Ennio Carboni, Ipswitch's Network Management President, Accepting For Ipswitch

The Boston Business Journal just announced the results of their annual survey of the best places to work. Ipswitch ranked third among medium-size businesses in Massachusetts.

Each award we win causes me to reflect on its significance. I think this one is based on many years of learning about people and  management. For most of our 21 years I hired managers with talent, energy and enthusiasm, but not a lot of early stage executive experience. None of us had every done anything quite like starting and growing a company. For me, that was an important part of the appeal. I felt that with smart, motivated people we could figure things out as we went. And the challenge of not having been there before gave us the exhilaration of explorers of new territory.

In recent years, as we have grown to 350 employees, we recognized that our prior approach to management would no longer suffice. We had to devote more time to the art and science of managing. That needed to come in two ways – by hiring expert managers, some of whom had been places we had not, and by developing the managers already on our staff. This need extended throughout our management team. With the breadth and depth of our business, we could no longer rely on executives to understand and manage all aspects of the business. We needed from all managers both specific expertise and leadership, which includes the ability to develop talent.

Because of these efforts, our management has steadily improved. We set clearer goals and give more feedback and coaching. I am proud of our progress and of our managers. I see how much they care and how hard they work to keep getting better.

This is, however, a long process, and there is no finish line. We recognize that the landscape is ever-changing and there is always room for improvement. So while I take the news of this award with pride, it also motivates me to manage better.