“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to
the past or present are certain to miss the future”
— JFK
I came across this quote the other day and it got me to thinking. I suppose change is something that can happen to you or something that you can make happen. In either case, as a small business owner, it’s a pretty regular part of life and frankly, I love it. Don’t ask me to change my hairstyle (7th grade perm did me in) or a wall color (we just repainted the dining room in our house…the same color) or to move to a new town (I live across the street from the home I grew up in) — some things are best left alone– but I’ll take free rein on change that builds a business to enrich peoples lives through quality, craft, and care every minute of every day.
And perhaps you have heard, we have had a lot of change here lately! We’ve restructured our leadership team, realigned with our mission and legacy, and have even repainted our offices (new colors thank you very much). We are creating new working groups, and reaffirming and adding back more “Perry” into our marketing program. Why? Because it’s a new year…and because we don’t want to miss the future. Because life shifts and people grow. Because we operate with such a beautiful sense of respect for ourselves, our clients, our trade partners and our design partners that we are inspired to evolve around whatever is between us and the future.
And because we are also asking clients to do it all the time. If status quo was the norm we’d be out of work. The personal risk our clients take on is enormous– we demolish half of their house, promise the new will be better than the old, ask for faith and trust starting with a bunch of burly guys and a dumpster. We have to make skeptics become experimenters and co-create a positive experience. It’s a thrill ride not for the faint of heart. All because of a promise that the future will continue to provide a platform for better. We owe clients our best and most up-to-date capability on all levels.
This is the same promise we make to each other here. Doing the right thing along the way and building trust– not a pre-packaged trust but the kind that is the result of honoring, respecting, and believing in another person. We measure it by a handshake between colleagues, a deferred opinion, the number of times laughter echoes off the walls, a coffee bought for someone who didn’t ask, allowing someone to go because the time is right and then filling in behind even though it means a piece of our heart walks out the door too.
We are small but mighty. I don’t think I’ll go get those bangs I have been thinking about but if I do, it will be the same old me just more in line with the future…I can’t wait to see you there!
With love,
Allison
