To Gary R. Gerson, the
work that his employees
do in the community is as important as the work they
do in the office.
As founding senior partner
of Gerson, Preston, Robinson
& Co. PA, Gerson says that the
key to running a successful
business is not only catering to
your clientele but also creating
a public image based on phil-anthropic work.
“The consumer will always
take that in mind and will like to
work with someone that measures up in the community that
way,” says the leader of the
$20 million accounting firm.
Smart Business spoke with
Gerson about how to incorporate philanthropy into your
workplace.
Q. What are the keys to creating a successful business?
The key for a successful
business or profession is
obtaining the very best perception of that business or profession in the community or in
the marketplace if it extends
outside of the community.
If you give that consumer or
buyer of your product or your
client good conscientious service on a regular basis, you will
then develop a reputation of
excelling in your field and will
obtain from that customer client
loyalty, referrals and the where-withal to make you successful.
In addition, it’s not only
important to obtain the good
will, loyalty and business from
your existing customers, but
it’s necessary also to expand
the client, customer base in
the community or wherever
else you are rendering or selling goods or services.
That is by taking an active part
in that area in philanthropy,
through the charities, by service
to those philanthropic institutions in that area, so that you
are known by others that are
also serving those charitable
institutions and by the public.
Q. How do you convey a philanthropic message to employees?
For professionals, this attitude is conveyed from the top
down by having staffs see that
you are committed to giving
the very best service and having staffs see by example that
you do good work, you do
good service.
Then, through meetings
and working with staff and
through all of your top
level, to convey that message to staff will then
spread through the staff,
and they will pick up all of
those good habits and
goals to help embellish the
name of the professional
organization.
For the manufacturer or
retail, the same message
goes — that the senior
people in the organization
must first show by example and must also reflect to
their workers to be conscientious, hardworking, and
it can’t be done unless it
comes from the top.
As they say in economics, not
only dollars must trickle down
from the top, but the reputation,
the efforts of good work, honesty, enthusiasm, good products
and good services must also be
pervasive through example and
through learning throughout the
entire organization.
