Follow Vigor Alaska’s epic truth and love-fueled journey to become the best, most human-centered shipyard in the world.
The Quest is the story of Vigor Alaska, a small Ketchikan, Alaska-based shipyard. Think a 21st century Homer’s Odyssey, with hard hats instead of helmets, coveralls instead of armor. Or maybe it’s the Industrial Jedi Knights of the Circle, modern-day Knights of the Round Table.
You get the picture
Vigor Alaska’s employees and its eclectic leader, Mike Pearson, undertook the Quest to become a truly exceptional, human-centered shipyard. A workplace where employees can become free. Free from fear. Free to be their most brilliant, creative, compelling selves.
And, at the organizational level, free to create a truly engaging place to work. Free to become more aligned, and to work more closely together. And, free from the fear of losing money and failing.
Three Tall Trees, a leadership development and organizational alignment organization was privileged to join the Quest, working and playing alongside the amazing and brilliant employees of Vigor, Alaska.
Out of that collaboration came a simple, powerful ‘way forward’ for organizations. A different way of working that’s more fun, more fulfilling and more profitable than anything we’ve seen. In truth, it’s also messy, uncomfortable, and requires a strong commitment to the people of an organization. It’s not a journey for the faint of heart. It IS a journey that attracts the best and the brightest. People with amazing skills and backgrounds, education and ideas. The word gets out: this is a place where you can be YOU, and create something extraordinary!
It’s called The Whole Human Model.
You’re invited to Ketchikan, Alaska as our honored guest, to see, feel and experience the Quest in person. Please click here if you’d like to experience The Quest…and have an unforgettable experience…IN PERSON.
Tom Mann, Partner in Three Tall Trees and Mike Pearson, GM of Vigor Alaska.
About The Welcome to the Quest Website…
If you’re pressed for time, the section below, beginning with ‘The Quest Begins…’ gives you an overview of The Quest. It’s a quick read, with spontaneous, completely unrehearsed videos featuring Mike Pearson, GM of Vigor Alaska.
Here’s what you’ll find when you take a tour around Welcome to the Quest…
There have been some incredible WOW! moments and experiences in the shipyard. And, the yard is chock full of amazing, incredibly brilliant people, who helped ‘Carry the Stone’ on The Quest. WOW! has their stories, with one or more new stories on the 1st of every month.
Vigor Alaska looks at everything through the lens of profitability. And safety. Check out how The Model has worked to generate exceptional Results.
Connect…and learn how you can experience The Quest…and Help Carry the Stone.
The Quest Begins…
The Quest began in early 2014, when Pearson and Tom Mann, partner at Three Tall Trees, began looking into the data of human behavior.
What do employees really want?
What do they need to feel engaged?
What do they really care about, beyond money?
What role does Leadership play, and, given no limitations, how is it most effectively developed?
How about Purpose, Vision, Values and Customer (and other) Experience?
What about the impact of wellness? Of mastering a craft? Of having an incredibly compelling work experience?
Those questions lead us to create the Four Forms: Technical (training), Leadership (development), Wellness (physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual) and Experience (a memorable experience for everyone, even visitors and subcontractors!).
We were also armed with data and research that supported the direction of The Quest. Basically, it said this:
The Four Forms became the framework for development and change, channeled by a shared Purpose, Vision, Values and emphasis on Experience.
Purpose, Vision, Values and Experience provide meaning and direction. They align employees and inspire them to move beyond the status quo. We realized that bringing deeper meaning to the shipyard was critical.
And, HOW we came to that deeper meaning was just as important. We used an Appreciative Inquiry approach. It’s a positive and inclusive way of looking at any question (backed by data that says that including all levels of the company was most effective in crafting a Purpose that everyone could believe in).
THE MAGIC WHITE BOARD
We filled a white board with ideas and thoughts, questions and doodles. And then…added to it, deleted, multiplied and divided. Out of those sessions, which were wildly exciting and energizing, full of possibility, came the first Leadership Programs (which were open-ended with no ‘graduation’ plans) and our work on Purpose. Vigor Alaska’s Purpose, ‘Honoring the Brilliance of the Human Spirit’ was informed by the company’s Values, which had been uncovered in work at the corporate level (mostly in Portland several years earlier). Those Values: Truth, Responsibility, Evolution and Love (TREL, for short), had a huge impact on our Purpose work, and later, our exploration of Vision.
The Values have also impacted Vigor Alaska’s evolutionary Vision: The 150-year Cathedral Vision. It’s building a shipyard knowing that you are part of a tradition, of laying a solid foundation, of Carrying the Stone for future generations of employees. Building a yard that employees seven generations from now will be proud of.
The white board in Pearson’s office became the chronicle of the evolution of the Whole Human Model.
THE TOTEM POLE
The native community was invited into the fold. A totem pole was conceived by Norm Skan, Ship Superintendent, blessed by CEO Frank Foti and carved by Jon Rowan, a renowned local artist and carver. Vigor’s CEO, Frank Foti and other senior leaders, together with native employees and natives from the community, carried the pole to its home in front of the yard, and together, lifted it into place. The pole has become a symbol of healing and the rebuilding of trust, bringing the community of Ketchikan together. Click here for a WOW! Story on the Vigor Alaska Totem Pole.
Vigor execs and employees, carrying the totem pole to its home at the entrance to the shipyard.
ABOUT THE FOUR FORMS
GETTING TECHNICAL. The 1st Form
Vigor Alaska invests heavily in training, from its weld schools to on-the-job training from industry experts in welding and ship fitting. Employees have been sent to programs in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the University of Washington. Employees are encouraged to co-create their path to mastery—researching programs that will help them acquire technical proficiency in both a broad and deep way.
A SURGE IN LEADERSHIP… The 2nd Form
And so, The Quest began in earnest. A group of young leaders, The Surge, began Leadership sessions every six weeks to two months. The work spans both leadership and management imperatives, like listening, feedback and communication, and building high-functioning teams, as well as the underlying work that determines their effectiveness: curiosity, developing people, moving beyond ego, and reading the energy (and what’s wanting to happen) in a group or situation.
The Surge birthed The Crest, a ‘graduate’ leadership group, In summer 2016, Pearson formed The Vanguard, a brand-new group full of powerful introverts. A critical mass of Whole Human Leaders is now within reach, with a common language, and work teams using the same tools.
The Crest, Advanced Whole Human Leadership Group, in circle.
LET’S BE WELL. The 3rd Form
The third form, Wellness, is a ‘personal, not a business thing’ at most organizations. And, the truth is, personal and professional lives, work and home, are two sides of the same coin. Vigor Alaska has made Wellness a priority. Employees get a free pass to Ketchikan’s state-of-the-art rec center. Employees struggling with addiction can attend OARS, an on-site addiction recovery program. Financial struggles? Vigor Alaska has teamed with Key Bank to offer free financial planning services.
Plus, the company has made meditation, and its stress-relieving, focusing and calming impact, a part of all Leadership programs, and, through the Deep Breath Break, part of the way the Yard rolls. The Deep Breath Break starts every day (along with a stretch and flex program). And, employees are encouraged to take a Deep Breath Break whenever they need it—to deal with stress, frustration, anything.
EXPERIENCE. The 4th Form
And finally, experience. We looked into the data of creating great experiences.—what is the impact? Customers, for example, pay more for a product or service, give you more of their business, remains a loyal customer longer, and tell everyone how great their experience is. That way of relating to customers has been extended to everyone the shipyard works and relates with. It’s created huge goodwill in the community, with visitors, vendors and subcontractors, and especially with customers.
We also look at experience from the perspective of the employee. How can the experience of working at Vigor Alaska be truly exceptional? Memorable? Shareable? It all comes back to autonomy (doing their job the way THEY believe is best) mastery (a clear path to getting better and better at what they do) and Purpose (a deeper meaning for their work, something bigger than themselves and a paycheck)–and being valued as a human being first, and an employee second.
The Vanguard, day 1 of a Whole Human Leadership Course
SECOND LEVEL DEVELOPMENT
That’s the idea behind Second-Level Development. If Vigor Alaska was to reach the holy grail, if it was to become a truly exceptional shipyard, it had to move beyond the Four Forms.
Fast forward to 2016. Now, The Quest was rolling! Light at the end of the tunnel. Pearson began holding individual career development meetings, with every employee. What do you love to do? What is your vision for your future? What animal (yes, animal) are you drawn to? What’s your favorite color…and why? The interviews have been extraordinary, allowing employees to dream big, and to align their personal purpose with the shipyard. How do they honor their own brilliance?
Teams began holding themselves accountable, and to increasingly higher standards. The yard got clean…and cleaner. Jobs became more profitable. Safety got better, and better and better.
Nature is also part of Second Level Development. The Crest Leadership Group went on a 3-day Kayak trip–a model for future Leadership Programs. Individual employees used their personal passion to fuel amazing projects: a blood bank drive AT the shipyard, clean ups of local beaches and highways, the implementation of OARS, the company’s employee-facilitated Addiction Recovery program, and deck plates-level Leadership programs, to name a few.
THE QUEST CONTINUES…
And, we’re not done. The Quest, after all is a journey, not a destination.
The Vanguard Leadership Tribe is just getting started. There’s still room for the yard to be even safer. And, more profitable and innovative (the shipyard has been on the leading edge of the data revolution, using iPhones and iPads to make changes on repair jobs and report safety issues instantaneously).
Vigor Alaska continues its Quest. To become safer. A better place to work. More inclusive and engaging. And, more profitable.
So, Welcome to The Quest! Yes, it’s the story of a small Alaskan shipyard, and, it can also be your story–a Quest to make your organization truly exceptional in its own unique way.
You’re invited to Ketchikan, as our honored visitor, to see, feel and experience the Quest in person. Please click here if you’re curious about experiencing The Quest…IN PERSON. You’re invited to Ketchikan for an amazing, memorable experience!