By sharing these fundamentals publicly, we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards in every interaction. We live and practice these behaviors daily.
Explore how we’ve created a culture dedicated to excellence
While you might have a great memory, our projects can overlap many years. Don’t trust your memory. Write it down in Wrike to find it in a few years when a question comes up. You will clear up space for more creative endeavors.
“The Show Must Go On” is not just a saying, it’s what we do. We find a way to get the work done, get the project open, and meet a deadline. Look for a way to get it done, rather than explaining why it can’t.
Be resourceful and show initiative.
There’s no better way to earn someone’s trust than to be true to your word. Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. This includes being on time for phone calls, appointments, meetings, deliverables, and promises. Allow extra time for surprises and delays, and don’t let excuses become the norm. We do not miss a deadline!
People expect us to respond to their questions and concerns quickly, whether it’s in person, on the phone, by email, or text. This includes simply acknowledging that we got the note and we’re “on it”, as well as keeping those involved continuously updated on the status of outstanding issues. Rapid response is one of the easiest and best ways to stand out as amazing.
Everyone makes mistakes. Take a breath and review, then allow and encourage your peers to find them earlier than later. Be sure to schedule reviews with the team before any release of documentation.
Do the little things, as well as the big things, that blow people away. Create extraordinary experiences they’ll tell others about. Mere customer satisfaction is for lesser companies. Create customer loyalty by doing the unexpected.
Don’t accept anything at “face value” if it does not make sense to you. Be curious and question what you don’t understand. Learn from our fellow team members about their work. We want the best total outcome, not just spectacular lighting. Healthy vigorous debate creates solutions. There’s no better question than “why?” Never stop asking it.
Every conversation, phone call, email, letter, and even voicemail sets a tone and creates a feeling. Pay attention to every interaction and be sure you’re setting a tone of friendliness, warmth, and helpfulness.
Apply your creativity, spirit, and enthusiasm to developing solutions, rather than pointing fingers and dwelling on problems. Remember “the show must go on”. Identify lessons learned and use those to improve our processes. Get smarter with every challenge. Learn from every experience.
Create clarity and avoid misunderstandings by discussing expectations upfront at every stage of a project. Use the Morlights’ Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to help establish mutually agreed upon objectives and deadlines. Ask others to confirm their understanding to ensure total clarity and agreement.
Speak honestly in a way that moves the action forward. Make clear and direct requests. Say what you mean and be willing to ask questions, share ideas, or raise issues even if they may cause conflict, when it’s necessary for team success. Address issues directly with those who are involved or affected.
Listening is more than not-speaking. Be present and engaged. Quiet the noise in your head and let go of the need to agree or disagree. Listen with care and empathy. Create space for people to express themselves without judgement. Repeat it back when clarification is needed. Above all, listen to understand.
Think about the project from the clients’ perspective. What are their priorities? Don’t put your priorities into their project without clarification and communication. Make all decisions as if you were the client. Spend our clients’ money as if it were your own.
Take on and drive work forward from the perspective of an owner. You’re accountable for the results, how we get them, and what success looks like. You’re responsible for selling your idea and driving it forward with a strong opinion. Don’t assume someone else will do it for you. Drive outwards communication about your work and get the team enthused about it. If you don’t like something about your work, you have the power to change it. You’re the owner!
Be an ally, an educator, and a guide. Instill in all communications that you can be trusted to help, listen, support, and collaborate. The most important thing that you can sell is that you can be trusted! We are the only ones in the lighting industry that are selling ideas not products. Instill that trust!
Speak the different languages of lighting design to the appropriate parties, and change your language as needed. Communicate to be understood. Write and speak in a way that the person you are communicating with, can understand. Avoid using internal lingo, acronyms, and industry jargon. Use the shortest, simplest possible explanations. Where appropriate, check in to confirm you’re being understood.
Understanding why we do certain things, helps reinforce how we do things. Don’t accept anything at “face value” if it doesn’t make sense to you. Be curious and question what you don’t understand. Healthy vigorous debate creates better solutions. There’s no better question than “why?” Never stop asking it.
Teams that show up for each other, succeed together. We have a common goal and asking for help gets us all there faster. We expect to assist each other in all we do. Understand that help should come in a form that allows you to tackle the same situation easier the next time.
Be relentless about improvement. Seek out new challenges. Regularly reevaluate every aspect of your work to find ways to improve. Don’t be satisfied with the status quo and constantly challenge your best. “Because we’ve always done it that way” is not a valid reason. Keep getting better.
Once you get comfortable with a new skill, it’s time to discover your next hill to climb.
Be a fanatic about accuracy and precision. Double check your work. An error in a deliverable begets questioning of everything in a deliverable. Get the details right.
We need to constantly update our designs and ensure that when we do have to change our course, it is done in a pragmatic and thoughtful way. A way that generates more solutions than additional problems.
Keeping your eyes on the road ahead to help anticipate potential challenges ahead. Solve problems before they happen by anticipating future needs and addressing them in advance. Preventing issues is always more effective than fixing them.
Demonstrate a passion for excellence and take pride in the quality of everything you touch and everything you do. Pay attention to the details and get things right the first time. Always ask yourself, “is this my best work?”
Remember that the world has bigger problems than the daily challenges that make up our work. Keep perspective. Be serious, but do not take yourself too seriously. Laugh every day.
Learn to ask yourself “who else needs to know this?” Information is one of our greatest assets. Find it, share it, and use it.
Catching people doing things right is more effective than catching them doing things wrong. Regularly extend meaningful acknowledgement and appreciation in all directions throughout the company and with our clients.
Record a follow-up date for every action and take responsibility to see that it is completed. We get paid to complete things, not simply to put them in motion. Stay in constant communication with the team to make sure they executed our deliverables.
Regardless of the quality of work, if you cannot manage multiple issues, tasks, and promises, you won’t be a superstar. Maintain a clean and orderly work environment. Use Wrike and other personal systems for prioritizing and tracking outstanding issues and responsibilities.
Keep files on the server, not in your email. Put them into the correct folders so others can find them.
Follow our processes. Look to create or modify the processes for every aspect of your work, and then turn those processes into habits to achieve consistent results.
As you go through your work and help our clients, we always want to come back to the story and experience we are trying to tell. We should have it noted in Wrike and repeat it as often as needed, to ensure it is part of the success of the project.