Two Seagate employees at our Springtown, Northern Ireland, site have a special bond. Colleagues. Mentors. And also, father and son.
Shaun North has been at Seagate for more than 30 years and currently works as a quality engineer. His son, Harry, is an apprentice.
Seagate Stories caught up with Harry to learn the five lessons that his dad taught him over the years to bring to work every day:
Break things
“My dad takes things apart in order to understand how they work. Then he puts them back together better than they were before. He taught me that it’s a great way to approach challenges — break them down to their components and construct the answer.”
Welcome change
“My dad started at Seagate in the 1990s, making tape drives. His team recorded measurements and plotted control charts by hand! Now, we are producing HAMR drives and leveraging AI. The change looks huge. But, as he always says, ‘Just go for it. You only have to adapt a bit at a time.’”
Seize opportunities
“His career serves as an inspirational roadmap. He started on the original R&D team at Springtown. Then he moved into process engineering and now he works in the quality organization. But it wasn’t just welcoming change (like his previous piece of advice!), it was taking advantage of the opportunities to do different things. When I started as an apprentice, he told me to take the first step and tell your manager what you’re looking for. That’s something I’ll never forget.”
Seek new perspectives
“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. But there are so many other viewpoints to incorporate and strengthen your outlooks, solutions, etc. He has contacts and one-on-ones with colleagues of all ages and experience levels at our fabs in Thailand and in Minnesota. He always told me that they have a new way of looking at things, and he wants to get their take on making improvements.”
Make an impact larger than yourself
“Our company makes a big impact on our community through the people, the economy and the positive work we do. And that’s the biggest lesson of all: when we — our team, our family, our company — succeed, so does our community. That puts my career and the impact that it could make in a whole new light.”
