The Gift of High Standards
It has been a year of new directions for us here at Warburg, and because of that I particularly want to express my profound belief in our guiding principles, and my fervent wish that they continue to animate the firm at every level.
Many of you have heard me articulate my dislike for the phrase “It’s just business.” For me, that phrase lacks the ring of truth. Nothing is “just business.” Somehow the notion has grown up in this country that business practices hew to a different standard than those in our personal lives; somehow saying that it is “just business” exonerates us from displaying the behaviors we believe to be most important in our personal lives. I don’t believe this – in fact, I have tried to build this firm on my conviction that the opposite is true.
So as we expand into this next phase, with a new marketing team, new sales direction, and our major new Flatiron office coming on line, it seems important to me to re-articulate this vision. Here are its key components:
• First, we do the right thing, not the expedient thing. Our profitability is the result of good business practices united with moral behavior. There are no exceptions.
• Second, we adhere to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability. Through the efforts of our exceptional staff, our training, and Warburg U classes, the company endeavors to provide agents with the support they need to excel in their business. In return, each agent must bring his/her “A” game, honed to be completely up-to-date across the necessary economic, social, and informational platforms, to every client and colleague interaction.
• Third, we look to the future. We capitalize on our 120 years of real estate history, as we move forward with enhanced 21st century tools wielded by agents diverse in experience, age range, and areas of expertise.
• Fourth, Warburg agents are unfailingly courteous and professional in their interactions. We are not rude to the most important agent or client in town, and we display the same consideration to their assistants. We are as considerate to the building staff at 654 Madison or 100 Hudson or 451 Columbus as we would be to people working in our own homes. We return phone calls and e-mails promptly. And we make extra effort to be generous with both our time and our behavior when dealing with a colleague at the firm.
• Finally, we remember that each of us is an entrepreneur. The firm is our partner, not our parent. It is up to each of us to bring to the office every day the work ethic, dedication to learning, and excellence in performance which keep us relevant, well informed and successful.
These precepts and beliefs must be evident in all we do. It is up to me and our management team to ensure that our marketing and collateral materials, our website and other IT initiatives, and our advice dispensed to you on personal branding as well as problem solving all contain within them the essence of this credo. And it’s up to everyone who works at Warburg to ensure that we are taking the high road in every way, in every interaction.