invest in people

My husband had his company Christmas party today, and they did it up. We’re talking beautiful venue (Hall of State at Fair Grounds), cocktails, live music, delicious food and fireworks to top it all off. I think this one takes the cake as far as Christmas company parties go. They really know how to treat their employees well, not just for the holidays, but it seems like they understand and appreciate their importance. Free breakfast, Xbox kinect to break up the work hours, and drinks in the middle of the day are part of the perks.

I’m reminded that in college, my favorite classes were the marketing ones (no big surprise) and I had a marketing professor who was my favorite. He taught in a very casual manner and taught at a level I could relate to and have actually used his lessons in my career life (thanks Dr. Wysong!)

I remember in my Special Events 3 week crash course class, we got the opportunity to visit companies in the DFW area that host special events, or were in the entertainment industry. We met with a HUGE entertainment complex in Irving that is taking over the once Cowboys Stadium, the venue where the rodeo is held, and also an entertainment film company.

At Agora Entertainment, the company was super young, I mean fresh out of college young. They were bright, passionate and had an energy about them that you could tell had not been tainted by corporate America. These kids were all about making films, music videos and sometime if they got lucky, ads. Now I’m not going to say that the work was amazing, it definitely was not at the caliber that it could be at, but there was something about that workplace that made me want to be a part of it.

When we were talking to our tour guide (one of the film directors), he talked about the founder and how he was all about people and the importance of investing in them. These guys lived and breathed that mentality. It was so refreshing to see and hear a group that fully believed this as their bottom line.

I left there feeling energized and happy that companies like this still exists. As we were walking out, our tour guide gave us a postcard with the mission statement of the founder. Here it is:

Invest in People

Throughout time many people have briefly collided with my life and while the collisions were almost always relatively momentary, for me, the impact has lasted a lifetime. I say invest in people. They never diminish in value, always appreciate, pay the highest rate of interest, the majority of people don’t understand their true value and they are the only investment that cares about you. Each person is different, but we are all the same. The wisest individuals make the most and the best out of their investments, and those that invest in people are the wisest of them all. One day, for every living soul, the sun will set on this earth for one final time and, when that day finally comes, the only thing we can take with us is our investment in people because surely we will see them all again. Therefore, I say invest in people.

Ed Hohn

11/24/94