6 life lessons

Six things random things, from Andrew
(Previously published here as part of this post.)

1. Some people become progressively less able to think for themselves the more times they are promoted within an organisation. Sometimes I wonder if they undergo progressive lobotomies - it's certainly one possibility.
2. Be very suspicious when people make exaggerated claims about themselves or what they can do for you. Obviously this doesn't apply to Qryztal.
3. On the other hand, never ever put yourself down. There are plenty of people in life who will delight in trying to destroy your self confidence - they don't need you to help them.
4. Speaking of foes, these can sometimes be found within one's own family (thankfully not mine) or disguised as friends. But they will always show their true colours in time. And when that time comes, having one or two true and trusted friends is going to help ease the blow.
5. If at all possible, build your support network when things are going well. Hopefully those people might be there for you if times get hard. But be prepared to be misunderstood and perhaps abandoned by the ones who are only there for you in times of fair weather rather than foul.
6. If you are kind and good-hearted... there are those who will take advantage of you. But you will reap what you have sown - the good stuff will be paid back to you. (I can't say what happens to those who cause harm, upset and distress to others - but you can bet it won't ultimately be pleasant for them. The seeds that they have sown will grow into a particularly distasteful crop.) 

A random walk through life - and some things I've learned

More musings from Andrew...

I've just found out about block quotes - I really can't believe I've written blog posts without knowing this. Going to have to go back and edit them now - but maybe not just yet.

When I was doing budgets, costings and forecasts for the Spend to Save team... my fellow-director hadn't yet started school. (Yes, the grey hairs are genuine.) All those battles with Excel have turned out to be useful - I won't say how many years down the line it is.

Some people become progressively less able to think for themselves the more times they are promoted within an organisation. Sometimes I wonder if they undergo progressive lobotomies - it's certainly one possibility.

Be very suspicious when people make exaggerated claims about themselves or what they can do for you. Obviously this doesn't apply to Qryztal.

On the other hand, never ever put yourself down. There are plenty of people in life who will delight in trying to destroy your self confidence - they don't need you to help them.

Speaking of foes, these can sometimes be found within one's own family (thankfully not mine) or disguised as friends. But they will always show their true colours in time. And when that time comes, having one or two true and trusted friends is going to help ease the blow.

If at all possible, build your support network when things are going well. Hopefully those people might be there for you if times get hard. But be prepared to be misunderstood and perhaps abandoned by the ones who are only there for you in times of fair weather rather than foul.

If you are kind and good-hearted... there are those who will take advantage of you. But you will reap what you have sown - the good stuff will be paid back to you. (I can't say what happens to those who cause harm, upset and distress to others - but you can bet it won't ultimately be pleasant for them. The seeds that they have sown will grow into a particularly distasteful crop.) 

What's it like to work for Qryztal?

Here's what our people say about Qryztal:

"It's the only place l know where having a big vision of the future is an absolute requirement."

"Whatever happens, I know I can count on having support and encouragement. That means a lot to me."

"Qryztal is where ideas come to life."

"Innovation is what it's all about - starting from something that already exists, putting our unique twist on it, and then taking it to a higher level."

"Qryztal is about synergy and making the most of every opportunity."

"At Qryztal I'm inspired to do my best work and to believe that things can always be better."

"Continuous improvement and business excellence run through everything we do."

"Qryztal embodies the best of traditional British values and ideals. Our culture is one of honesty, trust and respect."

"Qryztal is where I can truly be myself."

Supporting our people always

When something hasn't gone the way we wanted it to, it would be all too easy to resort to blaming people and having an argument about it. Easy, but wrong.

It's wrong because it sows the seeds of negativity.

It's wrong because it's destructive.

It's wrong because it intimidates.

It's wrong because it alienates the very people that we need to have on our side at all times.


What's right is to accept it as something that's happened, to regard it as something that we can all learn from, and to move forward from here together, united in pursuing the vision.

This is right because it keeps us focused on our goal.

It's right because it draws the team closer together.

It's right because it makes us stronger.

It's especially right because we have a hand-picked team and we know that we need each other in order to succeed.

And it's right because supporting our people always is one of our core values, and it's one of the key characteristics that sets Qryztal apart from other companies.

Freedom

At Qryztal, we believe in freedom.

Freedom to make decisions, based on experience and the current facts of the situation, is vital. Without it, we'd be stuck in a perpetual loop of consultation and indecision. We believe in empowering the person on the ground to make the decision that's needed at the time when it's needed.

Freedom to make mistakes - this is a real test of whether a company is a boring, predictable, rule-bound entity, or whether it appreciates that sometimes things go wrong. When that happens, we support our people and don't criticise or condemn.

Freedom from constraining, overly-paternalistic restrictions - we believe in flexibility and we do everything we can to meet our people's needs with regard to working patterns and time off. We want our people to feel that they can speak to us at any time about anything. Our coaching and consultancy team prioritise staff issues over external work, and as we expand, our support network will grow in order that each person at Qryztal will have a support contact who is independent from their manager.

Freedom to be yourself is perhaps freedom at the highest level - and to define or explain it serves only to limit it. We're proud that our people are individuals, each with their own beliefs, views, interests and preferences. We're also proud that, as part of Qryztal, each person can contribute to the company's development by sharing their thoughts and opinions with our leadership.

Qryztal - the company

Qryztal is more than a company. It's a vision of a way of doing business - making money while maintaining our core values of clarity, honesty and integrity. Everything that we do is driven by the motivation to make a positive difference - whether that's a computer repair, coaching someone through a difficult situation, or whatever new challenge we take on.

Qryztal is about relationships:

• It's about caring for our people. We believe that in order to serve our customers well, we must first of all support and nurture our staff. Properly resourced and valued people enable us to deliver excellence and to delight our customers.
• It's about understanding our clients, surpassing their expectations, and generating new business based on recommendation. All that we do, we do it to the best of our ability - and we charge a fair price for it. There are no hidden extras or last-minute add-ons to the bill.

Qryztal: born out of the shared passion of our directors for doing business, and doing it well.