Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

A dreamer is defined as a person who is unpractical or idealistic. I define dreamer with two words: forward thinker. Forward thinking is the act of planning for the future and favoring innovation. Let’s imagine for a moment, a young dreamer with aspirations of competing against the most talented athletes in the most prestigious organization of its kind—the NFL.

I recently read an article on common regrets of older people as they looked back over their lives. I realized that I still had time to impact and improve my life and career as I kept reading. Here are the main regrets that stuck out to me and how I plan to not add them to my personal regret list. 

One of my favorite Wise Firm building blocks is windshield view, but probably not for the same reason it may be a favorite for others. Some people look at windshield view with solely a client or firm-centered focus—being anticipatory, knowing the challenges the client or firm has previously faced and those that may be soon to come. While agreeing with this viewpoint, I, however, like to look at windshield view a little differently. I like to think of windshield view introspectively—knowing the road I have traveled and roadblocks that have hindered me or slowed me down, but focusing on what is ahead of me and not behind.

A few weekends back, I spent the weekend with my wife, kids and grandparents. I enjoy talking with my granddaddy as he usually asks how things are going with work. This time, when he asked about work, I took the opportunity to ask him what he thought I could do to make a BIG impact. In his usual fashion, he responded by telling a story with a moral, rather than giving me a straight answer.