During the past few months, I’ve raved to family and friends about how much I love my new adventure as VP of Business Development at BRIGHT. It’s a thrill to share impressions from my first 100 days on the job, and seeing I could go on forever, I’ll stay focused on five areas that have especially impressed upon me how BRIGHT does culture right.
1. Amazing culture
I have tremendous respect and admiration for Andrea, our founder and CEO. She started this wonderful company 15 years ago by taking risks, working hard, hiring all the right people to support her, and leading by example. I attended the BRIGHT open house in 2019 and was truly inspired. Now, I feel privileged to work here.
It’s very easy to talk to clients about what we do because we do it so well. It’s been so fun to experience a first-class culture that remembers the challenges of work-life balance for parents, especially mothers, and honors flexibility, communication, and respect. Team members really are encouraged to work from home when needed to facilitate house repairs, dentist appointments, or school volunteering. All of this matters and makes for very happy employees.
Another thing that has impressed me is the leadership team genuinely cares about what’s going on in people’s lives, evidenced by the way they engage everyone in conversation. As busy as Tom Goudreault is in his role as COO, he places a high priority on keeping his scheduled one-on-one meetings and is constantly checking in with all of us, in a supportive way. Team meetings have carefully curated agendas to ensure clear and efficient communication, and we’re all encouraged to respect personal time by honoring out-of-office notifications and using email delay delivery. If you’re on vacation, you’re on vacation! Everyone is encouraged to disconnect, enjoy, and recharge.
2. Thoughtful leadership
My fellow executive team members are exceptionally caring and competent. They lead by example, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for that. Their genuine concern for employees is evident by the way they treat everyone on a daily basis. They offer generous parental leave, paid health club memberships, paid parking, a wide variety of beverages and snacks, and catered lunches. Another example that touched me was the thoughtfulness behind the gift given to each employee last December, a gorgeous, locally made wool throw blanket. I also appreciate how the company makes efforts to offset the office carbon footprint with donations to Neighborhood Forest, a local non-profit that connects kids with the joy of planting trees.
3. Happy employees = Happy clients
It’s a wonderful feeling to go to work every day and truly enjoy the people that you work with. Everyone is so kind, interesting, and talented. I can say the same for our fantastic clients. I’m really enjoying meeting all of them and getting to know them. They are so complimentary and happy with BRIGHT. The comments BRIGHT clients have already shared with me (see sidebar) have deepened my gratitude and enthusiasm to be part of this well-supported and highly competent team of professionals.
In my past, I was honored to be a part of the rapid growth at Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI). This success was fueled from the start by the way CDI’s founder, spine radiologist Dr. Kenneth Heithoff, shared his knowledge with referring providers at every chance he got. He instilled this same approach in the exceptional radiologists he hired. The rest of us who were fortunate to be a part of this growth were inspired to always go above and beyond for our referring physicians, viewing our company as an extension of their practice. That strategy was a huge success, and I see it applied here at BRIGHT, too. My passion is to build and foster meaningful relationships, and wow, it sure is easy to promote a business that, by living its core values, has established so many strong internal and client relationships.
4. Manageable tempo
I love the tempo of the BRIGHT environment. Sure, everyone has a day, occasionally; but for the most part, there’s a method to the madness and a deliberate approach to staging and staffing projects. BRIGHT hires in advance of need to allow new employees adequate time to acclimate, train, and shadow, and I’ve experienced this first-hand during my first 100 days. My on-boarding felt like a long on-ramp to a smooth road. Further, I’ve observed how our incredible project management team expertly resources projects. Their ability to leverage team experience, mitigate timeline risks, and pivot when necessary helps pave the way for my client conversations.
5. Gorgeous office space
I’ve shown my family and friends videos of our beautiful downtown Minneapolis office, and I can’t wait to give tours. It’s a gorgeous space with a beautiful and inviting kitchen and lounge area. We’re affected by the design of our surroundings, and it feels good to work in a classy, artfully decorated space. The office is filled with natural light, that is uplifting even on the grayest of Minnesota winter days. I absolutely love how my coworkers gather for laughs and lively conversation over coffee, lunch, or happy hour. What a fun place to work!
So, yes, I genuinely mean it when I rave to my family and friends about how much I love my job. I’d love to tell you even more about the great things going on at BRIGHT. If you’d like to connect, please reach out to me through our website or LinkedIn. We can meet for coffee, lunch, or even here at our gorgeous office. I’m excited to continue to learn and to meet existing and new clients. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I know it will be BRIGHT!
