Allow dissent. I don’t think we’ve ever made a major change that we haven’t discussed pretty widely inside the partnership before we’d done it. So most everything here that gets done gets discussed pretty widely.
I don’t think there is an idea that someone doesn’t disagree with. In our firm, dissent is tolerated pretty widely. People are allowed to express their views. Generally, most substantive issues are debated openly and enthusiastically.
The most important thing management could do is not ever take punitive actions against people that express divergent views. And I also think it’s important that whoever expresses a view knows that it got heard by the management group. Not necessarily agreed with, because no one’s going to agree with everything everybody says.
It’s important to be able to go back and say, ‘Well, you know, you made this argument. We actually talked about that. We might not have agreed with you, but we discussed it.’ I think that’s important.
Check results with customers. If you try to do something differently, see if people actually do it. [See] whether there’s a rear-guard action to resist it. Pay attention to the general business climate. Do people have enough work? Are people fully engaged? Are our clients satisfied?
It’s really important to get a steady stream of repeat business from existing clients, so it’s important to know that our clients are satisfied with our services. That’s without question the most important thing out there. So we measure that and talk to people about that constantly.
Some clients come and survey us and give us reports. Some clients, it’s just a history — are they still sending work? Some of our partners and I meet with major clients on a periodic basis and ask them how things are going. Certainly, with our major clients, we make an effort to check in on a quite consistent basis to see how things are going.
How to reach: Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC, (313) 963-6420 or www.millercanfield.com