Q3 - Am I right that you used to work for SAS? If I aren't then ignore ... I've heard some fantastic things about them as a company ... what did you take away from your time there?
The take away from SAS is pretty straightforward. Your people are your greatest resource. If you work hard to keep your people happy and productive, then the software is a by-product. Dr. Goodnight makes it a priority to keep his teams happy and that shows. I worked at the corporate headquarters with 5,000 other people and they had (if memory serves) a 3% turnover. For a software company that's incredibly low. Most people just don't leave SAS. Look at your company's training budget (for new hires) and ask yourself what you could do with that money to keep your existing people to stay around. Avoid having to retrain so many people.
But what you've heard about SAS is true. There were M&M's in the break rooms. The walking trails in the woods are paved. There was an indoor pool (attached to the gym), a daycare (or three), doctors, hair stylists, massage therapists.... I could go on. They try to keep you on campus for things like haircuts and doctors visits. This is a huge convenience to the employees, but it also gets you back at work sooner. Everyone wins.
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