This is the kickoff blog post for our new MIPS website, so it seems fitting to casually describe our effort here at MIPS. We hope you find this website helpful, informative, and a NEW way to conduct business with the MIPS team. As you know, we never stop trying to improve our processes for your benefit, and this website is another example.
As a blog post, I’ll describe what the effort here at MIPS is about. I joined the MIPS team one year ago, although my past interactions with MIPS on a business level started back in 2004. MIPS is a company that is organized by its clients, and owned by its clients, all to ensure clients are served with the tools necessary to do their jobs. That is certainly unique for the business world, and an even more unique arrangement for other states in the U.S. So, our business model is certainly different, and I will also argue that our business goals are different at MIPS, and here’s why.
First, you know where to find us. I often joke that in previous jobs my business connections added me to the social business networking tool LinkedIn. Here, when I work with folks in courthouses across the state, I typically find a new friend on Facebook. The relationships are more than business with our clients, they are more like family. That’s just a fact, since we’ve been together through all sorts of challenges in the office, and in some cases out of the office. The relationships you have with the people at MIPS are likely long-standing and personal. And that’s not a business strategy here, it’s just a function of who we are.
Second, what I love about MIPS is driving a culture in which we never stop trying to improve processes. This is a double-edged sword for me because as soon as we’re high-fiving about solving a big problem or putting out a new helpful tool, I’m equally agitated about not yet fixing the other fence that needs mending. The team here is of equal attitude. When we get to the top of one mountain, we can see farther and realize there is more to climb. Again, it’s what we do.
The third and final is that this team is guided by doing purposeful work, and I enjoy guiding that pursuit. We’ve all heard that when you find the job you love you never work a day again in your life. Well, I’m going to stop short of saying that we all “LOVE” each and every day, but I absolutely believe that helping those around us is pretty much the life quest of all humans. (good humans, anyway 🙂 ) Solving problems, making jobs easier, and having those personal connections to others to feel the appreciation and “thanks” is a quest that we all tend to pursue (even above paychecks, in reality).
As we all know, in effective governments there is an essential element that MUST be present and that is PUBLIC TRUST. History gives us many examples of how it ended when groups of people around the world lost total faith in their government. And while some degree of discontentment about government is a symptom of its health, the more the public trusts the various outputs of government, the healthier it becomes.
The MIPS team huddles every morning for a few minutes to talk about business items and strategize for the day. We also regularly discuss that at MIPS, we are in a better position than even the lawmakers to enhance public trust in your work. We believe the more we can provide you with tools to be accurate, efficient, and transparent in your jobs, the more “public trust” will result. It’s often the motivation that drives us to get over the day’s hurdle because it matters.
So, believe me when I say that at MIPS, we are guided by the big picture of what “public trust” means to society. We are guided by this as “purposeful work” that can make the world a better place, and that we are uniquely a team that has chosen this line of work. It’s “what we do”. But most importantly, it’s “who we are”.
We hope that you enjoy this new website, this first blog post, and getting to know more about the team that is organized to serve you, and make the world a better place all in the same effort 🙂
-Derrick