Many companies, and the individuals in them, suffer from a self-imposed version of Orwell’s world. The person that starts asking the tough questions is quelled by management or ultimately leaves the organization in defeat. Companies stop questioning the ways they have always done business, and ultimately create a fabricated and inflated view of themselves.

These companies are now in a state of atrophy and can’t understand why they are not growing, not attracting top talent, and are generally directionless. The solution begins with the asking of simple questions. Here are a few that come to mind:

• Who are our clients and when was the last time we talked to one face-to-face?
• Do our clients promote us to others? If not, why not?
• What is our current business strategy?
• Do our employees know the strategy and where they fit into it?
• Why are we in business and what is our company’s vision?

Toyota terms this culture of questioning the ‘Toyota Way’, or continuous improvement. American automakers have spent the last 20+ years trying to imitate the success of Toyota, but they have continually failed. They are still not ready to cultivate a corporate culture that encourages questioning at all levels of the business. Successful businesses, like Toyota, are able to pull this off.

They say you learn everything you ever need to know in kindergarten. Today I attended an orientation event at my daughter’s elementary school. The principal gave us parents some sage advice on what we should be doing to prepare our kids for kindergarten:

1. Read to them
2. Read to them
3. Read to them
4. Keep an open dialogue with them, and ask lots of questions.

This advice applies beautifully and simply to those of us in the business world. The written word, in all its forms from Orwell to Deming, is a powerful tool for shaping your company and your own personal worldview. It will spark you to question and never stop, which builds stronger, focused, and more passionate businesses.

I’m going on month #2 with Inavero and as I sit here soaking in the tunes of Green Day over the office speakers… four key things come to mind that make Inavero different and better. Give’em a try.

1. Trust:  Hire people you believe are smart and will do their best, and let them.
2. Respect:  Treat your employees the way you want them to treat your clients. The reflection is transparent.
3. Listen:  Be open for innovation from all tiers of your company.
4. Have fun! Tour the Street of Dream, have Beer + Strategy sessions each week, and celebrate birthdays with SkinnyDip Ice Cream!

Granted, I’m still swimming in the ‘honeymoon’ phase of my new position, but it’s refreshing to be swimming with dolphins and not stomping through the tangled tundra with lions, and tigers, and bears.

With so much clutter in the blog space, and the average person bombarded with anywhere between 247 and 3,000 advertising messages each day (thank you to the now deceased Google Answers), I feel like I should start by thanking you for taking time to even read this post. I fear it takes a certain arrogance to believe that the 50 million blogs that already exist don’t quite cover your topic, and that this blog will be the one that provides enough content and strategic insight to validate its existence, but that is my hope.

The name of the blog, Retention² reflects my sincere belief that improvements in client and employee retention have a powerful effect on the growth and financial performance of professional service firms. While this is not necessarily new or profound, unto itself, I do believe that I will be one of only a few professionals writing and researching the topic from the unique vantage point of the professional service firm.  My objectives for this blog are as follows, in no particular order:

• Share – There are some great blogs on professional service firm management, marketing, and client and employee retention.  I will attempt to summarize the best information and provide you with links to dive deeper.
• Educate – Our firm analyzes feedback from more than 10,000 professional service firm clients and employees annually.  I will attempt to share some of that which we learn in a manner easy to digest.
• Entertain – Market research and retention strategy discussions don’t always lead to wet-your-pants type laughter, but they don’t have to read like the role call in Ferris Bueller’s history class, either.
• Facilitate – This one seems pretty obvious, but I guess my point here is that I want this to read more like a conversation and less like a sermon.  As my wife can attest, just because I have an opinion on things, doesn’t mean it is correct.  I look forward to the day that a conversation occurs between two readers that only tangentially involves me.

With that in mind, I anxiously await your comments and suggestions. By the way, in reference to the title of this post, I have just stolen 117 seconds of your time if you read at the rate of an average American adult.  Time is a precious commodity which you can never get back.  I know that, and hope that in future posts I add enough value to justify the investment you’ve made.