Poe Group Advisor’s Overachieving Values

I wanted to spend some time today with you talking about our values; what they mean to us and how they came about.

It seems all of the big and really forward thinking companies have put together values so that every team member is on the same page no matter where you sit in the building. Some that come to mind are Zappos, Build-A-Bear Workshop, LL Bean, and Whole Foods. We wanted to highlight values that would help us create a culture that gave us something to strive for, and would communicate what is important to us.

So – we sat on Brannon and Carol’s porch one sunny afternoon and had an old-fashioned brain storming session. Ideas flowed. We liked a lot of them, and we hated a few. In the end, I think we came up with 5 great values that we work towards every day.

Honesty
Sometimes I think this one is the hardest and it may surprise you that I admit it. We are often asked to give someone bad news. For example, a buyer doesn’t have enough money to buy a practice or a seller is just not charging high enough fees and earning enough to make the practice desirable. These are often difficult discussions to have. What I have found is that the sooner you have them, and with as much kindness as is appropriate, most people appreciate your honesty.

Accountability
The whole team at PGA holds each other accountable, not just the boss. Promise you have something in on a deadline, and we will make sure you are reminded of your commitment. Moving a difficult or boring project to the bottom of the pile will get you called-out in a professional way. We also ask our clients to do what they say they are going to do. It gets us all to better results much faster.

Solutions Oriented Approach
This value allows us to tackle challenges or problems. We have to recognize we have a problem or challenge and agree to take it on with a great attitude. We have to focus on root causes and then create sustainable solutions. This is where we get creative as a group. By engaging everyone’s expertise and knowledge, we continually come up with even better ways to do business. We take action and make sure our solution is executed at a high level. This helps create better client experiences.

Friendliness
This is my favorite. This is where we treat each other and our clients like we want to be treated. We are working with people who are making major life changes like retirement or the purchase of a business. We want their interaction with us to be enjoyable and one they will tell their friends about.

Balance
This is my other favorite. We work hard at work and work hard at play. We have no email rules on vacation. This also makes us more efficient. We are ready to go on vacation because we have everything buttoned up because we will be unavailable. The team knows where everything is and they are empowered to keep things moving in someone’s absence. When we come back from vacation, we are refreshed because we’ve been able to be truly off.