Pivotal’s Esprit de Corps
This week for Pivotal Voices, we’re featuring Mike Sanders, engineer at Pivotal in Atlanta and veteran of the United States Marine Corps
I knew right away that I wanted to be in the military. I remember the first time I saw the Marine Corps emblem — which is the eagle, globe, and anchor — that piqued my curiosity, and I started looking into them… One of the mantras we had in the Marine Corps is, “Improvise, adapt, and overcome.” I think that probably most accurately depicts not only a good way to approach things in the software industry, but I think that best embodies the way we approach engagements here at Pivotal.
Situational leadership comes into effect the second a battle actually breaks out. All the planning you’ve done up to that point is usually tossed out the window. You have to be able to read the situation as it happens, adapt to it, and then be able to keep moving forward and find a path to success. This just falls in line with the work we do for clients here at Pivotal.
In the military there’s a term called esprit de corps. Basically, it means a sense of belonging to a group… The way I see that at Pivotal is, the people that I work with here, not only are they one of the best groups of people that I’ve ever worked with across all the disciplines, but there’s very much a sense of camaraderie, and a sense of family.
“The people that I work with here, not only are they one of the best groups of people that I’ve ever worked with across all the disciplines, but there’s very much a sense of camaraderie, and a sense of family.”
It’s a mentality, it’s a belief that we’re going to do the best job we can, and we’re going to do it the right way, unless we have compelling evidence to do it a different way. It’s that sense of being able to overcome any hurdle…
There’s a positiveness, there’s a can-do attitude. I just don’t know how to say it. Any one of the people that I’ve worked with in this office, I’d trust that I can 100% count on them. The last time I felt that kind of camaraderie with a group of people was when I was on active duty. I knew I could trust my life to any of the people around me in uniform, and I feel that same way from a professional sense working here.
Change is the only constant, so individuals, institutions, and businesses must be Built to Adapt. At Pivotal, we believe change should be expected, embraced and incorporated continuously through development and innovation, because good software is never finished.
Pivotal’s Espirit de Corps was originally published in Built to Adapt on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
