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Founding Principles

SpectraLinear’s foundation rests on five primary pillars: customers, employees, products, management and finance. Our approach to each of these is reflected in the guiding principles you see here. They are an extension of the personal core values, philosophies, and beliefs of the founders and leaders of the organization.

1. Customers

Customers are the reason we come to work everyday. They judge our output every hour of the day whether we notice it or not. Their total satisfaction is our primary objective. The best complement we get is their continued business. Keeping existing customers and growing our number of new customers is a direct measure of our overall performance. Our beliefs about customers:

• Customers are the reason we exist.
• Customers pay the bills.
• Exert every effort to give customers what they want, when they want it.
• Work to delight customers, not just to satisfy them. When customers say “jump”, we ask “how high?”
• Customers may not always be right, however, acknowledge that you cannot win an argument with a customer. You may win the battle but lose the war.
• Customers serve as the compass in our journey for success – they lead us in the right direction. So when customers talk, we listen.
• You cannot be close enough to customers, and you cannot be in front of them often enough.
• If problems occur, address them openly, honestly, and expediently. Our response is an opportunity to serve them better, gain their trust, and convert potential liability into an asset.

2. Employees

People make the company. They are the most important ingredient in creating the culture of the company. They differentiate us from the rest of the world, add great value and are instrumental in the success of the company. Our beliefs about employees:

• Treat people as you want to be treated: openly, honestly, and with fairness.
• There is no substitute for honesty – we have zero tolerance for dishonesty and politics.
• We expect our people to have initiative, drive and a sense of urgency.
• We empower our employees and encourage them to make decisions.
• Making wrong decisions is better than making no decisions; at least you can correct your mistake and make the right decision.
• We understand that mistakes happen, but covering up mistakes is unacceptable. Learn from your mistakes. We have zero tolerance for repeated mistakes.
• We accept total ownership of our actions.
• We admit to problems, issues and solve them expediently with a sense of urgency.
• We believe in teamwork, team effort, and setting each other up for success.
• We do not subscribe to the saying “Success has many parents and failure is an orphan”.
• We do not allow “Monday morning quarterbacks”.
• Our design engineering is the most important and valuable resource and constitutes the core competency of our company.

3. Products

The output of a company is its products. It is essential that products address market needs and customer requirements in a timely fashion. It is imperative that they are well defined and provide optimum value. Our beliefs about products and the marketplace:

• Engage with customers early on to understand their requirements ahead of time.
• Seek to understand the customer’s next generation needs based on their roadmaps – do not limit your focus to the customer’s present requirements. Ensure that our roadmaps intersect theirs at the right time.
• We believe in putting our technical staff in front of our customers. There is no substitute for an engineer-to-engineer technical interface.
• Do not assume customers always have an answer and can predict the future.
• Bring our technical vision and technical capabilities to the forefront to bring value and engage
• Our design engineering is the engine that drives our success and is our main strength.
• We innovate to bring the best performance and feature set to achieve fastest time-to- market at the best possible cost point.
• We are committed to offering best-of-class products to the market.
• We are committed to developing products on time the first time.
• We use cutting edge design processes and methodologies, but use proven, reliable, and cost-effective industry standard process technologies.
• We use world class foundries, assembly, and other sub-contract suppliers.

4. Management

Management is the brains behind the company. It is responsible for managing the assets of the company, especially the most important one: the employees. Management navigates the corporation to success by developing strategies that differentiate the company from the rest of the world and deliver results with flawless execution. Management not only focuses on doing things right but also focuses equally on doing the right things. Important principles of management that we cannot compromise:

• We believe in empowering employees and respect their opinions and judgment.
• Clearly defined objectives and goals for each employee is a prerequisite for success.
• Grant each employee the authority, resources, and environment to successfully accomplish their objectives.
• Hold each employee accountable to schedules, budgets, and achieving results.
• Ensure employees have a chance to continuously develop.
• Provide opportunities to employees who demonstrate the aptitude and motivation.
• Encourage employees to use best practices and strive towards excellence and continuous improvement.
• Reward initiative, drive, and innovation.
• We try to avoid mistakes, but we understand that they may happen, and we admit to them when they do.
• Zero tolerance for covering up mistakes, making excuses, or repeating mistakes.
• We encourage learning from our mistakes and strive to be a learning organization.
• We are not afraid of facing brutal facts. Recognizing them in a timely fashion, and solving them is the only way to improve and show progress.
• Continuous improvement and exercising best practices and processes in all aspects of our business is our way of life.

5. Finance

SpectraLinear is a pure play timing company in business to make profits and bring value to our investors. More on this topic:

• We borrowed investors’ money and confidence. We will return the former with a big multiple, and keep the latter forever.
• We consider investors money to be a loan.
• We use company money as if it were our own: with caution.
• We believe in tying up as little cash as possible in fixed assets.
• A good balance sheet has very little fixed assets, very little short and long term liabilities.
• We view inventory as a liability, rather than an asset, despite what accountants will tell you.
• Inventory is the quicksand for cash.

 

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