If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything…

Happy Fourth of July to our employees, our partners, our clients and those in the communities in which we live!  Were it not for the commitment of our founding fathers to a set of principles and beliefs, I believe that the grand democratic experiment that we live would look much different today.  Though not perfect, America has been the source of much generosity and leadership in the world for the past 242 years.  

I came across the concept of a “vivid vision” in my read of Double Double by Cameron Herald.  Although I’ve never had the fortune of meeting Cameron, his construct of achieving high growth largely resides in a leader’s ability to engage and empower his or her employees, clients, partners and communities.  On the eve of such a remarkable event in our Nation’s history, and having recently published our company’s Vivid Vision 2020, I thought it appropriate to reflect upon our vision.

So, I first want to thank Cameron for his contribution to entrepreneurship and leadership.  Second, I want to highlight the values and principles that we employ and believe will Make Success Possiblefor our employees, our partners, our clients and our communities.  This is what We Stand For!  

Like many organizations, we embrace a set of core values that are fundamental to how we think, feel and act.  Ours include Honor, Respect, Integrity and Accountability.  

We believe timeis the most important gift we give others.  To make the most of this time, we promote a culture of fierce, honest, transparent and collaborative communication that is focused on truth rather than advocacy.  In these qualities, there are many success stories by extraordinary people that I can cite, but one that comes to mind quickly is Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, world’s largest hedge fund.

Our Vivid Vision 2020 is bold and risky, because it establishes the benchmarks by which we measure our efforts and results—with each other, our clients, our partners, and contributions to our communities.  In sharing the story of our people, culture, reputation, systems and where we intend to be in three years, we acknowledge that our success lies primarily in our ability to Make Success Possiblefor others.

As we continue to pursue Our Milestonesbased on our 5 Pillars, we pay particular attention to Our Benchmarks, for these are critical to achieving success as metrics drive performance.  

We must also consider what we do for our employees, clients, partners, and our communities.  They are what we hold dear and who we are most thankful for as we reflect upon what we stand for.

For our employees, thank you for what you do for each other, for our clients and partners, and for our communities.  

For our clients, you have our commitment that we will race to your challenge to help you be successful by supporting you with professionals who are Humble, Hungry and Smart… and who Get it, Want it, and Can do it!  

For our partners, we strive to be your partner of choice. We do what we say we will do, and typically faster.  

For our communities, we believe in the adage espoused by Winston Churchill that “We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give.”  

Although many may be credited with various versions of the following quote, I will close by attributing the essence of who we are to President Harry S. Truman who remarked,

“ It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

If you share our values and principles—whether as an employee, partner, client, or member of our community, and want to know more, I look forward to meeting you!  You may reach me at jphilbin@crisis1.comor jphilbin@odstrat.com.  

We hope you and yours have a wonderful Fourth of July.

Cameron Herald: https://www.cameronherold.com/ |  Ray Dalio: https://www.principles.com/

Vivid Vision 2020: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/e05494_3764f9931e114dbea318948e63ba8bf0.pdf

Best regards,Pat

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