Author Patrick Lencioni’s book The Advantage has a great section about creating clarity in an organization. His premise is all about achieving alignment, which is a key discipline in creating a healthy firm, because, as he puts it, “…alignment is about creating so much clarity that there is as little room as possible for confusion, disorder, and infighting to set in.”
In my own words, knowing who we are and who we are not is key for an organization’s success. I think that is what the Wise Firm is all about. Sure, we’ve aligned our business to seven distinct focus areas and quit trying to be all things to all people—and that has definitely impacted our growth and our business. But in the same way, knowing who we are as leaders, understanding the expectations and the vision of what we are trying to build—that’s clarity, and that is The Wise Firm Way.
Importantly, alignment doesn’t exclude diversity or hinder creativity—we work to seek out ideas, experiences and viewpoints that challenge our own in the Wise Firm, but never to the exclusion of the overall goal, which is building the Wise Firm together. Call it alignment, call it focus, but whatever you call it, when we know what we are and what we are not, it allows us all to work together toward achieving a common mission and vision.
About the Author
Rusty is the partner in charge of public and middle market. He is also a member of HORNE’s Board of Directors and serves on the technology steering committee. He is passionate about creating a culture of inclusion, a Wise Firm where we all work together toward achieving a common mission and vision.