30 Years: Our Core Culture Has Stayed The Same

Well, HTC has passed another milestone – 30 years.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is still true that two out of three start-up businesses, with employees, will only last two years and about half of the remaining ones will last five years. I guess we can say we made it.

With a milestone like that, we should have a big celebration but due to the Covid situation, we have not really had a chance to celebrate.

After 30 years of history, a lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same at Heartland Trust Company. Obviously, the Covid-19 virus has caused us to make some very radical changes. We have kiddingly said that in two short months we adopted technology changes that normally would have taken five years to implement. Also, some new words and concepts have crept into our everyday language. For example, the idea of a virtual or Zoom meeting was a rare thought a year ago but in today’s world, it seems to be an almost daily event.

The real story is about the things that have not changed. To make it 30 years, a lot of things had to go right. I will argue that, even though it was not well defined, our core attitude and culture have been the real backbone of our success. In the beginning, we were verbally dedicated to our client service offerings. We didn’t really define our core attitudes and beliefs, but with our experience in the client service business, we operated by instincts that led us in the correct direction.

As the new generation has come on it has been very comforting to watch them, not only do business with the right attitude, but they have actually spent hours defining and documenting our core attitudes and beliefs. The cornerstones of our culture are: respect, service, character, togetherness, and integrity. And now, the work we have done for 30 years has been defined, documented, and displayed all over our office. This work will help guide us for another 30 years.

The new kids have done a great job blending our core beliefs into a culture that offers a client-centric atmosphere that has been recognized by several outsiders. If you visit our office you can find the keys to our success framed and posted on several of the walls throughout the building.

I cannot let my editorial opportunity go by without reminding our readers that Heartland Trust Company is not a stockbroker. We are a “fee-only” service provider that helps individuals and families manage traditional and unique assets and unique situations. We do this in relationships that are defined as:

• Trusts
• IRAs
• Investment Management Agencies
• 401(k)s

For a more complete relationship, we strive to couple financial planning with all of our service offerings.

I hope you will contact us if our work can benefit you.