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It takes a village to grow an orchard

July 22, 2015 Blog 1 min read

Internally, we often liken Plante Moran to an orchard. It has “trees” (or clients and staff) that have been planted at different times, bear different kinds of fruit, and have different lifespans. When new staff come to the firm, they have the benefit of capturing the fruit from trees that were planted before them and the duty to plant new ones. We call this stewardship.

At the spring partner meeting, we revisited the orchard theme via a couple of videos. We’ve since shared them throughout the firm and with our retired partners. I wouldn’t normally share an internal video externally, but one of them is so moving—and such a great testament to our culture—that I’ve decided to make an exception.

This four minute video features Former Managing Partner Bill Hermann, Current Partner Bob Reinhart, Chief Financial Officer Dan Trotta, and their children, all of whom have come to work at Plante Moran. One of them, Kori Reinhart, even holds up the Plante Moran onesie the firm gave her dad as a gift when she was born and jokes that, in her case, we began recruiting early!

We often compare ourselves to a family, but sometimes what’s metaphorical becomes very literal. At Plante Moran, we have parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and even a few sets of twins. We’re proud of these families and our legacy.

How about you? Do you have family members working together at your organization? Have you found it to be beneficial? While we’re aware of issues that may arise with family members working at the same organization, we believe the rewards of attracting outstanding staff members outweigh the risks that can be easily managed. What do you think?

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