The Journey of Turning Vision into Action®

By Ashley W. Chen, President & CEO

What’s in a Name?

It was right before Thanksgiving in 1997 when I was inspired by an enlightening piece written by a traditional Japanese philosopher who stated, “Action without vision is a nightmare, Vision without action is only a daydream.” It was clear that all I needed to do was to “Take some Action”.  With a $35 credit card payment to reserve the www.actionet.com  Internet domain, ActioNet was born on January 7, 1998.

A Humble Beginning

July 1, 1998 was my first day as a full-time ActioNeter, I was sitting at my home office with a BIG dream and ZERO income.   It took me three months to land our first project - Y2K IV&V with the Department of Transportation.  It was a five-month project and under $50,000.   Our FIRST customer back in 1998 is our LARGEST account today.  ActioNet is Mission-Focused, Customer-Oriented and Results-Driven.

Driving Change

At ActioNet, we are not afraid of Change.  In fact, we embrace Change.  Through innovation, collaboration and partnership, we can work smarter, faster and more cost effectively together.  We are proud to continually improve service delivery, reduce risk and maximize customer Return on Investment (ROI), saving money in the process.  After all, we are taxpayers!

Since Day 1, we have continued to invest in our people, our processes and our advancing Technical Centers of Excellence.  ActioNeters have never been satisfied with the status quo and we are always looking for ways to do things better.  Continual Process Improvement is in our blood.

Making a Difference

Giving back to the Community and helping others achieve their dreams are gratifying and important parts of our Journey together.  Opportunity and success come with a great responsibility to reach out and help others along the way.   Our ActioNeters are always excited about volunteering for community activities and all of our lives are enriched by the many wonderful people we have met along the way.  The more we give, the more we get.  Yes, together we can make a difference.

Everything as a Service

I was on a business trip to Kansas City, MO in May 2011.  There was a local BBQ restaurant.  The waiters and cashiers greeted all of the customers with a big smile and said “May I Help You?”  I think I just discovered the secret ingredient of their best selling BBQ sauce! ActioNet is a Service Organization and customer service is the engine of our success.  My role is to help others to be successful.  I have another new hat as “Chief Service Officer” of ActioNet, so “How Can I Help You?”