Posted by: Amy Cafazzo, Owner of Studio A Marketing and PR Committee Member
The incredibly moving Women in Remodeling event was held on November 16th at the historic Lyman Estate in Waltham. Guest speaker Erika Mosse is a writer for Pro Remodeler magazine and an advocate for small businesses. But more than that, she is a powerful speaker who shared her story of unfathomable personal loss and the subsequent quest to define her personal values to bring meaning and guidance to her life.
While grieving the loss of her son, Erika realized that “a lack of clearly defined personal values was making my journey even more difficult.” But a meeting with a remodeling colleague started her on a path to discover exactly what her values are. It wasn’t an easy road to take. The “journey” led her to spend many hours hiking and searching for peace and enlightenment in nature. Eventually, Erika developed a clearly defined list of values that helped her find her purpose in life. She shared those values with the audience, and, further, explained that defining values is something that each of us should take the time to do, for the sake of our personal and professional lives.
Erika shared examples from three remodeling businesses whose leaders have clearly defined company values that guide their businesses day-to-day. For example, Dr. Mark McClanahan, President at Mosby Building Arts in St. Louis, MS, has integrated the following values into their 75-year-old business:
- Speak with Honesty
- Nurture Teamwork
- Walk with Humility
- Accept Accountability
- Give Respect
- Embrace Creativity
- Honor Family
- Lead with Kindness
- Bestow Loyalty
- Act with Integrity
This list provides clearly actionable ways that Mosby and its employees should conduct business and interact with colleagues and clients every day. It was easy to see that many of the above values are applicable not just in business, but in personal interactions and decision-making as well.
After Erika cited other examples of well-respected remodeling companies that have defined their values and concluded her talk, Allison Iantosca, F.H. Perry Builder, and Megan Hoffman, JP Hoffman Design Build, led an in-depth group exercise and discussion for attendees to begin to discover their own list of personal values. Using a list of values, beliefs and characteristics excerpted from the book, Becoming a Resonant Leader, by McKee, Boyatzis and Johnston, participants took some time to start their own personal list–recognizing that this is just the start of their journey of self-discovery. Most would agree that it was a very insightful experience, as indicated by the lively discussion!
Interested in hearing more from “Women in Remodeling?” Join us for our monthly discussion forum held the second Thursday of each month via Zoom. Register today for the January 13th meeting!
