June 29, 2023
With a seasoned leadership team that has led us into our third decade of on and off-site support services we confidently, but cautiously, refer to ourselves as “experts” in the professional service arena.
Why the caution?
Because true experts can tell you that expertise is not easily achieved, and keeping that status takes just as much effort.
We’ve seen our business, and many businesses that we support and collaborate with, go through several technological revolutions over the years. We’ve seen standard practices change, and legal requirements adjust with time. We’ve seen human resources go from a commodity to an absolute necessity. Even the term “accessible” has gained new meaning as it applies to documents and communication. All the while we’ve had a focus on exceeding expectations and letting our clients “consider it done” so that they can focus on being experts in their own respective fields.
So the idea of trusting the experts has a particular meaning for us. We’ve worked hard to gain the trust of those we do business with. We hope that when we implement new practices or tweak existing ones they will know implicitly that we are doing so out of their best interests and with their own industry expectations at the forefront of our minds. Yet, even while we hope that past authenticity has gained current trust, we also know that keeping trust is never an implicit practice.
Trusting expertise does not mean going without answers to questions. It means knowing your mutual goals and understanding the benchmarks that will get you there. We do not call ourselves experts because we make good guesses, we know how to measure useful data and how to implement our findings for the best results. That is what our experience has gained for us.
Becoming an expert in your field goes beyond acquiring knowledge and skills. It encompasses an unwavering dedication to continuous improvement.
Being an expert in establishing a business and an expert in your particular field of business leads to more discrepancies. We’ve been lucky enough to have leaders at the start of GLC who knew how to manage people well and establish best business practices. However, it has been our commitment to understanding the unique needs and challenges of those working in professional office settings that have kept our more “legacy” clients with us year after year. Our deep understanding of the legal industry firms has also put us in a position to be uniquely qualified to offer management consulting services.
So, can you really rely on someone claiming “Trust me. I’m an expert”?
Our question back is “What have you done to earn our trust?”
Can they explain the choices that they have made for your unique situation? Can they back up decisions with statistics? Are they open to answering your questions thoughtfully and without defense? And finally, do you see signs of appropriate growth and change as your business evolves?
If you can answer yes to these questions, you might just have a real, seasoned expert at your fingertips.
Becoming an expert in your field goes beyond acquiring knowledge and skills. It encompasses an unwavering dedication to continuous improvement. It is a journey that shapes professional achievement. Most importantly, the benefit of the “expert status” is not for us, but for those around us. It benefits entry-level employees who rise up to managers, it benefits our clients who know that our work is reliable and ever-improving, and it benefits those we consult with so that they can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that the information you are getting has been tested and found reliable.