help people on my team to do things bigger than what they can do alone. It’s about serving a greater cause – like Michal did via her law firm and Chris did via the US military. And for them to continually develop their skills, I need to do the same. We all have to keep thinking about how we can have the most impact. This is the only way you can develop ecosystems that create value for the end customer.
So, I’m feeling the drive. Now it’s time to target the destination.
Read Part 2: ‘The Road To Customer-Centricity (2): What I Learned At The Crossroads’.
Read Part 3: ‘The Road To Customer-Centricity (3): What I Learned When I Got There’.
Or to learn more about Augury’s full-stack people-first approach that’s transforming manufacturing, get in touch today.
