15 in ’16: Chapter 2
Category : 2016
Last month we shared about our journey to the present (Chapter 1). As we move through our 15th year, let’s take a look at our organization today.
Previously, we talked about “survival preceding success”, so … it’s great to be here and to have prospered along the way! Let’s start with a bold statement. We believe that a defining characteristic of our organization is what many people would call passion. Stated another way, we believe that we care more about achieving the right outcomes for our clients. We have a track record of producing results by marrying a built-in sense of urgency with process discipline. As the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, “be quick but don’t hurry”. This is how we are wired.
How this is accomplished is instructive as well. We will not outmuscle larger retained search organizations with our marketing spend. We remain committed to adding value to and through relationships as well as through hard work – grit – in order to differentiate our ability to deliver results. In other words, having ridden out several economic cycles and having performed at a high level for a significant period of time, we are a bit feisty. An example you may have noticed is that we recently retired our website, updating it with a much improved offering. We like it and hope that you do as well, however, we want to point out that websites and other shiny objects do not complete searches … talented and dedicated team members do, and we have them! Our seasoned, productive and committed professionals are located in Chicago, IL, Scottsdale, AZ, Austin, TX, and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The investment in our team members translates into an ability to help you obtain the best and brightest talent. Here is how we describe our team: they are great people; great people complete searches!
We have long had a dedicated focus on HR leadership roles. These roles range from CHRO’s to varied tiers of the HR organization, as long as they leverage leadership to impact the organization. Additionally, we have quietly worked in other functional areas when called upon by clients who admire the way we handle ourselves in the marketplace. We suspect we will do more of this work over time.
We are often asked about the geographic boundaries of our work. Being based in the DFW area we certainly perform a concentration of our work here and throughout Texas. As our business has expanded, we have worked from coast to coast and continue to enjoy completing domestically-based assignments, in numerous markets, including those that have global responsibilities.
What has changed over the past 10-15 years? Not surprisingly, the advent of technology solutions like LinkedIn has helped organizations adeptly meet some talent needs that previously required outside assistance. A lot of the low hanging fruit is off the tree. What remains are searches that require skill and expertise, and the commitment to complete them with excellence.
We have an expanding appetite for new challenges and continued growth. With a bright future ahead, we will tell you more next month in Chapter 3.