Dear Spectra Team,

I hope this message finds you all in good health and high spirits! As we reach the midpoint of the year, I want to take a moment to reflect on our accomplishments and set the tone for the months ahead. The first half of the year has been challenging, but we have worked hard and come out with a little profit, which is a testament to our resilience and dedication. Despite the uncertainties in the market, we have remained focused on getting more sales and reducing our costs. Thank you all so much for your hard work and commitment!

Looking forward, we anticipate that the third quarter might pose some challenges, potentially resulting in lower-than-expected sales. The whole industry is struggling this year. However, I am confident in our ability to adapt and navigate the upcoming months. We have a strong foundation in place with all of you at this company and the fourth quarter looks very promising. We can still end with a decent bonus!

Let us continue to collaborate, innovate, and support one another. I believe in you.

Thank you all,

David Marriott

CEO

At the start of 2023, Spectra Symbol introduced a new role called the RMA Specialist. It is a role dedicated to inspecting RMAs as well as implementing new procedures that will help Production improve the quality of parts, as well as quality of work. Because of this new role, our quality numbers have been improving compared to last year's quality numbers.

In 2022, our total quality percentage was 84%. So far in 2023, our quality has gone up to 87%. Even though this may look like a small amount, we have been making great strides when it comes to problem solving our quality issues. we achieved higher quality numbers in  less than a year with all the improvements we have been making. As we continue to make improvements, we can expect our profits to rise, which means we will be able to hit our critical number, which means we will be able to make bigger bonuses. 

Have you ever heard employees at Spectra Symbol say something regarding an "ugly baby" and wonder whose child they're talking about?  

While the idiom is about "parents who think their child is beautiful, even if a stranger would not agree", it is more likely your fellow employees are talking about "...a situation a lot of [innovators] and creative people find themselves in, where they believe they have developed something fantastic, but when they discuss it with other people, the response they get is much more, well, “polite” rather than excited...and will often not understand why people see problems with their ideas that they themselves don’t see or think are problems."

"This is because they have a biased view of their own idea, as they have spent time developing it in their mind, and have sunk costs in the form of time, frustrations and emotions invested (as well as often money invested). They feel like just because they have spent time on it, it means it must be valuable. There is even a name for this: The IKEA effect (where people place more value on things they helped create themselves)."

"And they believe that other people should see that value as well."

"But here is one of the most important lessons that any entrepreneur, innovator or creator will ever learn:"

"Other people don’t care about what you think of your own idea."

They only care whether or not your idea and innovation can provide them with value.

To find out more about this idea and how to overcome it, may I recommend the following link: Ugly Babies - Why All Ideas are Born Imperfect