We are a team. We are accountable to each other. We achieve more together than we could individually. We act consistently. We act with integrity. We act with respect for people. Our work is important. We operate at the intersection of major life events. Our actions impact the outcomes of once-in-a-lifetime liquidity events for sellers who have worked hard to build great companies. We have a deep respect for this process. Our work helps management teams change their families’ economic futures permanently and creates career opportunities and meaningful work for thousands of people through building leading companies together.
We aspire toward excellence at all times. To succeed at our firm, we set our individual standards high and seek to continuously improve. To succeed as a firm, we set our collective standards high and seek to continuously raise them. Our brand is sacred and fragile. Our brand is people. Our brand is determined daily by our actions. We accept nothing less than adherence to the highest ethical standards. We don’t take shortcuts. We do what’s right – even when it’s difficult. We make no apologies for our pursuit of excellence. Those who do not wholeheartedly pursue excellence will be respectfully exited in hopes that they find a culture where they will be more comfortable. Those who embrace the pursuit of excellence will experience great success, be generously rewarded, accomplish big goals, and experience the joy of building something significant as part of a team.
When faced with a new challenge, we do not retreat to the conclusion, “I don’t know how to do that.” We lean into the opportunity to find the best solution, and to grow as individuals and as a firm along the way. We value ideas, execution, and outcomes. We do not value facetime or politics. As we grow, we seek to remain a people-oriented firm rather than a rules-driven firm. We hire only the best. We don’t assign task lists. We set ambitious goals and we entrust people to use their good judgment to achieve them. We speak openly without fear. We encourage respectful debate. We listen deliberately to opposing views in hopes of finding the best ideas wherever they may originate. We don’t jump to conclusions; rather, we let facts speak for themselves.
We contribute. We do not wait for instruction from others. We challenge the status quo. We challenge our teammates. We challenge ourselves. We trust our teammates. We support our teammates. We promise not to let our teammates down. We set these aspirations not because they’re easy, but because they’re hard. We embrace these aspirations. We accept responsibility to live them. This is our promise to ourselves. This is our promise to each other.