My company recently transitioned to a 100% employee owned firm. The three founders transitioned their ownership to the employees. To learn more on what the transaction means, watch this brief video below.
I wanted to take a moment and write a short post on what this means to me and go a little deeper than the promotional video above. Point B is 5th firm I’ve worked. I’ve had a chance to work for small companies and large companies. I’ve worked with different titles, organizational models, bosses, partners, and so on. I’m healthy skeptic and always want to know “what does that really mean?”
Passion for life
What attracts me to Point B, particularly now that we all literally own the company, is the passion that the owners have for the clients, company, and life. Earlier in my career, I thought that you had to put your head down and just work work work your way to mastery. As I mature in life, I realize that experiences makes for a better consultant. If there’s one thing that gets all Point B owners jazzed up, it’s travel. We are all lovers of life. That just sounds silly but the people here love living life. That passion comes across in the work that they do and in the ideas that they have. I’m finishing up this post as I’m about to head off to a three week trip to Italy. All the way up to the moment I’m about to pack my backs and to the moment I’m going to get back to work, my peers have my back. Many have provided great insights to my trip itinerary while others are rooting me on. It’s not just encouraged, but expected.
Ownership mentality
Even before the ownership transition, Point B’ers always had an ownership mentality. From day one, the expense policy was use your professional judgment. That was a weird experience. I didn’t need a 20 page policy on what I can and can’t expense? When you treat everyone like professionals, they act like professionals. They don’t “max out” their benefits, they are stewards of the firm’s resources. It was a very tough mindset shift to go from doing what others tell you to do to doing what feels right. It takes a lot of heart to work in an environment like that.
Legacy
In the video, I shared the importance of leaving a legacy behind. For me personally, a paycheck isn’t enough. There will never be enough raises and bonuses will never be enough. At the end of the day, it’s a feeling that the work you do is impactful and makes a difference is what matters to me. Beyond that, I want to create something that future generations can benefit from and create opportunities for others to seize. Looking back at early in my career, there were a handful that took the moment out to create opportunities, mentor, coach, and accelerated my career. At Point B, I’m surrounded by many of those people and now look forward to grabbing the torch and carrying that on.
Selfie
Got a chance to grab a selfie with one of the founders, Darran Littlefield on a visit to Olympia, WA.
