First in a series on culture
Culture is the new differentiator, the real reason to choose to work at one firm vs another. As we are looking to add to the team at Virtas Partners, we are meeting with many people who don’t have balance.
Work tends to dominate the lives of employees and partners at large accounting firms, investment banks and management consulting firms. They make lots of money (including at times large amounts deferred), they travel extensively, and they work very long hours. As a result, they are locked into a lifestyle with great material trappings but have little time to enjoy it. They are doing damage to their health and sacrificing time with their families and other real priorities.How many people do we all know who will look back when their kids are in college or graduated and wish they had spent more time with them—just like in that sad Harry Chapin song, “Cat’s in the Cradle.”
We take a much different approach to balance and lifestyle at Virtas Partners. We want our people to be truly “successful” in their life and provide an opportunity for them to do that they simply don’t have at other firms – acknowledging that the definition of success can be different for every individual.We understand that if you maintain good balance, investing time with your family, you will be more productive both in your own work and how you work with others at Virtas Partners. You will be joyful in your work and a strong contributor to our culture.
Part of what we do with our team members immediately (and even in the way we structure our employment agreements) is to realign the concept of balance. It’s so very important to have downtime to recharge. I discovered some years ago the importance of balance when I was working with companies I had been called in to turn around. Owners were working very long hours every day, often including weekends, trying to fix what was wrong with their company. But they could never get ahead of the problems. Meanwhile, the stress that they—and their families—were feeling was overwhelming. There was no downtime. I would urge them to go home for the weekend and spend quality time with their families without distractions. They would typically return to work on Monday more refreshed, with an enhanced ability to focus.
That level of renewal can only occur if you periodically unplug from your work. Have you ever returned to work on Monday feeling guilty because even though you had been with your family and friends over the weekend, you had been distracted with work-related worries and hadn’t fully been present with them? Did the guilt affect your performance at work that coming week, sapping your energy and creativity? We have to break that negative cycle! It is so important to compartmentalize to be truly present, whether you are at work or are home.
Being balanced in one’s commitment to family, faith and work leads to a more joyful person. Joy is essential to being at your best, in everything you do. You don’t often hear joy talked about in the corporate world, but you will at Virtas. And we fully expect to attract to our firm more people with great talent who are deeply committed to winning but also want a true sense of balance in their lives.
More than one person has already remarked to me: “I didn’t know a firm like yours existed.” Believe it. As we noted in our recent press release announcing our new headquarters in Chicago, we have “a mission to culturally transform the consulting industry.” That’s a bold statement for a firm of our size (today), but we mean it. We’re hiring in Chicago, the New York metro area and Atlanta. Come join the family at Virtas Partners.