Last week our President/CEO Tim Schauer and Senior Vice President Derrick Smith traveled across the country to attend the 2013 ZweigWhite Hot Firm Conference. The conference schedule kept them busy from morning until evening, so we caught up with Tim after he returned from the trip to find out how it went.

What did you like most about the conference?

The Zweig White Hot Firm 100 conference is an incredibly valuable experience for firm leadership. It presents the unique opportunity to collaborate with leaders in peer firms from around the nation. The seminar session topics are good but they are the secondary value… It's the dialogue between attendees  that’s most valuable. We are able to share common challenges and hear about unique solutions others are implementing or have tried. The shared experiences with other fast growing firms offers insight into how we can advance our company.

What were some things you learned?

This kind of conference highlights that every firm can fall into the trap of thinking that their own challenges and opportunities are somehow unique to that firm, therefore innovation is required to overcome it. The reality is, the firm’s problems are rarely unique. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience within other attendees that can be leveraged if you are courageous enough to ask your questions and willing to share your solutions for others that might benefit from your commonalities.

What were some things you were able to share?

We are doing a few things uniquely well and other attendees wanted to hear more about MacKay Sposito's strategies for diversifying ownership, mentoring entrepreneurship, and how we have reinvented our brand.

Any final thoughts?

It is obvious to me that people in this business are genuine, generous, and problem solvers. We work in an industry I'm proud to be a part of.

Connect with Tim Schauer: tschauer@mackaysposito.com or through LinkedIN