Pros
I've been with Exigent for almost 12 years so far, and there's five main reasons why I hope to still be here 12 years from now: 1) For starters, there's the unique, extremely selective recruiting strategy, which results in a handpicked team of passionate, engaged, value-driven, humble and best-in-class employees. Nothing's worse than having a bad apple on your team, but you'll rarely find that here. 2) Secondly, there's the supportive, close-knit, trusting, and fun-loving culture that seems to have resulted from putting such remarkable people together under the same roof. You couldn't ask for more supportive teammates, and a more comfortable, growth-fostering environment. 3) Third, I personally find it very exhilarating and fulfilling to be part of a company whose core mission is to not just become an industry leader, but also to be an organization that makes a significant, positive difference in the lives of all those that we encounter along the way. This means that I can one day look back on all of the hours I've spent at the office with pride, knowing that I was not just part of something big, but something that was important. 4) I'm proud when I can tell others that not only is our organization committed to transparency and that employees are fully aware of how we're doing, why decisions were made, etc, but that decision-making across the board is not exclusively limited to the owners or even managers. Through various teams and committees, every employee has a chance to steer the company towards the goals. The result: almost all of our most notable achievements to date were due to employee ideas and feedback. 5) Lastly, management is fanatical when it comes to preserving and further investing in our unique culture and values, and basically all of the cool things I've listed above. So, I can count on each year being even better than the last - which has most certainly been the case for over a decade, and I'm certain for many more years to come.
Cons
As with any small company that happens to be extremely forward-thinking, with a non-stop flow of ideas, there's the occasional bummer that we're not yet "there yet" to take advantage of the latest stroke of brilliance. Luckily, we keep track of feedback and ideas and sort of "queue them up". Yet, it's disappointing nonetheless. Also, many of the items listed in my Pros section are most certainly NOT the "easiest way" to run a company, and sometimes seem to be counter-intuitive if one was focusing solely on profits. Therefore, as a member of senior management, I'm aware that my day to day job is, at times, significantly more difficult due to our unique approach. Further, there sometimes is a negative hit on work/life balance, due to extra hours needed to fight the good fight. Yet, as one who literally started at the lowest engineer level and worked through almost every single position within the company through 10+ years, I know first-hand how important it is to maintain this unique approach - simply for the benefit of each employee and how it enables them to function at their best. That knowledge gives me and my management team the strength to continue, with enthusiasm, on this path.
