I’ve been with Haig Barrett a little over a year now. And I’m always amazed at the new things I learn about the company and people in each meeting.
Sure, we are fun, a little quirky, love food and wine, and are masters of our own craft. But there’s more behind our dashing exterior, as I learned the day before Thanksgiving at our 2nd Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Meeting.
Standing for something bigger
One of the reasons Haig Barrett has been a truly special place to work is our stands for our clients and each other.
Even the creation of the first Pre-Thanksgiving Meeting was born out of Haig’s stand for his employees to dedicate some time for self-development, reflection, and celebration, which I appreciate because sometimes I bury my head into work and tune everything else out. Stepping away from the projects every once and awhile helps me get centered and reenergized — it’s a breath of fresh air! But I digress…
At this point, you might be wondering, “What’s a stand?”
Great question.
The best way to describe a stand is that it’s a way of being and a reflection of what we believe. It is our stake in the ground and the unwavering mark we want to leave in the world (or at least with our clients).
Last year, each team member created their own stands for our clients and here are a few highlights:
“My stand for our client is that they lead the field.”
“My stand for our client is that they infuse excitement and fun in all parts of the business.”
“My stand for our clients is that they feel valued and understood.”
“My stand for our clients is that they experience extraordinary service beyond their expectations.”
This year, we took things one-step further (after all, we are a consulting company). Building upon the individual stands created from the previous year, we worked together create our stand as a company.
“Why Haig Barrett?” was the question of the day.
Besides our good looks and sense of humor, why do people really want to work with Haig Barrett? What makes us extra special? What gives us our edge?
We asked everyone around the room to ponder these questions and then share their whys with the whole team. Hearing people’s whys gave me some serious Goosebumps.
Why?
Because people’s whys were about:
- Helping transform our clients’ company
- Providing care to our clients
- Creating lasting friendships with our clients
- Loving to serve
- Making a positive impact
- Building trust and partnership
- Help our clients’ breakthrough barriers
- Making a difference
- Creating a human connection
- Making our clients’ lives easier
- Creating possibilities with our clients and uniting for a shared vision
- Make our clients happy
- And having fun!
Listening to everyone speak made me realize how much our team cares about our clients. Yes, we do our work and do the best that we can, but it’s more than business — it’s about the people we serve and the difference we make in their lives.
Our team gets up each morning and looks for ways to make a positive impact by helping our clients be the very best in their field. We build relationships that are beyond a typical client / consultant relationship. In a way, you can say we become our clients’ friends and partners.
I love hearing that our team members want this company to forge this type of deep trust and relationship with our clients, partnering with them hand and hand towards a shared vision. And it’s nice to have these core beliefs reinforced by everyone in our team.
Grounded in Gratitude
And of course, our Thanksgiving meeting wouldn’t be complete without a whole lot of food and thankfulness!
For lunch, we dined on delicious beet salad, grilled ahi tuna, handmade tacos, juicy burgers and more while enjoying the sunshine and ocean breeze on the patio at 41 Ocean in Santa Monica, California. It was a chance for everyone to relax and connect with each other — after all, this team is like a second family.
After lunch, our team gathered back inside to enjoy specially prepared butter cake dessert, tea, and coffee and share what we were grateful for in 2014. It’s nice to remind ourselves to look at all the good in our lives over the last year. People shared about their children, new grandchildren, about moving across country, friendships, being cancer free, and more.
All in all it was a great way to start Thanksgiving and start looking forward to the new year!
