Problems of the past

Hi world,

In this week between Christmas and New Year's many of us get thinking about what we have to be thankful for and start looking forward, trying to decide upon resolutions or work off that holiday feasting.

Many of us also start mentally adding up what it was we spent through the holidays, on others, on ourselves, on extra power because we're housing more people or we have Christmas lights up or we're doing more cooking and baking. How many of us look at that electricity bill in January and shake our heads, wondering how it is we could have used all that power?

When ShawWaterWorks gets our Peco-M to market, this will be a worry of the past. Have extra houseguests taking extra showers? No problem. Have a bunch of extra laundry to do with all those new clothes or linens? No problem. With the Peco-M hooked up to your hot water tank heater, you will save up to 20% on that power used without sacrificing how hot your water is or how much you have.

So in 2015, when you are facing down the barrel of your holiday spending, rest easy knowing that your Peco-M will at least keep your power bill in check.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday, world!

-SWW

A Christmas Present from ShawWaterWorks

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the shop

Not a machine was left milling, not a floor left to mop.

The office was tidied with delicate care

In hopes that the crowdfunding soon would be there.

The PCBs were nestled all snug in their cases

While everything else was put in its places.

And the engineer and the manager, wrapped in their coats

Had turned off the lights and were ready to go

When from the back of the shop there arose such a clatter

They sprang from the door to see what was the matter.

Away to the manufacturing floor they did dash

And turned on the lights, which came on with a flash.

The lights on the ceiling gave a certain glow

To the lustrous Peco-M cases below.

When, what to their wondering eyes should shine

But a miniature Peco-M in a brand-new design.

With a little light inside, shining so bright

We knew in a moment it was ever-so right.

More sleek and more smooth than what it was before

They could see it in their minds, lined up in a store.

Home Hardware, Home Depot, Rona, and Sears,

For home owners, contractors, plumbers and their peers!

To the top of the shelves right down to the floor,

The Peco-M R Systems, C Systems, and more!

And then in a twinkling, the vision went with a -poof-

To leave them both thinking of water- and rust-proof

Peco-M Systems, smooth, round, and sleek

Safe for all appliances, even those that might leek.

The savings – how pleasant! The power bill lightened!

Each carbon footprint so wonderfully lightened!

The power meter spun so languidly, lazy

As high bills of the past became distant and hazy.

They make not a sound, use no power alone

Just lower the wattage on whatever you own.

In four different systems for your appliances at home

There's a Peco-M for everyone, by volt or by ohm.

So in 2015 when we've launched our campaign,

Remember the Peco-M. Remember the name.

All of us here at ShawWaterWorks say

“Merry Christmas to all, and have a magical day!”

Adapted (loosely) from “'Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement C. Moore

Corporate Culture

Hi world,

We're a few days nearer to getting ourselves off the ground and looking to the company structure and culture. We all know that the culture runs top-down, and we are happy to say that at the top is a fount of optimism. We want to make sure that everyone who works with us in any capacity feels that infectious joy that comes from an easy laugh and happy optimism but it is a fine line to walk between nice and too-nice.

In a society that respects the dragons and sharks of the business world, there is a delicate balance between fun and efficiency, kindness and respect of authority. So what kind of culture does one choose to foster in their new business?

Most companies start out with grand ideals, a concept of corporate culture like Google¹ has, envisioning workers getting to choose if they take the stairs or the slide, to have meetings in the boardroom or the meeting eggs, and being able to go to the gym or do their laundry at work to make them feel comfortable and productive. Unfortunately, many new businesses either cannot afford such luxuries or simply do not have the space to work with to allow for such ideals. So one by one, they cut out the benefits, convincing themselves that they will get to that next year, or once they break a million dollars and find that ten years down the road, they have precisely what they started with: a company that holds up money over employees.

Not to say that that is necessarily a negative thing: money is important. Slides don't build themselves and those free, healthy lunches don't grow on trees, as it were. But if that is the goal of your company at your inception, then how do you encourage that when you are at your most vulnerable?

A report from MIT's Economics Department² shows how much of an effect corporate culture can have on productivity and ethics within a company, big or small, new or well established, and an article from the Houston Chronicle discusses the impacts the culture may have on employee behaviour³. That the culture and style of a company can alter the effectiveness and efficiency of that company is a well known concept, and one which deserves a deeper look, for if one can, within the limited means of most startups, foster an environment conducive to hard working, happy employees from the outset, then surely one ought.

We are going to be borrowing from Sir Richard Branson, who listed his top three leadership principles in an interview with Forbes⁴ on September 23, 2014 as listen, learn, and laugh. The Virgin ideals led to a company which listens to their employees and staff, promotes from within, inspires people and is willing to laugh and have fun to enjoy work. That's an impressive thing to be able to say. Most employees work to live, but the staff at Virgin, or at Southwest Airlines, as Katie Morell writes about in her article “6 Ways to Create a Positive Corporate Culture”⁵, enjoy working, laugh frequently and often, and are happy to go the extra mile. In Canada we see this echoed with WestJet, where jokes to captive audiences keep passengers from getting anxious and general friendliness has created a loyal customer base.

So no, world, we won't be starting with slides and free laundry services, but listening, learning, and laughing are all free and promote a culture of welcoming ideas and suggestions. Companies all over say their employees are their biggest asset, but too many espouse the idea without implementing it. If two minds are better than one, then it would follow that fifty are better still. Each employee with us is more than a number, and everyone's ideas have value, even if they are ultimately rejected. The differing perspectives each individual brings gives us all the opportunity to think out of the box and keeps us open to learning. It is too easy to fall into the trap of your own outlook and hold that as the gold standard. Listening to customers, consultants, employees, friends, and family not only keeps us safe from that particular pitfall, but gives us something we cannot buy, allowing us to constantly move forward.

We trust our staff; we hired them for a reason. Each one of us brings something different to the table, has different strengths and resources, and we would consider ourselves fools to not take advantage of what we have right here. With continued efforts to ensure we are always hiring the right people, not just in terms of their areas of expertise but their personalities and willingness to be a part of our team, we are hoping to guarantee that our corporate culture will be one of openness, transparency, sharing, and at the risk of sounding overly sentimental, caring. We want everyone we work with to feel the encouragement and optimism we feel.

What do you think, world? We want to cultivate the best you have to offer us so we can reciprocate. Please leave comments or questions below or through any of our other areas of social media. Your voice counts!

-SWW

1 Directly from Google - http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/culture/

2 The Value of Corporate Culture, Guiso, Sapienza, and Zingales - http://economics.mit.edu/files/9721

3 Organizational Culture & Employee Performance, Davoren - http://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-culture-employee-performance-25216.html

4 Richard Branson's Three Most Important Leadership Ideals, Schawbel, Forbes - http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2014/09/23/richard-branson-his-3-most-important-leadership-principles/

5 https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/6-ways-to-create-a-positive-corporate-culture/

Getting going

Hi world,

We're at the best place with a startup, where every like, every favourite, every +1 is exciting and gets us going.  It's the perfect time of year to feel this way too - we are every child anticipating Christmas morning: the gifts, the hot chocolate, the relatives, surrounded by joy on every side.  Our gifts are our wonderful team, you are our relatives, and we are full of joy and gratitude that we are so close to launching, hitting the shelves and getting to know you all better.

But of course, before we get to know you, you have to know us, so here's our official introduction:

We're ShawWaterWorks, a startup in Sidney, BC, Canada.  We design, engineer, and manufacture Peco-M Systems, which manage power for your least efficient appliances.  We are a modest team of people eager to work with each other and with you to help our environment, for each Peco-M System that is in place will, via a ripple effect, lead to another river being left undammed, another forest left to grow.

Living in British Columbia as we do, we can see the impact that society's use of power has on our planet and while we are not eager to let go of any of our creature comforts, we do want to see change happen.  Enter Peco-M Systems.  They allow you to keep using your appliances like you normally would, just with a decrease in energy consumption.  We have two designed just for your hot water tank, the least efficient appliance in your home.  We want you to keep having the little luxuries you're used to, but we don't want it to cost the environment so very much.  The added secret benefit is that in reducing your energy use, you will also reduce your power bill.

You can always find out more about us at our website or check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.  We are encouraged by your reactions to us so far and want to keep it that way.  We want there to be open discussion about what we do and how else we can help our planet be as green as it can be.

That is enough for now – there are pictures to post and it is exciting times for us!

-SWW