Greg Friedman knows what it takes to build a thriving company. And he will tell you it has everything to do with culture.
“A healthy and strong culture equals a successful and resilient company,” he said.
In his more than three decades of experience in the financial services industry, Friedman has built and sold two companies at the height of their success. These days, he serves as the chief strategy officer of Wealthspire Advisors.
Friedman, who participated in the 2023 Advisor Growth Summit Friday, sponsored by Financial Advisor and CEG Worldwide, said culture is something that has been important to him throughout his career. “And while there’s a lot of tactical strategic things that can lead to success … ultimately, it’s a lot easier if you have a real robust environment that attracts talented people that are motivated,” he said.
Culture, Friedman said, is “the environment created by how things are done, how people treat each other and in particular what leaders say and do,” he said. “I always say that the fish rots from the head down. So, if you have a toxic culture, I am guessing the leadership is not doing very good work."
People, he said, need to feel good and have an environment that supports that to do their best work every day. They feel good when they are respected, appreciated, acknowledged, heard and can be themselves, he said. Further, Friedman noted that they need to have the tools and resources to do great work and have opportunities for development.
Friedman pointed out the challenges he faced while running two companies during the Great Recession, but he said everyone rallied and was willing to sacrifice to avoid layoffs. “I attributed that not only to our leadership actions but to a strong culture,” he said. “A good, healthy culture makes these things so much easier, faster and better, just from a business perspective.”
He founded Friedman & Associates in 1991. The firm merged with Salient Wealth Management in 2009 and became Private Ocean Wealth Management. His other company, Junxure, a CRM company for RIAs ,was co-founded in 2001 and was bought by WisdomTree Investments in 2018.
How do you assess if your company or a merger prospect has a healthy culture? Friedman offers these four strategies.
1. Pay Attention To The Workplace
Having been through a challenging merger and several acquisitions, Friedman said assessing a workplace environment becomes even more important in an M&A scenario. “It takes time, diligence and attention to details,” he said. He cited the merger of Friedman & Associates, with fellow Bay Area firm Salient Wealth Management as challenging due to the cultural differences. Salient, he noted, was twice the size of his firm and as a result was much more hierarchical. The firm, he said, had a lot of introverts and its environment was like a library, whereas Friedman & Associates “was very collaborative, doors were open, and I am big on humor and collegiality,” he said. In assessing a workplace environment, Friedman said the things to take note of are the office environment, how people interact, the energy level and the look and feel of the areas – are office doors closed or open?
2. How Do Workers Communicate?
Friedman said the important things to look for include listening to the language they use by reading their websites, blogs and watching their videos. It’s also important to observe how they conduct meetings – do they have town hall and team meetings? Also, pay attention to how they celebrate. Friedman said he has toured many firms and on one visit to a large RIA to meet with the CEO, he recalled he and a colleague being ushered into the CEO’s office where they spent a half day behind closed door with the CEO. He then ushered them out to lunch and the visit ended after that. “What stood out to us was that he introduced us to nobody and he showed us nothing.” Friedman contrasted that with a visit to another firm where the CEO gave them a tour and introduced them to people. “There was this whole buzz and energy. People were collaborating and they had all different kinds of workspace,” he said, noting that you want to make sure you understand what you are getting into so that you can try to create a resilient culture.
3. Learn About their Onboarding Process
Friedman said the onboarding process is particularly interesting because a lot of times people don’t give enough thought to what it is like to be the new person on the job. “But, if you think about it, it’s the most important period of time because you’re setting the stage,” he said. Friedman said you want to see that they have a structured and organized onboarding process. You also want to know how employees engage with management and colleagues; how goals are set, measured, and rewarded; and are there systems in place to connect, recognize and appreciate people. One of the things Friedman said one of the things he did was spend an hour with each new hire to tell them the full story of the company and give them the opportunity to ask questions and he also gets to learn about them. “I’ve gotten so much feedback over the years about how meaningful that hour was,” he said. “It makes a difference to people. It engages them quickly into the company and definitely helps them understand what we are going for.”
4. What Are The Growth Opportunitie?
This is an area, Friedman said, that everybody has some interest in. But he said despite a lot of people talking about career development, “when push comes to shove, most of the firms I’ve seen don’t have anything well-developed in this area,” he said. “They might have some or a little bit of it, but this is really powerful for attracting the best,” he said. Friedman said look for whether there is a clear pathway for development and are there opportunities for career development. Also, are mentorship opportunities available, which he noted has been an integral part of his success. “Some of the best things I’ve learned is looking at somebody who was 10 to 12 years or older than me who, seem to be where I wanted to be and I would get to know them, ask them out to lunch and pick their brains” he said.
Presuming that you have assessed your workplace environment, Friedman offers up three ways to elevate your culture.
• The most important thing is to give your employees a voice, Friedman said. This can be done through surveys or town hall meetings and fireside chats. But Friedman warns that once you solicit feedback, be sure to respond. “It doesn’t mean that you put in place everything they ask for but acknowledge that you hear them and if you can’t do it or won’t do it, give them a good rationale as to why,” he said. “This creates such a better environment, and it leads to that committed, engaged, happy people who do great work for clients.” And as for that toxic employee, Friedman encourages you to address that person.
• Create opportunities for connection. “If everybody is an individual contributor, that’s a tough road to go when the going gets tough,” Friedman said. He suggests holding offsite retreats and social events. Recognizing peers and having fun are also important, Friedman said. He noted that he would consistently communicate the company’s vision and he would call employees on their birthdays and anniversaries to wish them a happy day and to thank them. “Check in and be authentic because people can see through when you’re not telling them the truth,” he said.
• Coach your leadership teams and your key employees. Friedman said it is important to be accessible and build trust. He noted that he is a huge believer of executive coaching because it changed his life in many ways. He has used executive coaches to facilitate retreats and has also hired them to work with individual employees. “Whatever change or whatever needed to happen, they were able to do that effectively and positively,” he said.