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O P I N I O N
Asking questions
The more you ask, the more you learn, and that knowledge can be driven back into your firm for the benefit of clients and employees.
M aintaining a leading position in the AEC industry requires that we are always on our toes, watching for new opportunities to work, influence, and grow within the markets we serve. In terms of human resources for our organization, I believe that growth is most likely to occur when we are all motivated as individuals and employees to think of – and do something – outside of the norm. Westwood has woven that type of thinking into our culture with a program we call our growth planning process.
Kevin Larabee GUEST SPEAKER
The process requires that we ask a lot of questions. The more we ask, the more likely we will discover something new. Here are four that stretch our thinking: 1)What do we need as individuals and employees to excel in our lives and careers? We recently introduced the growth planning process to replace our old performance reviews. The name-change alone implies a much more positive approach to personal and professional development. I mean, who wouldn’t rather plan for their growth than review their performance? Now this doesn’t mean that we don’t measure our efforts, but rather than put a lot
of energy into looking back, we are diligent about planning ahead and regularly track our accomplish- ments against our plans. Westwood employees initiate and lead the process. They are encouraged to envision new opportunities and set goals to capitalize on them. Supervisors are there for support along the way, but the initiative starts with each of us. As a result, we believe that our people are better equipped to be the best that they can be, in that they develop and own their per- sonal growth goals.
See KEVIN LARABEE, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER May 14, 2018, ISSUE 1248
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