The Best Company to Work For

Jim and I met at work. We had one date that didn't start out as a date, and I told him, "I don't date guys from work (anymore)." He came in the following Monday and gave his notice! He left to work at Coopers and Lybrand, which later became PriceWaterhouseCoopers, +PwC and thus began his career as a consultant. He was really, really good at it. His clients loved him and mostly his bosses 'got him', notably Shirley Bogan and Marc Gallo. He could be, in my observation, arrogant and indignant, but the arrogance came from his drive to do his best, for him, his company and his clients. And he did.  And he had integrity. The thing that would set him off more than any other was someone questioning his integrity. Jim was a good man and a dedicated employee and strove to do right for his company and clients (not always in that order).

At the age of 50, Jim wanted to scale back a bit. His career had him travelling a lot and carried with it inherently a great deal of pressure, which was beginning to take a toll.  One of his colleagues, +Ted Van Huisen had gone to +Slalom Consulting, and he convinced Jim to join their team in 2011.

As much as Jim loved working with Shirley, Marc and the team at C&L all those years ago, I never saw him more content that he was at Slalom.  He was able to take gigs close to home. He was probably one of the oldest employees they had but he was well loved. They respected his experience and wisdom that came with his grey beard and valued his expertise. He loved being able to contribute, do his best, and come home every night. The company treated their employees incredibly well. Every year they hosted a retreat, or Escape, weekend, and I still smile when I use the commemorative wine glass from one of these escapes.

At Escape weekend, Dan and his wife in the background.

When Jim had to go on medical leave, Dan Biaggi (who had been at C&L and was now Jim's manager) and the whole team at Slalom SF, rallied around and supported both of us in every way possible. Becky in HR was just, literally, a godsend.  She walked us through everything we needed to do to ensure benefits and we felt so incredibly supported

At Jim's funeral, his friend and colleague, Ted, gave the eulogy and spoke of Jim's selfless generosity and compassion. He finished with these words: 

So today, I am not here today to say goodbye to Jim, only “see you later.” I will continue to bring him to every tough client meeting that I have, every coaching session, and every long commute. He will always be my comrade, my mentor, and my friend. And some day when I see him on the other side, the first beer is on me.

After Jim died, Becky continued to work with me and help me navigate through some of the process.  I don't think I ever met her but she treated me like a friend.

I still follow Slalom's facebook page and often when people share their "why I work here" stories, I have felt compelled to write in, so I am finally sharing our "why I love Slalom' story.  I hope no one has to experience the end aspects of what we did with the folks at Slalom, but I am so grateful they were there for us. But I am more grateful for the balance they restored to our lives in those last several years of Jim's career. Slalom truly is  one of the best companies to work for, and I don't need Forbes, Fortune or glassdoor to tell me that.