In 1988, the founders wanted a different type of company.  One where they, as technical people, would enjoy working - a company operated by technical people using an engineering perspective.  We wanted to develop a work environment that technical people would enjoy.  We were convinced that if we did an excellent job as we looked out for the best interest of our clients, success would follow.

So far, we count our story as a success.  We still are managed only by technical people who have been engineers in the field.

We have worked with people who help us initiate relationships with our clients, but there is no commissioned sales force.  We continue to believe that engineers should be key in developing an understanding of the needs of our clients.  We care about providing the right solution for the client.  We believe this is more important than making a sale.

SEP promotes from within.  We feel that if we are to maintain our culture, we need people who understand the job and the culture providing leadership.  We do bring people in from the outside, but we give them plenty of time to work into our company before we ask them to lead - even if they have senior capabilities.

Having been in business for as long as we have been has done nothing but reinforce our conviction that culture is more important than growth.  We could have hired a lot of very talented people (and we have!), but we continue to select those individuals we truly believe will enhance our capabilities as a company and strengthen our culture.  We seek people who strive for the good of the company rather than political self promotion.  We seek people who will contribute to the strength of our culture by pouring themselves into others.  We seek people who are never satisfied with where they are and strive to be better.

Today, we face new challenges.  Still, those things we believed in 1988 seem to apply - to provide the foundation we need to grow our company - its culture - its capabilities - its people - to succeed whatever the future holds.