History – The owners of Up and Running met through Tae Kwon Do.
Peter Hanson and Ian McKilligan, principal share holders of Up and Running, met in Husky Tae Kwon Do, and trained together for years, earning second degree black belts. Besides Tae Kwon Do, software and business were common topics of conversation. Ian soon joined Up and Running, and together they've been growing the company.
Shared Values – A company's foundation is what it believes in.
If you've trained in martial arts in a good system under a good instructor, you get taught certain values and skills. We were lucky as we had a great club filled with great role models, including an instructor who served our country in the Army as a Lt. Colonel and has been a leader in many ways to many people.
We subscribed and acted according to the five tenants of our Tae Kwon Do association: courtesy, integrity, self-control, perseverance, and indomitable spirit. We still do today. With these, one has a framework or recipe for not only day-to-day interactions, but also a business.
In addition to these, we learned how to teach, lead, present, motivate, be an example, help others overcome their challenges, communicate, and achieve our goals by applying focus and succeeding incrementally and consistently. We apply most of these aspects everyday in our company, and help all of our team members learn the same skills.
Lastly, we spent many years working towards a goal that took dedication, team work, the help of experts, and hard work. We apply all of these in our business today, for our team, our customers, and our growth.
Present Leadership – Everyone leads and manages.
The whole company, every individual, leads some important part of the company in every action taken. We literally made our organization chart upside down to show that the founders are in the organization to serve others, to help them succeed. Our team members are the ones who determine the success of our company because they work side-by-side with our customers. They lead efforts that directly impact people and businesses throughout the world, and we're proud of their work and the way they work.