What We Believe
GLO’s tag line says that we Create High-Value Relationships. For any relationship, it’s important to understand your partner’s beliefs. Here’s ours.
Values Drive All That We Do
GLO has always had a solid set of core beliefs that guide the company. Those beliefs were strengthened during two events in Carl Glaw, our managing partner’s life. While driving home in Houston traffic, he noticed a long line of cars blocking a lane. As he drove by, he noticed the line of cars were waiting for the drive through at Chick-fil-A. That event began a search for what it was that made that company so successful. A 2012 quote from Dan Cathy, then President and COO of the company summed it up: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
The second event involved LinkedIn. While looked through GLO’s LinkedIn site, Carl ran across an author whose message intrigued him. The author was Sam Silverstein, author of two books, Non-Negotiable: The Story of Happy State Bank & The Power of Accountability and No Matter What: The 10 Commitments of Accountability
Because of The Non-Negotiable book, GLO was pleased to invite the Pat Hickman, then President and CEO of Happy State Bank to speak at another one of our monthly luncheons.
Working with Mr. Silverstein, GLO codified the values which drives the business today. We don’t have a list of our values that we post online. We want our clients to see how we live out our values. We’d love to chat over a cup of coffee and tell you about them.
In addition to our values, we also we have some key beliefs that define how we do business.
Same as Last Year
There is a phrase used in some accounting companies called “Same as Last Year” or SALY. This means that those companies will do for their clients the same thing they did last year. We don’t believe in doing that at GLO. Your life changes and the tax law changes. We believe that a thorough tax plan driven strategically by your goals and plans for life is a better way of doing things. We say at GLO that “Saly doesn’t live here”
Knowledge is the Key to Success
GLO invests in its people. We do significant training on new tax legislation, new ways to doing things needed to maintain their state-of-the-art knowledge. The tax code and business environment are constantly changing and keeping up with these changes is vital. If a change is coming in the tax code, we’ve known about it from the beginning.
Plug and Chug
GLO has invested large sums in technology, but only if it enhances the value of what our teams of experts can do. We’re not a stranger to how technology can change a business. To some, tax preparation and accounting have become “plug-and-chug” businesses. You put the numbers in and computers spit out a tax form or accounting statement. Without the knowledge and expertise to make informed decisions, clients will get one-size-fits-all solutions. This is not the way GLO does business. Each client has different needs and goals and each tax and accounting problem deserves a hand-crafted solution. We don’t do plug-and-chug.
Assume Positive Intent
Indra Nooyi, former Chairman and CEO, Pepsico, tells a story about her father. From that story, she learned that whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different. When you assume negative intent, you’re angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed. Your emotional quotient goes up because you are no longer almost random in your response. You don’t get defensive. You don’t scream. You are trying to understand and listen because at your basic core you are saying, ‘Maybe they are saying something to me that I’m not hearing.’ So ‘assume positive intent’ has been a huge piece of advice for me.” At GLO, we strive to always assume positive intent and hope our clients do, too.