Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

I was raised with deep faith, tradition, and intentional communication as core family values. As one of 12 children—six boys and six girls—I grew up celebrating holidays with untold numbers of relatives, going to church and staying long afterwards just to fellowship and communicate with others, and staying up late Friday nights to celebrate the end of a school week. Some of my fondest memories, then and now, are of multiple generations of women in the house having a cup of coffee or tea and long conversations at the kitchen table. 

Recently, I participated in a couple trail races at Bogue Chitto State Park in Franklinton, LA. We were warned that there would be a stream crossing on the 10 mile course, and two crossings on the 13 mile course. Photos of said crossings, a log placed from bank to bank, had been posted in advance. The photos didn’t do justice to the way it looked in my mind's eye. We were alerted far enough in advance for me to obsess about how much I dislike narrow bridges and about how little trust I have in my balance. I also thought about how much time I would waste trying to talk myself across and about everything that could possibly go wrong.

There are so many ‘first times’ in life that we will never forget. I certainly have experienced my fair share at HORNE and they have positively guided me to beBetter. I can remember my first complicated project and how it made me doubt myself; the first time I received good feedback from the team for hard work and good performance; the first challenge that I had to face as a foreigner and English being my second language; and the first time I was exposed to the client.

Not many people know this, but HORNE was the first firm to take a chance on me. I wasn’t the smartest student in the class. I wasn’t the most social. But I believe God gave me favor to connect with HORNE and convince them to give me a shot.

Picture this. A nice restaurant, low lighting and candles lit. You ask the lovely waitress for an entrée suggestion. Her reply, “Try our prime rib po-boy. It’s wonderful. I get it all the time.”

She was direct, polite and believable as she shared her personal favorite on the menu. What could possibly be wrong with that?

At a restaurant serving $40 prime steaks with lobster tails, she had just suggested an $8 sandwich.  Not only that, but she repeatedly sold the most sandwiches of anyone in the house! More than half of her tables ordered at least one sandwich every night.

Every day, I have the same question lingering in the back of my brain. How am I adding value and making a difference at HORNE—both internally and externally? This is a question I wrestle with regardless of self-evaluations and alignment conversations. Those just prompt us to quickly put pen to paper and formalize the question. But that constant lingering is why I’ve challenged myself to write this very blog. And, when I did, came to some very basic conclusions that I want to share with you.

The most read blogs from 2016 paint a clear picture that culture matters. Some are funny, some are heartwarming, but the most impactful were clearly the blogs where our team members didn't shy away from hard topics and felt empowered to share their personal stories. Here’s a look back on the best blogs from 2016. Enjoy!

I had the opportunity to attend the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Global Women’s Conference in Boston in November. I left feeling energized as I watched a majority room of women seeking to understand what the workforce of the future looked like. A future full of companies who are actively working to create an environment where employees feel included and recognized for the contributions they make to their companies. There were a number of sessions with a wealth of information, but there were a few particular individuals that left their mark engraved in my mind as they represented the very culture we envision and are working together to build at HORNE. They were each unique in their own right, bringing fresh perspectives and challenging old conversations.  

My first two years at HORNE were pretty exciting and filled with fast-paced learning. But, I slowly started to feel eager for a bigger more impactful role in a project. Then, one day my performance advisor was talking about having to travel to Tennessee for a client meeting. I immediately chimed in, “I want to go to Tennessee!” He smiled and said, “Well, I don’t need you on this project right now, but we have a big project coming up that’s also in Tennessee. And, it’s a big one.”