“The lack of money expands the mind,” John Pettit said in his third floor Lehigh Valley Industrial Park office suite.

He wasn’t being ironic or pretentious, either.

As we walked from his Spartan personal office through one of three spacious rooms filled with cubicles – this one overgrown with an array of potted plants – he assured me the creativity spurred by frugality was at the core of what has made his company a success.

And a success it is, as Adaptik Corporation of Valley Center Parkway expanded by 30 percent last year and was recently recognized as one the Best 100 Places to Work in the state by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation.

Adaptik is a small-scale software company Pettit and Tamer Uluakar formed in 2000 to combat an issue mostly familiar to insurance industry insiders; development and implementation of insurance software took far too long and often caused complications once released.

In a decade of work with Chubb group and elsewhere, Pettit said he saw every new product for policy administration systems – those used to create customer policies and bring in company revenue – were largely incompatible with every earlier system.

“We knew what the problems in the industry were, but not how to fix them. We weren’t programmers,” Pettit said. And so Adaptik was born to bring developers together with those familiar with insurance carriers’ technology integration issues.

Adaptik’s products allow carriers to offer quick quotes, issue, bind, cancel and renew policies, and integrate all of the ancillary systems involved in rating, billing and claims.

Adaptik helps companies such as Travelers Insurance streamline countless minuscule tasks and cinch older and newer systems, and its 70 employees here and in India don’t stare at the clock – they leave when they’re content they accomplished all they could in a day.

Pettit says that’s part of the strength behind Adaptik, and his respect for his employees and their collective work ethic contributed to the company weathering the 2003 bubble burst and the 2008 recession. The skills and dedication they exhibit mean a lot to him, and he’s made their continued prosperity his responsibility. “When you look at the staff we have, they’re really, really good,” he says. “We take a different approach to the way in which we manage the organization. There’s not a lot of management. They’re all really self-motivating in terms of what they have to do.

“We don’t need people here pushing, saying ‘You need to work more hours.’ If they’re able to put in the extra effort it’s going to benefit the company and it’s going to benefit themselves. We’re very fortunate,” Pettit says.

He also said the company’s willingness to pay for the best employees has reaped dividends, in salary not reflecting the true value of an employee. “We’ll pay for the people, because the value is what they contribute once they get in.”

The nonprofit Team Pennsylvania Foundation included Adaptik among its small business winners this year. According to the Team Pa. website, winning companies achieve the highest combined scores in a twofold evaluation: review of a company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophies, systems and demographics (25 percent); and results of an employee survey to measure the employee experience (75 percent).

That award and Pettit’s trust are reflected in employees’ attitudes.

Chris Merkel, originally from Lynn Township, has been with the company for 15 years. Currently the vice president of application architecture, Merkel describes for clients how systems will work together using Adaptic’s software.

Merkel said he’s proud of his work and enjoys living in the Lehigh Valley. “I came to Adaptik because I was tired of the “big company” mentality. It is much more satisfying to be a big fish in a little pond than a small fish in a big pond. My work has a direct impact on company success. The culture we have created here is one of solve the problem and don’t blame others when things go wrong. Stick up for your teammates; help them succeed as their success means success for us all.”

Patty Zubia, a client consultant, has been with the company for three years after becoming unhappy with project management. “When Adaptik approached me to come work for them as a consultant, I was excited to utilize my 19 years of commercial insurance underwriting experience in a new role. I stay because the office is like a family. We all get along and no one is trying to outdo one another. There is no politics!”

Another consultant, Layla Muth, said she appreciates how much she’s learned about software development because the employees all work so closely together and opportunities for cross-learning abound. “Despite only having experience on the business side, I have been very lucky to be able to be in many different positions. I was on the Testing team, Customer Support, I help with Demos and Marketing, and configuration,” she said.

Marketing Director Melis Carroll said relationships are what matter at Adaptik.

“There are so many things Adaptik does well, but the one I am particularly grateful for is the relationship I have with my boss. We have a wonderful senior management team and they all make use of the open door policy which I think is critical for communication. Whenever I have an issue or anything that I feel I need to share I can talk to my boss without the fear of judgment,” Carroll said.

“Prior to joining Adaptik I worked at a large insurance company where everyone was out for themselves and was willing to step on each other’s toes to get to the top. I know it sounds awfully cliché to say this, but we are very much like a family. Everyone here is willing to help one another out – from work to personal life issues - and the daily catered lunches don’t hurt either.”