Our people at Karsun Solutions, power possible for government agencies. That includes our modernization experts currently building new solutions for complex systems. It also consists of the people that lead and champion their efforts. At Karsun, whether you are building solutions or cheering on our teams, we empower you to Find Your Next.
In this final post in our series on how problem solvers grow while supporting our customers’ missions, we share the experience of team champions and leaders at Karsun. Our team champions are an integral part of our collaborative, problem-solving-oriented culture. That includes providing the resources and tools they need to grow in their practice. Our Karsun Innovation Center has a Lean Practice Area dedicated to this mission. Like the toolkits and other resources provided by our other Practice Areas, this team advocates for project management, process improvement, and operational excellence.
Champions Grow With Karsun
We also support the growth and ongoing professional development of our champions. Every Karsun employee has access to paid training and subsidized professional certifications. We also host people leader workshops and workshops important to emerging leaders. For example, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) scrum master, product owner/product manager and agilist are among our most popular training options for growing leaders.
Karsun sponsors senior team leaders for industry fellowships and mentorship programs as well. We are a longtime supporter of the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) professional development programs. Eleven Karsun leaders are ACT-IAC fellows and several have returned to their programs as leaders and advisors.
ACT-IAC is a premier forum for collaboration between the government and the technology community. Each of our industry fellows partnered with a government fellow as part of their professional development program. Supporting our team champions’ engagement in organizations like ACT-IAC is how we ensure your growth is part of our commitment to serving our agency customers’ mission.
As our leaders cheer on their teams, we cheer on their growth at Karsun. Our teams grow together, serving the government and building new, exciting technology solutions. Whether you are one of these champions or someone looking to experiment and build with us, Find Your Next at KarsunCareers.com/jobs.
This blog is our fourth and final our series our how problem solvers grow at Karsun. Check out our previous posts and discover where we find our next, we experiment for mission success and how our teams collaborate with toolkits.
I have been lucky to have great mentors in my career. “You are your own CEO!” quipped one of them during a session and I had not approached my career that way until then! It makes a lot of sense looking at ourselves from the outside, treating us as a Product that needs to have a mission and vision aligned with our values, with a plan and roadmap on how we develop, market, sell and continuously improve ourselves. Questions like “why should anyone be interested in you as a professional Product?”, “what and how do you add value, now or in the future, to anyone or any group?”, “what/how do you showcase strengths and address weaknesses?” etc. must have easy answers.
Develop Skills
You as a Product should be desirable in the marketplace – perhaps in multiple markets. Show openness and flexibility to be repurposed in ways you had not considered. Stay current with the latest innovations and improvements in your areas of interest. A desire to continuously learn and grow is a must.
Build Brand Equity
Be a good team player, with a good work ethic and a burning desire to succeed. These are highly appreciated and often difficult to demonstrate and gauge. Having a few 5* reviews through your network is a must. It is also about looking at yourself from the eyes of someone who can help you get to where you want to be. Be open and deliberate about the people associated with you – and keep growing it. Spend time on sustaining and growing existing relationships and the network you’ve built.
Selling
As with any other Product, your reputation should precede you before meeting new people as you build relationships. Your next level of engagements are more about discussing ideas and personality fits than about your abilities, attitude and skills.
Pricing
Know your value, do your research. If you are pricing yourself above market, have clarity about why you deserve to charge a premium. As you build skills, know their worth in the marketplace.
Housekeeping
Keeping your resources working well together and optimally is critical. Take care of your mental and physical health, you are only as good as your resources. Not all employees are superstars, they just need to work well together as a team. Exercise, have fun and take breaks and stay focused when needed. I would also add that as a human Product, be kind to yourself – we all have way more strengths that value if you bring the right attitude.
This story from Hari Vijay, Senior Director Karsun Innovation Center Lean Practice, first appeared on LinkedIn.
Herndon, VA, USA (12 April 2022)— Karsun Solutions announced today that it was once again appraised at CMMI Level 5 for Development. Karsun is one of the first 25 companies in the U.S. to receive this distinction under the updated V2.0 (CMMI-DEV) appraisal model. to hold this distinction for quality and procedures in development. The appraisal was performed by Maverick Quality Advisory Services (MQAS).
CMMI is a proven, outcome-based performance model and the globally accepted standard for improving capability, optimizing business performance and aligning operations to business goals.
An appraisal at Maturity Level 5 indicates that the organization is performing at an “optimizing” level. At this level, an organization continually improves its processes based on a quantitative understanding of its business objectives and performance needs. The organization uses a quantitative approach to understand the variation inherent in the process and the causes of process outcomes.
GoLean® forms the foundation of the quantitative methodology used by the Karsun Solutions modern software development practice. It combines data-driven insights with modern software development and DevSecOps principles in a proprietary platform. Developed by its in-house Innovation Center, the platform is designed for software development, delivery and orchestration. The CI/CD pipelines can be configured and integrated with existing tools and on multiple cloud platforms. It also allows for each implementation to be optimized based on customer needs and constraints.
“This is a proud moment for Karsun to be one of the select companies rated at Level 5 in the federal marketplace,” said Badri Sriraman, Senior Vice President, Karsun Innovation Center. “We are proud of our teams as they raise the bar for delivery excellence once again.”
“Organizations worldwide are harnessing CMMI to elevate their business performance to new heights, creating a sustainable competitive advantage in the process,” says Ron Lear, Senior Director, CMMI Program. “We commend Karsun Solutions on achieving this CMMI appraisal level and demonstrating their ability as a high-performing organization.”
For more information about CMMI performance solutions, visit www.isaca.org/enterprise/cmmi-performance-solutions.
About Karsun Solutions
Karsun Solutions is a fast-growing, innovative enterprise modernization firm. Recently awarded Best Company Culture by Comparably.com, its teams deliver modern software development, cloud, and data solutions to customers at government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and General Services Administration. Leveraging GoLean, Karsun teams drive digital transformation and help its government customers Do Extraordinary. Learn more at Karsun-LLC.com.
Media Contact: marketing@karsun-llc.com