For the next Stimulus staff spotlight, we quiz Salesforce advanced administrator and certified instructor Mark Lewis, who spent 24 years in the Royal Navy before joining Stimulus.
1. 10 years ago, what did you think you would be doing now?
10 years ago I was still serving as a Submariner in the Royal Navy, I had 5 years left on my contract and it was at the ‘should I stay or should I go stage’ of my career. In 2009 I had just left my last operational Submarine (HMS Sceptre) and was looking forward to recharging my batteries on a shore side job.
2. What quote do you live your life by?
‘Set standards, don’t follow them’
3. What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without?
My sense of humour, others may disagree.
4. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Running is a favourite pastime and I have just started to get back to achieving some longer distances. My hip, knee and lungs are telling me to give up but I refuse to do so. I enjoy cycling but I am not massively confident in lycra.
5. What are you listening to/reading/watching at the moment?
I am not a massive fan of reading or listening, I don’t have the attention span to sit and read a book or listen to a podcast. It’s probable that I will be working on Trailhead badges, there’s nothing better than sitting down with a glass of wine on a Tuesday night completing a Superbadge. When it comes to watching TV/films if it has a submarine in it then I am there!
6. What’s your previous working experience?
I joined the Navy 2 weeks before my 17th birthday and stayed there until the day before my 40th birthday. When I left the Navy I knew I wanted to work in training or recruitment, I experienced recruitment for several months until this fantastic opportunity at Stimulus presented itself. I’ve been involved in formal training for about 10 years now.
7. What’s your favourite thing about life at Stimulus?
The nature of our work can be very reactive and involve short notice programme changes or delivery locations change. It’s just like being back in the Navy. I love the challenge of meeting client’s needs, especially when they phone up and ask ‘is there any chance we could do this here, in this timescale?’ and the surprise when the response is ‘yes, it’s shouldn’t be a problem’. That is what sets us apart from our competitors and I love it!
8. What are you excited about during the next year at Stimulus?
I joined the company nearly 5 years ago, when there was 4 employees and a couple of sub-contractors. In my mind this next year is about consolidation and validation of our business decisions taken this year before we sit down and plan for 2020-2021, I’m sure those meetings will start very soon!