Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

What’s the first thing you notice when you meet someone? Maybe it’s their smile or the confident way they speak or even the way they wear their hair. Each of these things paints a picture that forms an opinion and shapes your perception of them.

HORNE’s Growth Mindset Client Promises consists of four key commitments to our clients – DELIVER, COLLABORATE, ANTICIPATE, and CARE. It’s a cogwheel of promises that work in tandem with each other to ensure exceptional client service. Each gear contributes to our success as a firm and without strong elements from each present in our client interactions, the client experience will be diminished. Under the CARE attribute, we commit to first and foremost serve with a generous mindset. We accomplish this by committing to make every client interaction great, freely sharing our knowledge and experience, and proactively seeking client feedback to #beEvenBetter. We learn from our successes and failures with after-action reviews and aspire for clients to be our cheerleaders.

My husband and I live in New York and one morning on his routine walk to work he spotted a wallet that belonged to a young girl from Nebraska. It was fully intact with IDs, cash, credit cards, gift cards and stuffed with a variety of personal mementos that included a cruise key card.

At some point in my life, I decided that one of my mantras would be that the little things in life can make a big impact. The risk with stating that in this blog is that people who know me can likely find many instances where I have not lived up to that mantra. Agreed, I am not always consistent with it; however, it is something that I think about often. 

We often make the mistake of trying to control every aspect of our lives. Many of us have a morning routine we follow religiously. For some, it is waking up in time to enjoy a cup of coffee outside on the deck, catch up on news or stop by Chick-fil-a for your regular #1 meal with two strawberry jelly packets and an orange juice. For others, it is going on a morning jog, getting the children ready for school or having a fashion show in the mirror to find the perfect outfit. Hey, no judgment here!

Regardless of what you do to get going in the morning, it is your routine, and it seems like something you have full control over. That is viable, right up until disaster strikes (insert scream here)! Now it seems the rest of your day is thrown off. We can control the amount of coffee we consume or our morning workout; however, we cannot control the unexpected events that prevent us from sticking to our routine.

As each of our careers progress, we continue to assume more responsibility. This responsibility comes in the form of more people requiring more of your attention on a more frequent basis. This begs the question…the ageless, grueling, slippery question…how do I prioritize my time to not only meet the expectations of the people I am serving, but to exceed their expectations? As significant of a question as this is, I would suggest the answer might be less complex than it may seem.

What is your job? Have you ever really considered that? I don’t mean the tasks you do every day, but something larger. Solving problems, sharing insights, helping others see the possibilities… Those are all acts of service and the very things that keep me coming back day after day. It’s so much more than a job. As each day unfolds and you go about your tasks, how would it change if you simply stopped for a minute and considered the acts of service you are providing your clients? 

Ring…ring…ring…it’s a sound we all hear throughout the day but to some it can be the thing you dread most. Whether it’s your wife calling, knowing you forgot to take out the garbage, or your supervisor asking for that report you knew was due the day before—it’s not a good feeling. But good news, there is a way to get out of those situations, and yes it works on spouses too! It’s having a strong relationship. 

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.