SimpleQuE Spotlight – Jim Lee

In this blog we shine the spotlight on simpleQuE’s President, Jim Lee, who founded the company in 2005.  Jim shares his personal interests and hobbies, and gives insight into his background and business philosophy.

Thinking back over your career, what is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of achieving and why?

Working to save children’s lives is what I am most proud of. Historically, over 85% of children’s car seats were installed incorrectly in automobiles, putting kids at risk should they be in an accident. While working for a company that made children’s car seats, it was difficult to account for all the car seat shapes, contours and belt angles. I was invited to participate on a Blue-Ribbon Panel of experts to resolve the problem, which involved people from every auto manufacturer along with child transportation safety advocates.  Those efforts resulted in legislation and solutions we see today in cars with anchors and tethers. The Colorado Advocates for Child Transportation Safety awarded me “Friend for Life” for the work I performed with them and on the Panel.

What is your favorite thing to do? 

My favorite activity is pickleball.  I started playing 6 months ago and am hooked! 

What are your favorite QMS standards and why?

I’m partial to the AS9100 aerospace series of standards because of my work in the aviation, space and defense industries.

What is your hidden talent? 

I really enjoy photography, and living primarily on the Space Coast of Florida, I am fortunate to observe and photograph many rocket launches. While photography can be difficult, I enjoy learning and practicing (and buying more equipment) to help me capture the moment. Every once in a while, I get an awesome shot.  I even started @rocketrazzi to share some of my photos.  Again, with limited time, there are many photos I’ve not had time to post.  Hopefully when I retire, I’ll have more time to take rocket photos at all hours of the day and night to share.

What is the best book you have ever read?

My father’s biography, The Sage in the Cathedral of Books is among my favorite books.  It helped me and my siblings learn more about our dad’s life and accomplishments. There is so much I’ve learned from my parents – integrity, respect for others, love of family and a strong work ethic, and I cherish his wisdom and biography.

Favorite travel spot?

I’ve traveled to Singapore and it is just so beautiful, easy to get around, lots of things to do and see in such a small place, and I love the accents and Singlish phrases.  The island is especially meaningful because I got to share Singapore with my wife, Lisa, on our 30^th wedding anniversary.  It was her first opportunity to travel internationally.

What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had? 

Calligrapher for the Ohio Banker’s Association – I wrote out people’s names on certificates every year in Old English font.

Explain how simpleQuE is different from their competition.

90% of our competition are one-person shops. As a medium-sized consulting company we don’t try to be all things to all people, but stay very focused on our core competencies in the automotive, aerospace, and ISO manufacturing & service industries. SimpleQuE isn’t about me and what I can do, it’s about our team of enthusiastic consultants and auditors with similar skills and expertise, so we can help our clients succeed with practical, sustainable systems. 

We want to be at least 5 times more knowledgeable on the standards and requirements than our customers, otherwise we aren’t providing value.  At times we have to pull together our industry experts and multiple resources for larger projects. One recent example was an aerospace customer that needed to quickly obtain certification to 3 standards at 5 sites in 3 countries.  We were able to put a team together to help them achieve all certifications in 11 weeks.  Quality excellence made “simple”.