Choosing a Life Without Problems

From engineering school in India to building a business in the United States, my life has taught me many things—but one lesson rises above all others.

 

Life Is Finite—How We Live It Is a Choice

Life has a fixed span. We cannot change its length, but we can choose how we live it.

Problems are inevitable. They appear in every stage of life, in every profession, and in every relationship. What truly matters is not whether problems arise—but how we deal with them.

 

Life with Problems

We can choose to walk through life with problems constantly weighing on our minds, turning them into burdens. When we do this, life feels heavy, stressful, and difficult.

Or we can choose the other path.

 

Life without Problems

We can face problems when they arise, work through them, and resolve them as quickly as possible. Once a problem is addressed, it no longer occupies our thoughts. Life, then becomes lighter, clearer and more peaceful.

 

My Practice

Since problems cannot be avoided, I have made a conscious choice: I choose to live life without problems in my head.

This does not mean a life without challenges. It means a life where:

  • Challenges are addressed, not carried
  • Problems are handled, not allowed to define our mental space. 

 

This mindset has given me clarity, resilience, and peace—far more valuable than any professional achievement.

From a Small Company to a Trusted Manufacturing Partner

AGORA began with a simple observation: custom manufacturing was broken.

To make one product, companies had to coordinate multiple suppliers — designers, engineers, and manufacturers — each working in isolation. The process was slow, expensive, and unreliable.

As and Engineer, I saw the opportunity to fix it. Instead of patching the system, I reimagined it. By combining design, engineering, and manufacturing under one roof, we created a seamless process that could bring products to life faster, at a lower cost, and with consistent quality.

The early days were anything but easy. The AGORA team worked seven days a week, driven by a shared belief that innovation and integrity could overcome any obstacle. Our first major break came through a partnership — working with Mr. Blackburn, a veteran craftsman, to redesign a pharmacy chain’s shopping baskets. By switching to polyethylene and molding the logo directly into the design, we delivered a stronger, more affordable product. That single 50,000-piece order became the foundation on which AGORA was built.

As the company grew, so did our reputation for trust and reliability. Customers, employees, and suppliers became long-term collaborators — many staying with AGORA for over 40 years. The same hands-on spirit that defined the early days still drives the company today.

AGORA remains what it has always been — a place where engineering meets craftsmanship, and where relationships matter as much as results.

From concept to completion, we build more than products — we build trust.

How Companies Big & Small Approach Change

One of the striking differences between large and small companies is how they approach new projects and change.

Large companies often take a significant amount of time before making a decision. Projects typically involve multiple departments and require extensive planning and approvals. While this can be frustrating for project leaders and teams, the benefit is that once a solution is implemented, it tends to be well-supported and remains in place for the long term.

In contrast, smaller companies can make decisions and implement projects quickly—sometimes with input from only a few people. While this speed can be an advantage, it often comes at the cost of long-term planning.

Smaller companies may not consider how the change will be sustained or who will be responsible for its success over time. If the effort fails, there’s often little support to recover or adapt. Small businesses can benefit by improving their implementation strategies—thinking more critically about execution, support, and long-term viability. Meanwhile, the lengthy decision-making process in larger companies can give smaller, more agile competitors an edge. They’re able to enter the market sooner, which can cost big companies opportunities and market share.

Ultimately, while large companies prioritize stability and sustainability, small companies thrive on agility and innovation. The key is finding the balance between speed and strategy.

Need Collaboration for Improved Culture to Show Results – Part 2

We are making progress…
I have been working to improve team collaboration, by showing teams how to collaborate.

When a project is successfully completed, I meet with the team that worked on the project.

Here are some questions that I ask the team:

  1. Did you have more than one option to solve the issue?
  2. Did you have to weigh options, to determine how to proceed?
  3. Did you have to go back because you needed one more associate’s input to complete or revise the option?

We then discuss a better way to collaborate by:

  1. Identifying associates who need to be involved to solve the issue
  2. Holding preliminary meetings to discuss the project and required output
  3. Discussing options
  4. Selecting the best solution with a potential second option if required
  5. Holding periodic meetings until the project is completed

I also have been discussing the automation of processes, and learnt that many associates are capable of working on solutions. We have a very talented group of associates but have not gotten far, yet.

At the forefront of my list to improve/automate, is the ability to speedily create new prototypes. I often thought that there must be a better way to quickly create new prototypes based on similar product designs. Designs are usually done in SolidWorks.

I challenged one of the associates to see if he could find a better way – and he did, resulting in very fast new product designs. During a meeting of the minds, everyone was impressed by the new design solution. Associates are now starting to constructively challenge each other so they can come up with the best possible solution – with everyone’s buy in.

Instances such as these lead me to believe that we are making progress.

Agora Team Member Story

For the past few years, we have asked AGORA employees to internally share their stories, values, and what they like about AGORA. Here is an interesting story from one of our team member.

Diego has been with AGORA Edge for 10 years and 7 months. He is originally from Colombia and graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, with a B.S.M.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering.

 
What inspired your interest in fire and safety?

Since I was a kid, I always had a deep admiration for firefighters. This admiration began when, as a child, I was saved from drowning in a pool. Since that moment, I have wondered how I could pay that forward and save someone’s life. Fast-forward to now, and I am glad to have the opportunity to work in an industry that does this every day. We Design and Manufacture solutions to help firefighters save lives without risking their own. So, I feel that, indirectly, I am accomplishing my goal.

 
Can you describe your career path and how you ended up working in the Fire and Safety department at AGORA?

I started at AGORA as a production manager assistant. Four months later, Subash approached me and asked if I wanted to manage a customer. He knew I had some experience handling customers, but not in our Fire and Safety department. I didn’t hesitate to take on the challenge, as I knew Subash would work with me and train me to meet the customer’s expectations. Since then, I have become the account manager for our Fire and Safety industry.

 
How does your current role align with your passion for firefighting?

It gives me the opportunity to contribute to saving lives.

 
What are some of the most significant achievements or projects you have been involved in at AGORA?

I was part of the team that designed one of the most popular firefighters SCBAs in the market.

 
Is there a particular project or accomplishment of which you are most proud?

I assisted in manufacturing a vest that would protects first responders from radiation.

How do we fix Collaboration issues?

We now have restored our culture – back to when I started AGORA in 1985.

We have a great culture. We are, however, showing a lack of true collaboration; and this creates issues for us.

 

How do we fix these Collaboration issues?

We need to go back to the beginning. When AGORA was started in 1985, I asked myself, “Why should any company partner with AGORA?”

That is when it occurred to me that I should have a company philosophy to: 

  • Serve as a guiding light – to start and grow AGORA
  • Gain the trust of our customers and suppliers 

My set of beliefs and principles revolves around:

  • Exceptional customer service
  • Superior quality
  • Delivery per customers’ expectations
  • Collaboration within our teams – we cannot deliver on the above promises without team collaboration
  • Sense of Urgency in every action
  • Innovation in Design
  • Continuous Improvements in manufacturing and administrative processes

We are just embarking on this new initiative – Collaboration. I will keep you updated every few months to provide a progress report.

Business from the Eyes of an Engineer

I am an engineer by trade, not a businessman. My father was a police officer with no business background either. When I was let go from my last job and was looking for a new job, I thought about starting a small business. In hindsight, not landing a new job proved to be a blessing in disguise – I went all in and started AGORA.

I learnt early on that I needed to offer something that the world needs – Custom Soft-Goods Design and Manufacturing. Consistency in material use, Quality in every shipment, Delivery on time, Quick Response to customer requests and a stable, long-term pricing model without yearly increases (prevalent in the 1970s and early 1980s) were the tenets of my business model.

I learnt to pay my loans and our suppliers on time. I lived with a minimum salary from AGORA, paid employees every week and had monthly treats and gala Christmas parties for our employees. I learnt that employees are truly our best assets. We all worked hard, and at the same time enjoyed our times together whenever we could.

My biggest takeaway – Happy Employees, Happy Customers and Happy Suppliers together, keep a company growing. If any one party gets greedy, business starts to see unhealthy turnover, leading to problems with Employee/Customer/Supplier retention.

Addressing Toxic Work Culture in Business

I worked for a smaller company prior to starting AGORA in the mid-eighties. The company I worked for, had a strict employment policy and firing an employee was easier for various reasons.

I started AGORA in the mid-eighties wanting to build people rather than fire an employee.

While I followed this policy for several years, I had lots of disappointments during that time. Employees would take advantage of my leniency and patience, and we ended up tolerating employees with extended absences etc. These employees eventually would quit on their own, creating additional issues for us.

In a couple of instances where there was some toxicity, I tried to turn the situation around, but failed. I eventually realized that this unhealthy environment was crippling teamwork, and ended up having to let go of the troublesome employees.

 

Lesson Learnt

DO NOT tolerate a toxic environment in the company. You cannot build people that do not want to grow with the company. The best option would be to let go of employees who are not team players. The rest of the employees will be happier for that and they, in turn, become better team players.

YOU CAN Change Company Culture Cont.

In continuation of my previous blog about “You Can Change Company Culture”…

Our company, AGORA Edge, does have an excellent company culture – positive attitude, co-operative team, mutual respect, shared goals and sharing of ideas.

However, this is not enough!

We need yet more customer focus, to better serve our customers.

Internally, we need more collaboration within each team and between various teams.

Company Culture is not stagnant.  It is dynamic with a mix of old and new employees. You need to always have a pulse on your culture at all times. As the company grows, you need more people sold on keeping the culture alive. They are the ones who keep good culture thriving.

Our culture is the heart of our company.

YOU CAN Change Company Culture

I started AGORA in the mid-eighties with two employees.

As our business grew organically over time, we added new employees, as needed. We currently have over 300 employees.

In the beginning, and for many years thereafter, we had an excellent company culture. We were hungry, we worked very hard six to seven days a week, we were customer-focused. We had an excellent line of quality products, and exceptional customer service to back our products up. We enjoyed working hard and took some time off as well to have fun together, such as pizza parties, gatherings, etc.

As the company grew and I travelled more to see our customers, I began to lose connection with our team. We started to have disappointments within our team members. We had some troublesome employees – but I had no time to confront this issue as I was traveling on business. Fortunately, these employees left, and I started working on bringing the culture back to where it once was.

In spite of the sense of bureaucracy that set in, our design, quality of products and production remained top-notch. Our growth and customer retention during and after this bump in the road is a testament to our resilience.

How did we Rebuild our Company Culture?

As the toxic employees left the company, negative conversations stopped, the atmosphere improved, and we spent time discussing more productive issues.

I began spending one to two hours every day talking to new and old employees during which I emphasized the following:

  • Every one of us at AGORA is someone
  • No one is better than anyone else
  • We all have different jobs, and that we need to do our job in order to help take care of our customers
  • “Sense of Urgency” in everything we do

Next, our team began listening to all employees; not hearing, but truly listening. We started by talking about problems and solving them. As we worked our way through this process, we inquired about ways to help make our employees’ jobs easier.

As suggestions started coming in from employees, we formed a team that worked on these suggestions. We also celebrate our wins more often and we will continue this process so we can keep our culture alive and thriving.

Lessons Learned

  • Keep a pulse on company morale
  • If you have a complaint, find a root cause rather than a temporary solution
  • If you have a complaint regarding someone from many sources, confront the person (toxic employee) and try to change his/her behavior in a specific timeframe, or help the person leave the company
  • Always be available to spend time with the employees and take care of their requests ASAP