CSC’s 50th anniversary celebration kicked off on April 16, as Mike Laphen, Chairman and CEO, joined nine employee representatives from around the world to ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). One of the most familiar features of the NYSE, the bells signals the beginning and ending of trading each business day.

In 1963, when our founders Fletcher Jones and Roy Nutt took CSC public, it became the first software company to be traded on the Pacific and American stock exchanges. Five years later, in 1968, CSC became the first independent IT services company to be listed on the NYSE.

The nine employees joining Mr. Laphen for the ringing of the bell included representatives from Asia, Australia, Europe, India, Latin America and North America, as well as CSC’s longest-serving employee and a three-time recipient of the Chairman’s Award of Excellence.

Learn more about CSC’s 50th Anniversary.

After a 55-foot fall left him paralyzed from the waist down, CSC Vice President and CSC-Wide Six Sigma Program Lead Rob Bryant developed a new perspective on life, setting and accomplishing amazing goals – both personal and professional.  At CSC, Rob is working with other team members around the world to drive a Human Sigma initiative.  Learn more about this management approach and how it can help shape CSC’s future.

Why have you enjoyed working at CSC?
This is my sixth year at CSC and when it comes to what I have enjoyed most about my CSC career, a few things come to mind.  I like the way our teams are high energy and rally around how to best meet customer requirements.  Also, it’s especially important to me that CSC’s culture provides us the freedom to suggest new solutions and our company has avenues to turn those ideas into reality.  I’ve really enjoyed working on new process improvement initiatives and replicating them across CSC and leading Lean/Six Sigma.  I also appreciate the virtual nature of my job, which has enabled me to develop a healthy work/life balance.  Finally, I’ve had the opportunity to be a motivational speaker at many internal and external events.  It’s something that I’m passionate about and I hope I can continue to help make an impact on people’s lives.

Can you share a defining moment in your career and how it changed your perspective?
In 1982, I fell 55 feet from an oil rig during a routine procedure, which caused permanent paralysis from the waist down.  But, I decided to concentrate on the things I could do and not to worry about the things I could no longer do.  I decided to accomplish new goals by: envisioning the steps, counting the cost, paying the price and never giving up on my dreams.  This led me to walk 24 miles with braces and crutches, row 3,280 miles across America (Guinness World Record), become a vice president with CSC and most importantly, be the best husband and father I could be.  I fail all the time, but still accomplish more than someone afraid to try.

What is Human Sigma and how does it help position CSC for the future?
Human Sigma is measuring and improving client and employee engagement in such a way it increases customer and employee loyalty and profits.  The approach focuses on taking disciplined, sustainable measures to better manage, recruit and reward employees.  In turn, this effort enhances customer-employee engagement, which ultimately can lead to increased overall financial performance.  Human Sigma is directly aligned with CSC’s new culture of being more purposeful, proactive and collaborative.

What do you think makes a good manager?
I believe a good manager is a leader who is not afraid to make tough, ethical decisions during difficult times.  They stand up for what is right, even if it’s not the most popular belief. Good managers can motivate their subordinates and their peers, into achieving more than they would have otherwise. 

How can employees continue to improve their management skills at CSC?
I encourage employees to take training in Lean/Six Sigma and Performance Management.  Also, finding a mentor, whether internal to CSC or someone in your external network, can help you define your career objectives and how to meet them.  Finally, I think it’s important to remember that one person is capable of achieving many things, but you can do even more by forming teams to make what seems impossible, possible.

CSC Australia’s Queensbridge Road office in Melbourne recently moved to temporary premises, while the 385 staff await their permanent move to a new location. CSC Australia’s Andrea Lai tells us about their innovative “recycling” program.

As part of the clean-out of Queensbridge, CSC invited community service groups, charities, non-profit organizations and local sporting clubs to avail themselves of various surplus items free-of-charge. This was made possible by the kind donation of a central warehouse for the holding and pick-up by the various groups and the donation by our removalists, Allied Pickford, to transport the surplus items there.

The items were also made available to individuals and small businesses in return for a donation to the St. Vincents - MacKillop Family Services organization, which works with disadvantaged children, young people and their families. The offer was well received by the various groups and ,which expressed their gratitude with letters and certificates of appreciation, and they highlighted on their own Web sites the fantastic support and kind generosity of CSC.

Other major beneficiaries from our move included Save the Children Fund (provides health, education and child protection for children in marginalized circumstances) and The Youth Junction, Inc. ( a service in Melbourne that provides housing, education, health, legal and newly arrived support to young people, assisting over 1,200 young people a month).

The benefit to the various groups is enormous, but at little or no cost to CSC. However the financial savings of not having to commit additional capital for disposal is considerable.

We stripped down and recycled the 385 workstations left behind. All contents including general trash were processed via the split-waste method.

How much did we recycle?

• Over 1.5 tons of paper and cardboard
• 29.775 tons of metal
• 320 kg of hard plastics
• 3.082 tons of aluminum

The total volume committed to a landfill for the Queensbridge cleanup filled only a single 6-cubic-meter bin—for a move of 385 people!

Oliver Weers is a CSC Oracle database specialist by day, and a rock star by night. A singer/songwriter living in Denmark, Oliver started performing in bands in 1983 and has been playing rock/blues/funk and progressive metal from small clubs to big festivals across Europe. In January 2008, Oliver competed on the Danish show X-Factor (similar to American Idol). And though he did not win, he made a big splash on the finale, performing Queen’s “The Show Must Go On.” Oliver has released rock albums internationally and is the opening act for Whitesnake in Copenhagen this month. We spoke with Oliver about his dual roles.

When I’m not working on my music, I’m working for CSC. I work 200 percent of the time.  I rehearse three to four times a week. I also take care of my band’s MySpace page, merchandise, media interviews and working with my record label. It’s very busy but it’s fun, because I’m doing things I really like doing. I like performing, and I like my job at CSC.

I’ve been playing music for a very long time, and have lived in many countries across Europe. I decided to go on X-Factor because it was a very efficient and fast way to get to meet people in Denmark’s music business.

Going on X-Factor and performing on the finale was really exciting. Half of the country watched the finals because it was broadcast on the national channel. I made a lot of good music industry contacts, and I was contacted shortly afterward by producer/songwriter Søren Andersen, who is part owner of the well-known Medley Studios in Copenhagen.

Søren had been on tour with former Whitesnake band members Tommy Aldridge and Marco Mendoza. Together we produced and recorded my latest album “Get Ready,” which was released in Denmark September of this year. It will be released in Germany, Sweden, Benelux and other countries across Europe in early 2009, with the USA to follow.

Now it’s just been confirmed that I’ll be the opening act for Whitesnake in Copenhagen in December, which I am really excited about.

Learn more about Oliver at www.myspace.com/oliverweersband.

Around the Bay in a Day is the largest cycling charity event in Melbourne. This year the event coincided with the last professional race in Australia for Team CSC Saxo Bank—the Jayco Herald Sun Tour.

Over 200 riders, including CSC customers, dressed in CSC-branded cycling gear to ride distances ranging from 50 to 250 km (about 31 to 155 miles). Team CSC raised $17,000 (AUS) in funds to support The Smith Family, a charity that provides educational assistance to disadvantaged children and their families. Employees and customers had the opportunity to meet Matthew Goss from Team CSC Saxo Bank.

CSC took this opportunity to present framed yellow cycling jerseys signed by team members to the charities which our Australian staff have nominated to support over the next three years—the Cancer Council of Australia, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and beyondblue.