President’s Perspective

Character is a trait that truly gets exposed only during some of the most trying times in one’s life. I am not of the camp that believes character is built during trying times. Character is built prior to the rough times and exposed during. Character is first instilled by parents, then teachers, then sports coaches and the various mentors we are lucky to get in our lives. Character is instilled in the classroom and the practice field. Character is exposed in the “big game.”

At TIGERFLOW, we hire for character first, competency second and credentials third. I personally feel that character is the underlying trait in all of our five core values of LEADERSHIP, QUALITY, CUSTOMER FOCUS, PARTNERSHIP and TEAM ORIENTED. For the TIGERFLOW Team, character is what drives us to go the extra mile in the practice of these values. Character drives us in backing up our product, our reps and our end users.

Character is the defining trait in our value of Leadership. General Norman Schwarzkopf said “Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.” The TIGERFLOW Core Value of LEADERSHIP reads: “We strive, every day, to be the leaders within the industry. We believe in leadership through ethical business, innovation, and being the company of choice for representatives, engineers, contractors, and employees.” Having spoken with so many business partners, both customers and vendors, many of the reasons why we keep growing can be tied back into the renewed character of this company.

Character breeds trust. Trust that we’ll build a great product, trust that when in those times we are short of expectations we will fix it to meet expectations. Trust that we’ll pay and get paid on time. Trust that we’ll play by the terms and conditions. Trust that we’ll back up our customers and not throw our vendors under the bus. All of this stems from character. You either practice it or you don’t.

So many in this industry rely solely on the physical and immediately tangible measurables of a company when choosing a business partner. While I believe TIGERFLOW builds the best systems, there are several worthy competitors out there that also build great systems. What separates us, what separates most truly great companies from the pack, is our intangibles… our core values… most importantly our core values being exercised through action without compromise.