Congratulations to GSI's own Candace Sheldon, who was honored with being the "Most improved woman 50 or older" in Ingram's 2009-2010 Fittest Executives and Fittest Companies Challenge.

Candace joined up with three other GSI folks – Mark Hotalling, Jerad Riggin and Adam Ward – to compete in Ingram's challenge, which ran from October 1 through the end of 2009. The competition was based on the belief that a "top-down corporate emphasis on employee fitness could help achieve bottom-line results with a fitter work force." During the three-month challenge, participants were armed with detailed measurements of their own health metrics, and focused on their primary areas of concern, such as losing weight, or improving blood pressure and cholesterol levels, aerobic capacities, strength and flexibility measurements.

Candace earned the "most improved" stature due to her improvement in all categories. She attributes her success in the program to both eating healthier and exercising regularly. She and her teammates committed themselves to working out in GSI's exercise facility 4-5 days a week – specifically following the P90X workout regimen. Candace also eliminated sugar, flour products, and alcohol from her diet – instead snacking on fruits, vegetables and more protein-rich foods. She followed the guidance of a nutritionist and also hit the tread mill every evening after work. And the results were great – she lost 9 pounds during the competition (even including the holidays) and another 6 since then. Not only that, but Candace is now seriously motivated to continue her fitness routine.

Candace signed up for the Ingram's challenge as part of GSI's corporate team, motivated by the thought of getting in better shape and losing a little weight, as well as the desire to set a good example for her GSI co-workers in promoting wellness. The support of her teammates, she says, made it easier to achieve positive results. Just like the premise GSI stands on as a company – that the support our GSI ServerHeroes lend one another enables us to collectively achieve great things for our clients.

"If you really decide you want to do something and are diligent in your approach, you can achieve anything," says Candace. Simply enough said, but a lesson for all of us in our personal and professional lives. Candace's success brings home the reason why I'm proud to work for a company like GSI with dedicated co-workers like her – true to GSI's tagline, "Let's get it done right," we have the desire to achieve, and we take the extra measures to do so.

Further Reading

• Ingram's Magazine, Feb 2010 > Fittest Execs/Companies
• Ingram's Magazine, Feb 2010 > Fittest Execs/Companies > Most Improved Individuals

GSI's logo consists of a forward-looking bird, an American Robin, standing atop the letters gsi. The company has received numerous comments and questions over the years about the logo's significance – most expressing a curiosity more than a compliment. Much like the company itself, the logo is different from what is normal in the technology space. It is not the stylized globe, sphere, or amorphous shape common with most IT companies, nor does it contain slanted letters, a modernized button, or a sleek outline of some type. It's a green and orange bird for heaven's sake, one which surprisingly does say a little bit about GSI the company.

First the bird. We are not sure whether we picked the bird and then discovered its tie to our founder, or whether we picked the bird based upon our founder's name, but either way, the robin atop our logo does match the first name of our company founder, Robin Greenhagen. Mr. Greenhagen started the company in 1996 with a passionate vision and a well used credit card. From those humble beginnings, GSI has matured into a premiere provider of managed hosting services to some of the largest companies in the world. Not only is Robin the founder of the company, he is also its foundation. Many of the company's values, guiding principles and culture come from Mr. Greenhagen, and without his steadfast parentage over the past two decades, the company would not have achieved the success that it has accomplished.

But it's a robin! It's not an eagle, falcon or some other raptor that communicates dominance over its environment. It's a robin – a harmless migratory songbird credited as the harbinger of spring, the first to sing at dawn, and the last to speak as evening sets in. Robins are the quintessential early birds – industrious, bold and dedicated to the pursuit of today's sustenance. They often feed in flocks, are ever vigilant in watching for predators, and communicate with one another using a large repertoire of songs, alerts and calls. Robins are nimble, happy, friendly, hard working and their song is always cheery.

And what's with the colors? Realizing that most of the IT world is blue and red, GSI chose a different path. We believe our choice of green is soothing and it represents solid competence. Orange communicates optimism and produces sensations of brightness and warmth. Orange also represents creativity and an easy-going attitude toward life.

Why the lowercase letters? Our actual legal name is GreenSoft Solutions, Inc., hence the initials gsi. Lowercase letters were used but in a bolded font, the combination of which is to communicate strength and courage tempered with approachability and collaboration. The letters are closely positioned to convey integration and partnership.

So yes, our unorthodox logo does have an underlying theme. Our desire is to have our logo communicate that GSI is a forward-looking company, an industrious and hard-working team of IT professionals that is ever vigilant and committed to providing our clients with the highest in managed services. And like the American Robin, GSI strives to be a friendly and collaborative partner, ever active and flexible in our pursuit of exceeding client expectations.

Further Reading

Let's Get It Done Right

GSI's corporate tagline – "Let's get it done right" – encapsulates the very essence of our company and the service offerings we provide, and is a slogan that we hope is remembered by all who encounter it. While it may not be as popular as "Reach Out and Touch Someone" (AT&T) or "Have It Your Way" (Burger King), or as straightforward as "Tastes Great, Less Filling" (Miller Beer) or "Just Do It" (Nike), it carries important meaning to GSI associates and impacts every client we serve. Our basic guiding principles are summarized in these five short words, and embraced by each GSI associate in the fulfillment of his or her duties.

Collaborative Approach – The "Let's" highlights our commitment to working alongside our clients in a collaborative relationship. The ability to collaborate effectively is essential; it fosters effective communication, facilitates efficient assignment of tasks, and provides an integrated team approach in service fulfillment. We take it upon ourselves to learn each client's business and industry. Knowing how our client "thinks" and understanding their goals, business processes and risk parameters makes a positive difference in our client service. Our orientation is to focus on business issues, not just technical issues, and to develop a close working relationship with our clients at all levels.

Confident, Can-Do Attitude – Our associates, or "ServerHeroes(SM)," are our source of strength. They provide our collective corporate intelligence, and determine our reputation and vitality through their performance. Hundreds of technical certifications, coupled with years of in-the-trenches experience, equips our ServerHeroes(SM) to tackle virtually any client issue with a humble assurance that desired results will be achieved. GSI delivers its wealth of expertise without an attitude, and strives to fulfill every milestone on budget, on task, and on time.

A Bias for Action – "Get It Done" communicates a corporate orientation of responsiveness that is foundational to GSI. While GSI is analytical in making decisions, we are not afraid to make those decisions and move. We do not suffer from "analysis paralysis," and we are willing to embrace new technologies, processes and strategies. We challenge our associates to stay abreast of technology and business developments, and offer proactive options from a "big-picture" perspective and with an eye toward the future.

Exceptional Expertise – To do things "Right" first requires a knowledge base appropriate for the task at hand, an understanding of the client's expectations, and an assembly of a correct team to meet those expectations. Since Day One, GSI has focused on fulfilling client promises in this manner. Clients can be confident that they have selected a service provider in GSI that can ensure the correct technology is applied in the correct amounts.

Commitment to Quality – To achieve client satisfaction, the quality of GSI services is our number one priority. And we know that if knowledge is not applied in the "Right" way, the quality of service suffers. That said, our ServerHeroes(SM) focus on delivering the highest quality of service and are frequently commended for their responsiveness, creativity, quality, reliability and timeliness.

Just five short words to sum up how GSI views our relationship with clients, and how we strive to exceed our clients' expectations. For those who require complex, enterprise managed services, call GSI and "Let's get it done right" together.

Further Reading

A Look at Our Logo

A good time was had by all during GSI's first year of participating in the Kansas City Corporate Challenge!

I think the favorite among the GSI employees was the flag football event. We even had a blast getting ready for the event, with practices over the lunch hour. Nothing prepared us, though, for the blood, sweat and sore muscles we endured from those games. Brutal … but fun! A couple of fantastic highlights from this year include when GSI's business development manager, Kristine Hansen, won the gold medal in horseshoes on the first weekend of the games! And Zacc Gansert, systems analyst, had a great showing – receiving medals in four different swimming events! Over half of the GSI staff participated in the games, with more employees coming out to watch and support.

If you're not sure what the Corporate Challenge is -- it's two months of sporting event competition among KC area corporations. It's a great chance to network and mingle with folks from other corporations, and it also promotes teamwork among your own company's employees. There were 29 different events, including bowling, swimming, volleyball, darts and more. And proceeds from the 2009 Corporate Challenge went to The Special Olympics. What a great cause, and what a great time. We're confident that next year will be even better, so look out for Team GSI!

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