Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

Building powerful relationships and partnerships is the very essence of the popular business term NETWORKING. But, too often, young (and sometimes old) professionals think of networking as transactional. “I need to meet you so you can help me be successful.” This folks, is a losing strategy.

In September 2018, my husband, Kevin, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer. The doctors told us that the cancer was aggressive and so was the treatment. They explained to us the treatment would be long and it would be hard. My husband, who is a classically trained Chef, would have to eat through a feeding tube surgically inserted directly into his stomach to stay alive. Because of this, he would go on to lose 90 pounds. The doctors instructed us to pray. We were already putting that recommendation in practice and would surely continue.

A few years ago, after watching one too many Law & Order episodes, I decided to go to law school. I had vague ideas of what I might want to do with my life, and law school seemed like a decent jumping-off point for a guy in his late 20s with a sociology degree and a bizarre-looking resumé. What I quickly learned was that law school was a very particular kind of beast. I don’t pretend to know much about accounting programs; in law school, though, you’re not judged by how well you do in your classes. Instead, you’re actively pitted against your classmates: a 3.95 GPA means nothing if you’re not in the top 10% of your class. While this is stressful enough, there’s also a subtle form of brainwashing I identified — and fell for — during that all-important first year: Big Law (large, corporate law firms).

We hear it often. “I’ll prioritize <INSERT NAME OF LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY HERE> after I work on this pressing deliverable.” It sounds like a plan, right? The problem is, for many of us, prioritizing our career growth and continued learning never actually comes. After one deliverable is met for a client, another is staring us in the face. 

“We and Service.” Here at HORNE, this is what our culture is founded on. For our team members, a big part of living this out is through our annual Summer of Service program, which honors our commitment to our communities.

It was the spring semester of my junior year in the Adkerson School of Accountancy at Mississippi State University. I knew I wanted to do an internship somewhere near Jackson, MS, but I also wanted something that would be comparable to the Big 4 experience that everyone hears so much about. So, I began researching and found HORNE. After attending their Full Potential Leadership Program for college students and going through the interview process, I knew this is where I wanted to be. I met a firm that wanted to invest in me reaching my full potential, loves feedback and is evolving with the future.

When I first started at HORNE, I was based in the Ridgeland, Mississippi, office. It wasn’t long after that I was assigned to a project in New York and after being there for almost four years, I received a call informing me that I would be moving back to Ridgeland. I began to think of all the fun times I had in New York but quickly became overwhelmed with the task of moving in a fairly short amount of time.

One morning, I was deep in thought, prioritizing my duties for the day. I happened to look down and saw my keychain lying on the desk next to my mouse pad and thought, Wow!

You see, it was once a cute little white metal bear with dangling arms and legs, and the “I Love NY” logo stamped on its chest. My nephew had gone to the big apple a few years back and had gotten it for me as a souvenir. It was still on my keychain for sentimental reasons, even though it was not as cute as it once was. But until this moment, I hadn't noticed just how badly it had deteriorated!

I recently shared my belief that “balance” (as in “work-life balance”) was a lie. It is obviously a lie many still believe, so let me offer you my argument against balance and see what you think.

Balance gives the false sense that all things can get equal playing time, at the same time, and that there’s a magic formula you’ve just got to persevere to find. I’ve found this to be impossible. Whether it’s hobbies, career, family, volunteering, traveling or anything else you have passion around, prioritizing one area will result in de-prioritizing another.  If I am striving for balance, I’d need to find an exact point of equality among all the things I find important. And every time I chose one over the other, I’d throw off that balance. And, for me, feel like I was failing.