Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

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. 

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.

I come from a family of high-achievers, medical professionals, doctors, Colonels and Seals. Each of my family members hustled to get where they are at. They own their careers. They go hard in the paint. To those unfamiliar with that term, its origin comes from basketball and means to finish a task aggressively.

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can. These are infamous words from a childhood story we all know well. The purpose of the story is to build up self-confidence in young children so they won’t give up when times get hard. This same principle can and should be applied to adults as well.

What do you do when you realize you aren’t happy with the job you have? At first glance, you might think, duh…find a new job. BUT, what if you love the firm you work for and the people you work with even more, you just don’t love the actual work? That makes the situation a little more difficult.

Research tells us that engagement is a byproduct of four sequential factors, built on a solid foundation of clear expectations. Team members must know what is expected of them at work and have the resources to perform their jobs before they can even think about engagement.

Certainty. It’s something many of us crave, but time and time again, life proves to be uncertain. Every area of our lives produces some unknown elements. As much as we plan and prepare, the truth is uncertainty can also mean feeling insecure, unsettled, unmotivated, and at times, very disconnected from one’s purpose.

Fear is a deep-seated and natural human emotion. Indeed rational fear helps us make sound decisions and even helps keep us alive. But less primal/survival fears are learned as we grow and experience life. It’s these less rational fears that can stall or even derail our professional growth and career trajectory. Fear of failure, of being wrong, of not being good enough, of being taken advantage of and even fear of success can all diminish our capacity for growth, success and happiness.