IS THE CULTURE RIGHT FOR YOU?

I often think about the culture at Makovsky + Company… what it is and what I want it to be. Well, the good news is that a lot of what it is, is what I want it to be; but it is not perfect.

I want our firm to be a community where people talk to each other in person, whether the conversation is easy or difficult. For the most part that happens, but there are still people who fear in-person confrontation and resort to emails, or occasionally voice mails, on difficult matters, even though they are physically in the same office.

Of course, emails serve an excellent purpose, but I like face-to-face, eye-to-eye communication, rather than emails, on important matters. Few things annoy me more than getting an email at 10 PM on some controversial or personal issue that could have waited until the following morning and that should have been addressed in person. I feel something is lost in communicating when nearly everything is done electronically.

I like energy and hard work, and I believe all of our leaders should role model these traits. Each should be a chief energy officer – demonstrating how effectively they get things done in sales, management and client activity -- and cheerleading where they need to. Nothing replaces hard work, effective execution and meeting goals, whether for clients or the firm. Yet people need to feel a sense of freedom in terms of their work and personal lives. We try to support that philosophy, too.

Intellectual stimulation and creativity are fundamental to our culture. Bringing in people who introduce us to new ideas, reading and discussing books, creative sessions, and collaboration on projects all contribute to this. Creating a teaching order is also important, so learning is a way of life.

I am open to hearing what may be missing in our culture. Just get in touch and let me know. My door is always open. That is part of our culture too!