Building Your Tribe: The Key to a Fulfilling Career

In every professional journey, there comes a pivotal realization that shapes the trajectory of your success and satisfaction: the importance of building your tribe. This tribe isn't defined by roles or titles; it's a collective of individuals—clients, employees, employers, managers, partners, candidates, colleagues, and friends—who resonate with your values, vision, and energy. These are your people, the ones with whom you share a unique emotional connection, and nurturing these relationships should be the cornerstone of your career.

The Emotional Quotient: Identifying Your Tribe

Sometimes, you meet someone and immediately feel that undeniable connection—the sense that "this is my person." Other times, these bonds develop gradually through shared experiences and mutual understanding. In either scenario, recognizing and cultivating these relationships is paramount. The emotional quotient (EQ) plays a crucial role in this process, enabling you to discern and connect with those who truly align with you.

Showing Up and Adding Value

Building your tribe isn't a passive endeavor. It requires active participation, consistent effort, and genuine engagement. Show up for your tribe—be present in their lives, both professionally and personally. Add value whenever and wherever you can. This could mean offering support during challenging times, sharing insights and opportunities, or simply being a reliable and trustworthy presence. Your investment in these relationships will pay dividends, not just in terms of career success but also in personal fulfillment.

The Career Focus: Quality Over Quantity

In a world where networking often emphasizes quantity over quality, focusing on your tribe is a game-changer. If you are in sales, for instance, identify clients who are part of your tribe and concentrate your efforts on them. These are the clients who appreciate your approach, value your expertise, and are more likely to foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Don't hesitate to refer clients who don't fit this mold to others. This not only positions you as a team player but also ensures that your energy is directed towards the right people.

Helping Others and Reaping Rewards

By focusing on your tribe, you inadvertently help others succeed. Referring clients, candidates, or opportunities that don't align with you to those who are a better fit fosters a collaborative environment and strengthens your professional network. While this might seem altruistic, it's a strategic move. The time and energy saved can be reinvested in relationships that offer disproportionate returns, the most significant being happiness.

The Disproportionate Returns of a Strong Tribe

The benefits of building and nurturing your tribe extend far beyond immediate professional gains. These relationships provide a support system, a source of inspiration, and a network of advocates who are genuinely invested in your success. The sense of belonging and mutual respect within your tribe contributes to overall well-being and job satisfaction. In essence, the most significant return on this investment is happiness—a priceless commodity in any career.

Conclusion

Building your tribe is more than a networking strategy; it's a philosophy that prioritizes meaningful connections over superficial interactions. Whether you are a client, employee, employer, manager, partner, candidate, or friend, the people who resonate with you on a deeper level are the ones who will propel you forward. Show up, add value, and cultivate these relationships with intention. In doing so, you'll find that your career becomes not just a path to success but a journey enriched with genuine happiness and fulfillment.

Building Governance into Your Organization: Lessons from Aviation

Building Governance into Your Organization: Lessons from Aviation

Starting a new venture is like piloting an airplane. In the early stages, founders often think they don’t need extensive governance—much like a small plane doesn’t need the same controls as a commercial jet. In the beginning, startups operate at low altitudes and modest speeds, where the risk of significant damage is minimal. However, as the business gains altitude, speed, and more passengers (stakeholders), the potential for collateral damage increases. This is when the need for governance becomes paramount.

If you’re funding everything with your own money, perhaps you can afford to take more risks. However, if you’re leveraging Other People’s Money (OPM), implementing robust corporate governance is essential. Here are 10 steps to help you implement corporate governance effectively, ensuring you can accelerate your business while adding the necessary rigor.

1. Establish Clear Leadership Roles

Defining clear leadership roles within your organization is crucial. Each leader should understand their responsibilities, from the board of directors to the executive team and management. This clarity prevents overlap and confusion, much like the distinct roles of a pilot, co-pilot, and flight crew in an airplane. Each member of the team should have a clear understanding of their duties and the chain of command, ensuring that decisions are made efficiently and effectively.

2. Develop a Comprehensive Governance Framework

A comprehensive governance framework acts as the foundational guide for your organization. It should include your company’s mission, vision, values, and detailed policies. This framework serves as the flight manual for your organization, offering structured guidance on handling various situations and making strategic decisions. It helps align everyone’s efforts towards common goals and provides a clear roadmap for achieving them.

3. Implement Risk Management Strategies

Identifying potential risks and developing strategies to mitigate them is essential for sustainable growth. Much like an airplane’s safety checks and emergency procedures, your organization should have a robust risk management plan. This involves regularly assessing risks, prioritizing them based on their potential impact, and developing contingency plans. Proactive risk management ensures that you are prepared for unforeseen challenges and can navigate through them without significant disruption.

4. Foster a Culture of Compliance and Ethics

Promoting a culture of compliance and ethical behavior is vital for maintaining trust and integrity within your organization. Just as pilots adhere to strict protocols, your team should follow regulatory requirements and uphold high ethical standards. This involves creating a code of conduct, providing regular training, and encouraging open communication about ethical concerns. A strong ethical foundation helps build a reputable and sustainable business.

5. Ensure Financial Transparency

Financial transparency is critical for building trust with investors and stakeholders. This means maintaining accurate and up-to-date financial records, conducting regular audits, and providing clear financial reports. Transparency is akin to the clear and reliable data provided by an airplane’s instrumentation to the pilot. It ensures that all stakeholders have a true picture of the company’s financial health, fostering confidence and informed decision-making.

6. Establish Effective Communication Channels

Developing robust communication channels between the board, management, and employees is essential for smooth operations. Effective communication ensures that everyone is on the same page, much like the communication between pilots and air traffic control. This includes regular meetings, clear reporting structures, and accessible communication tools. Open and transparent communication helps in timely decision-making and resolving issues before they escalate.

7. Create a Diverse and Independent Board

A diverse and independent board of directors brings balanced perspectives and unbiased oversight to your organization. Diversity in gender, experience, and background acts like multiple sensors and systems in an aircraft, providing comprehensive monitoring and guidance. An independent board can challenge assumptions, offer fresh insights, and ensure that the company’s best interests are always prioritized.

8. Monitor and Evaluate Performance

Regularly monitoring and evaluating the performance of the board, management, and the overall organization is crucial for continuous improvement. Just as pilots constantly monitor an airplane’s flight path, your organization should have mechanisms in place to assess performance against set goals and benchmarks. This can include regular performance reviews, feedback sessions, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Continuous evaluation allows for timely adjustments and ensures that the organization stays on course.

9. Implement Continuous Improvement Processes

Encouraging continuous improvement in governance practices helps your organization adapt to changing circumstances and learn from past experiences. Similar to how aviation technology and practices evolve to enhance safety and efficiency, your governance practices should be regularly reviewed and updated. This involves staying informed about best practices, seeking feedback, and being willing to make changes that drive improvement and innovation.

10. Engage Stakeholders

Engaging with stakeholders, including employees, investors, customers, and the community, provides valuable insights for refining governance practices. Their feedback is akin to passenger feedback helping airlines improve service and safety standards. Regularly communicate with stakeholders through surveys, meetings, and reports to understand their concerns and expectations. Engaging stakeholders ensures that governance practices are aligned with the needs and values of those invested in the organization’s success.

In conclusion, building governance into your organization is like putting risk controls in an airplane. At first, it might seem unnecessary, but as your business gains speed, height, and additional stakeholders, the need for governance becomes critical. By implementing these 10 steps, you can accelerate your business growth while ensuring the necessary rigor and control, ultimately leading to a safer and more successful journey.

At Wells Onyx, our core focus is helping Chairmen source board members who can provide the leadership and oversight needed to navigate these complexities. We understand the importance of governance in driving sustainable growth and are dedicated to partnering with organizations to achieve their highest potential.

Manning + Company Announces Return to Family Office Structure and Exciting New Ventures

We are pleased to share that Manning + Company is returning to its roots as a family office. This shift will allow us to focus on developing several promising new business groups that leverage our team's diverse expertise and global network.

The cornerstone of this next chapter will be the launch of Wells || Onyx, our new flagship search and strategy firm. Wells || Onyx will provide best-in-class executive search, leadership advisory services, and strategic consulting to clients across industries and geographies. To deliver solutions on a global scale, we will be opening offices in key business hubs including Miami, Houston, London, Dubai, the EU, and Singapore. Our team of seasoned search consultants and industry experts look forward to partnering with leading organizations on their most pressing talent and business challenges.

Alongside Wells || Onyx, Manning + Company will be incubating several other exciting ventures:

• Manning Ventures - a dedicated venture capital fund focused on early-stage investments in innovative technology startups

• Manning Capital - a Limited Partner fund providing growth capital to mid-market companies with strong fundamentals

• Manning Properties - a real estate and hospitality group that will acquire, develop and operate commercial and luxury residential assets in prime locations

We also have a few additional initiatives up our sleeves that we look forward to announcing in the coming months. As a family office, we will have the flexibility to opportunistically deploy capital while staying true to our values and long-term orientation.

This is an incredibly exciting time for the Manning + Company team. We are energized by the opportunity ahead and deeply committed to creating value for our investors, portfolio companies, and society at large. The best is yet to come - stay tuned for more updates as we embark on this next phase of our journey!

Manning + Co joins NVIDIA developer program.

Embracing the Future of Cloud Computing with NVIDIA

As the world of technology rapidly evolves, traditional cloud offerings like AWS, GCP, and Azure are no longer the only players in the game. At Manning + Company, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve, anticipating the next big breakthrough in cloud computing. And that breakthrough is undoubtedly NVIDIA's Cloud.

NVIDIA's meteoric rise in popularity can be attributed to a groundbreaking discovery – their graphics chips are exceptionally well-suited for powering the large language models that drive artificial intelligence (AI). As AI continues to penetrate every aspect of our lives, from the cloud to the edge, a robust and efficient cloud solution becomes an absolute necessity.

NVIDIA understands this paradigm shift better than anyone, and their Cloud offering is designed to meet the unique demands of AI workloads. With their deep expertise in graphics processing units (GPUs) and parallel computing, NVIDIA has positioned itself as the premier cloud platform for AI-driven applications.

At Manning + Company, we partner with our clients and industry leaders to harness the full potential of NVIDIA's Cloud. Our team of experts helps you navigate the complexities of deploying NVIDIA Cloud solutions for your devices, ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance.

But our services go beyond mere implementation. We work closely with you to assemble the right team of developers, integrators, product managers, and solution architects – the very best minds in the industry – to build, scale, and ultimately monetize your AI-powered cloud solutions.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cloud computing, Manning + Company is your trusted partner, guiding you through every step of the journey. We empower you to stay ahead of the curve, leveraging the cutting-edge capabilities of NVIDIA's Cloud to unlock new realms of innovation and growth.

Embrace the future of cloud computing with Manning + Company and NVIDIA. Together, we'll redefine what's possible.

Find your Who | a short story

 There once lived a ‘you’ who struggled too much. He had so much to do for his company. It needed more sales and more people to talk to. It needed more money and some better tools. It needed better products and much better services. It had customers but they needed to be more happy. And on top of all that, he really needed a haircut and some new shoes but he was too busy and too broke to do either. The problem with this ‘you’ is he needed a ‘how’ and he simply couldn’t find a single one.

Then one day the ‘You’ met a ‘Who.’ This ‘Who’ was nice and helpful and lended an hand, and a lightbulb went off for the ‘You.’ What if what he really needed wasn’t a ‘how’ but a bunch of ‘who’… as he thought it occurred to him that all the companies that hire him are really just people who run them, all the sales he needed a great ‘who’ who does sales could probably do it, and down the list he went, realizing at every need, behind the answer was a ‘who.’

So the ‘you’ got to work, finding a ‘who’ for every question, was another ‘who’ for every answer. He felt like he solved the greatest puzzle ever created, he can do anything, make anything, with the right ‘who.’

Which made him realize something that gave him joy. That was his call, to find the ‘Who’s’ … and in that he too changed from a ‘You’ to a ‘Who.’

…until they went public, then ‘you’ sold that shit and moved to Italy.

Manning + Company announces 'Vault' a Web3 security protocol.

Manning + Company has developed Vault, an enterprise-grade cybersecurity solution designed specifically for the Web3 ecosystem and decentralized applications. As Web3 technologies like blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and tokenized assets gain traction, new cybersecurity risks and attack vectors have emerged that traditional security tools cannot adequately address.

Vault provides comprehensive security capabilities tailored for Web3, including protection against AI-driven cyber threats, securing tokenized digital currencies from manipulation or theft, and active countermeasures to counter identified attacks at their source. Its multi-layered defenses combine machine learning for threat detection with hardened security protocols to prevent breaches before they occur.

A key focus area for Vault is ensuring the security and integrity of cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other blockchain-based digital assets. Its encryption, authentication, and monitoring systems safeguard these tokenized assets during transactions and storage to prevent unauthorized access or manipulation.

What sets Vault apart is its ability to not just defend, but proactively counter cyber attacks. Using offensive security measures, it can trace attacks back to their origin and deploy countermeasures to neutralize the threat agents whether human or artificial intelligence-based. This active cyber defense helps enterprises gain the upper hand against sophisticated threat actors targeting their Web3 infrastructure.

With its specialization in emerging Web3 attack surfaces and exploits, Vault allows organizations to confidently adopt decentralized technologies, digital currencies, and tokenization across their operations with a robust, comprehensive security solution backing them. Manning + Company continues enhancing Vault to meet the rapidly evolving security demands of the Web3 frontier.

Manning + Co partners with Lucid

Learn More

In the dynamic landscape of business and technology, partnerships play a crucial role in enhancing growth and innovation. Manning + Company, known for its forward-thinking approach, is embarking on an exciting journey to build out its partner ecosystem. This strategic move starts with strengthening ties with a long-time collaborator: Lucidchart.

Lucidchart, a renowned name in the world of intelligent diagramming, has been a key player in Manning + Company's success story. This collaboration isn't just about mutual growth; it's about bringing cutting-edge solutions to clients who seek clarity and efficiency in their processes.

What is Lucidchart?

Lucidchart is a web-based platform offering a versatile range of diagramming tools designed to simplify complex information. It's an invaluable asset for visual communication, enabling users to create flowcharts, process maps, UML diagrams, and much more. With its intuitive interface and collaborative features, Lucidchart has become a go-to solution for professionals across various industries.

This platform's flexibility and user-friendly design cater to a broad spectrum of needs, from individual project managers to large-scale enterprise operations. By integrating with Manning + Company's expertise, the potential for innovation and problem-solving skyrockets.

A Partnership Rooted in Success

Manning + Company's decision to deepen its partnership with Lucidchart stems from a history of successful collaborations. Together, they've tackled complex projects, turning abstract ideas into tangible strategies. This enhanced partnership is set to unlock new potentials, offering clients an even more comprehensive suite of tools and insights.

Clients of Manning + Company can expect a seamless integration of Lucidchart's capabilities into their projects. Whether it's strategizing business processes, mapping out IT networks, or visualizing data flows, the combined expertise of Manning + Company and Lucidchart promises to deliver exceptional results.

Get Started with Lucidchart

Interested in experiencing the benefits of this partnership? Visit Lucidchart and explore the myriad of ways it can transform your business processes. Whether you're a long-time client of Manning + Company or new to our ecosystem, this partnership with Lucidchart opens doors to unparalleled opportunities for growth and innovation.