The Newbie and the Hedgehog
When Christopher Karow, son of our founder, Dr. Armand Karow, first asked me to ‘write a few words’ for Dr. Karow’s column, my thoughts were: I’m no great storyteller, no philosopher, and definitely not funny enough to waste print space. But then I got to thinking that Christopher himself had been prepared to inspire everyone here at Xytex with tales of doughty hedgehogs thwarting predators and maintaining dignity and integrity along the way, and so, trusty quill in hand, I’ll attempt to commit a few words to print.
Let me say what a wonderful welcome over the past months I have received from all at Xytex Cryo International (henceforth referred to by me as XCI), whenever I have made my occasional forays to visit either the Peachtree Road office in Atlanta, or the home office in Augusta!
Characteristic of everyone’s attitude has been to reach out to me, help me, correct me when I get names or positions muddled, and most of all I have experienced a warmth and willingness to share whatever knowledge and time anyone might have to spare as I have bounced around the offices. When I first was approached to help out XCI as the new CEO, I suppose I thought, “What on Earth would a ‘sperm bank‘ want to use me for? I’m just a young embryologist and comrade of Dr. Karow.”
How foolish of me, as I continue to absorb the details of XCI services, and the ramifications of those areas of operations. Nevertheless, it seems like most everyone seemed to take the time to listen to whatever I have chosen to ask or say. This ability to listen within the Xytex family - to truly listen, I believe, is a core value of the company; and as such it is probably one of the hallmarks of XCI’s services in general.
An essential first step to reaching out to others is taking the time to listen, and feel like their questions and concerns are being heard and understood. We may not always be able to respond immediately, but just knowing that there is an audience, and a willingness to try to respond is essential to doing good business and maintaining the family focus.
More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that the individual providing the service is also invested in the process, and that their time and service means something. We all like to think that what we do is worthwhile, and it’s this ability for a job to provide a sense of purpose that keeps us going, even when things get complicated and difficult. The thing is, as I discovered working in IVF and infertility therapy, the services we provide at XCI are very real and ‘human’ - for the want of a better word - and I truly think that is what gives what we do an edge over many other fertility and family health organizations. The results of our labors, as it were, are often central to peoples’ lives whether it is directly through family building, or providing hope and potential security of health for the future, all achieved with technology that is as fascinating as it is successful.
The XCI focus on quality of service is a second key element to the success of the Xytex family, and as I sit hear at the close of one year, looking forward into the beginning of a new year and a new decade, it strikes me that for over a quarter of a century XCI has thrived by virtue of the quality of its service, ethics and integrity and yet as a company it still remains a partially hidden gem in the industries that we serve.
So there seems no better time than this to provide this gem to families in need of fertility and family health services as we enter 2010, and look to expand our services both nationally and internationally. As we do this in an appropriate and intelligent way, maybe we’ll be seeing XCI transform from a humble yet diligent hedgehog into a proud and an even more prickly porcupine ready to protect and serve new families everywhere! In any event, we will continue to provide some of the best service in the industry, and stick to assisting the world with fertility and family health assistance.
~ Cheers, Tucker
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