Everyone is familiar with the old age: The whole is only as good as the sum total of all of its parts. How true it is.
When Matt and I set out to form Tanner Friedman 3 years ago, we began by developing a credo that would serve as a foundation for the corporate culture we sought to create and build upon—a “we” vs. “me” mentality and climate that subscribes to and practices empowerment, collaboration and mutual respect every minute of every day. From there, we brought in outstanding individuals—Zak Walsh, Kristin Priest, Justin Fisette, Kaylee Hawkins, Kim Higgins and others to form a true team. We make sure they are active, visible, involved.
Operating any other away makes no sense to me, or us. I recently was made aware of a correspondence from another organization where transition was taking place at its highest level; an organization that has never celebrated its people at large nor supported their career growth on a wide or consistent level. The correspondence sought to assure that the organization, despite the transition, was in good hands with existing team members.
And while this organization does, indeed, have many very talented professionals, it is unfortunate that, as they are not promoted externally every day, this correspondence rang hollow, almost desperate. It did not name anyone and could not even provide a web link to bios of these individuals, as the majority of staffers are not even afforded a Web site presence.
We blog quite a bit about treating people the right way. It is, we feel, at the core of every successful company. I bring up the real-world example of the counter opposite not to attack but, rather, to prove a point and express my dismay. Looking forward, on this eve of Thanksgiving, that example also underscores how thankful I am to work with a staff, clients, vendors and other partners with a modus operandi that celebrates people and doing what’s right.
Happy Thanksgiving.