Anatomy of an Epic Team

20 Jan 2014

Being human, we have many opportunities to be much more incredible than we choose to be. Our potential is limitless, yet many of us choose to settle for what is necessary. This leaves the human race to just putter along waiting for aliens to come and conquer us (sorry, my nerdy side comes out a lot).

An Exception to the Rule

Even though most humans are happy with just cruising through life. There are a select few who choose to make a difference. This group is made up of people who lead, inspire, innovate, & most of all create. Some people are born with these skills, while others grow a passion to be more.

First Hand Experience

I have worked in both good and bad business environments. And I believe that each working environment is created and molded by those who work around you. One of the first jobs that I worked at when I was younger had one boss who never was around, a second boss who did nothing on the job, me and two other guys who worked hard, and one last guy who hung out with the boss that didn’t work. I stayed at that company for six months before I lost all desire to work there. Hybrid, another company that I worked for was smaller, with just a couple guys working alongside me and even my boss, Chip Lay, was in the trenches constantly working his butt off to get the job done.

The Iron Yard

When I first heard about The Iron Yard, I was intrigued with their setup. Being a flat company, there is no managers or bosses. This means that every employee needs to be a self-starter and must be able to handle the responsibility of getting the job done. Basically, if TIY was made up of people who only chose to do the bare minimum possible, the company would have failed already. Thankfully, that is not the case.

It is very rare to have multiple employees who are MVPs, but being a part of a team made completely of MVPs is an epic experience.

Meeting the Team

This past week, I got to hang out in Greenville to meet everyone and see how the flagship is ran. It is so impressive to see what can be built by just a few people. Peter, Eric, Mason, Aubrey & the rest of the team have created an amazing foundation for this company to expand upon. Even more impressive is that each member employed by TIY is really passionate about TIY’s mission. If you take a step back, our whole team looks like a fantasy football (or your favorite sport here) team. Each player with incredible stats for their area of expertise.

New Campuses

Now that The Iron Yard has created a template for a strong campus, we are tasked with creating campuses in places of need. I am very honored to be apart of this invaluable experience.

Atlanta

As the first iOS instructor of The Iron Yard, I will be pioneering the curriculum for our academy. I am also excited about getting to work along side two other instructors teaching Rails & Front End Engineering. We have a Rails instructor, but are still looking for a Front End instructor. You can easily apply here to join our fast growing team.

I have been following, John Saddington, for awhile now because of his many accomplishments. And when he came to me with an offer to work for TIY, I didn’t have to think very hard for an answer. Yes working with the rest of the TIY crew is going to be amazing, but I am very excited to be working beside this man as we start the Atlanta campus. He desires to pursue his full potential 24/7, and you can see it in what he does. This isn’t limited to his job, he is an awesome family man as well.

Charleston

While up in Greenville, I got to meet the two instructors who will be starting up the Charleston campus. I have really solid teammates around me to lean on as I need them. Nick Bucciarelli is a very smart engineer for his age, only 25 and he is passionate about leading others into careers of development. Calvin Webster will be one of the more foundational teachers, based on the fact that he was born with a skill to guide & teach others. Calvin & Nick are going to be an incredibly strong team who I have no doubt will build an amazing campus together.

More to Come

The heart and soul of TIY is to create exceptional value to our communities, with hopes that it will allow others to grow and succeed. So as we create awesome environments in these new cities, many more will be continuously dreamed up. I can’t wait to see what kind of impact we will have made by the end of 2014.