Trisha Wilson
founder, president and CEO, Wilson Associates
While Trisha Wilson’sdesign firm hasworked on some of the most prestigious projectsaround the world — includingOprah’s Leadership Academyfor Girls in South Africa andThe Venetian hotel in LasVegas — she doesn’t let it goto her head.
Instead of focusing on hersuccess, the founder, presidentand CEO of Wilson Associates chooses to focus on helpingothers. To do that, she encourages her 350 employees to getinvolved in any way they canthrough local communityefforts as well as through herfirm’s nonprofit organization,The Wilson Foundation, whichhelps impoverished children inSouth Africa.
Smart Business spoke withWilson about how to promotecommunity service in yourorganization.
Q. How can leaders getemployees involved in service?
They just have to make thedecision to promote it. [To]some people, it comes naturally, but I would say [for] mostpeople, it doesn’t come naturally. It’s something you wantto do, but you keep putting itoff, and they could always godown to the Salvation Army,they think.
Do something that you caninteract. It’s not just givingmoney — that’s easy to givemoney to the United Way or tocreate a fund-raiser. That doescreate camaraderie within thecompany, but if you go a stepfurther and actually interactwith whatever you’re choosing, it really makes a big difference in the employee.
The first thing I would say is adopt a school. That makesa difference. Education is theway to get these kids out ofpoverty, and then they’ll startlearning and they’ll talk to thecounselors, and the counselors will tell them morewhat they need. I started byhaving people [volunteer at]North Dallas High School. Wewould judge their cheerleading, paint their teachers’lounge, tutor in the afternoon, whatever they neededus to do.
It wasn’t aboutmoney; it was about,‘What can we helpthem with?’
Q. How do you choosea school to support?
You’re not sure of theneeds until you getinvolved. You just callaround. The first thing Iwould ask is, ‘What’sthe average incomelevel of the parents ofthe students?’ — theycan tell you that rightaway.
Ask about the dropout rate. The dropout rate is huge. That will tell you a school that needs help if they have a bigdropout rate. How do theyrank as far as high schools?They do rank the high schoolsin the state of Texas.
I remember at North Dallasat the time … whatever category they were in, it meantunacceptable. I was justgoing, ‘Oh my gosh, how difficult; that’s pretty hard.’
Just ask the questions aboutthe school and go visit it, andyou’ll see quickly — especially if they have metal detectorswhen you walk in the doors.
