Our Philosophy

1. People come first.

2. Our word is our bond -- we are reliable.

3. We are Serious about Service.

4. We have the desire to do it right and do it now.

5. We want to be the best.

6. We are realists and we believe in candor.

7. We are accessible and easy to do business with.

8. We are assertive; we are doers; we work hard.

9. We are often pleased with our results, but are open to continual improvement.

10. We properly reward our people.

Our Specialty: Matching Candidates and Clients

Our Motto: WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT SERVICE!!!

To make an outstanding profit, we’ve got to have an outstanding business.

Since we don’t have proprietary products, our service must be outstanding.

Service is a state of mind. To give outstanding service, we must really care -- and we must have the desire to do it right and do it now.

Service costs money. So, we expect to get paid very well for being outstanding.

Clients and Candidates --

Clients are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them.

Clients are not an interruption of our work. They are the purpose of it.

We are not doing clients a favor by serving them. They are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity.

Clients bring us their needs. It’s our job to handle them profitably, for them and for ourselves.

Clients are our passport to success. Without them we cannot get there.

At Stern & Associates, we treat Our Candidates as Our Clients.

Truth --

We tell the TRUTH to each other and to our clients and candidates.

Truth is the whole story, not just part of it.

We do not stretch the truth, bend the truth, or avoid the truth.

If someone raises hell when you tell the truth . . . let them.

Just say it like it is. Always.

One little lie or exaggeration and you will lose your credibility, one of your most valuable assets!!!

Express Yourself --

Think!!! Think often, think hard, and then say what you think.

Feel!!! Have strong feelings and then express them professionally.

Do not get upset when others express their feelings.

Enthusiasm --

Enthusiasm is the greatest business asset in the world. It beats money, power and influence.

Enthusiasm tramples over opposition, storms its objectives, and overwhelms all obstacles.

Enthusiasm is Faith-in-Action -- faith to remove barriers and achieve the miraculous.

Enthusiasm is contagious, so carry it in your attitude and manner. It will increase productivity, and it will bring joy and satisfaction to our people.

Enthusiasm brings results!!!

Change --

There is nothing as constant as change.

Everything must change to grow.

We welcome change because -- Change = Growth = Opportunity

Stuffed Shirts and Big Shots --

Don’t call me Mr. or Ms. -- everyone is on a first name basis at Stern & Associates. Everyone!!!

If somebody calls you Ms. or Mr. ____________, tell them that your name is Maureen or Anita or Anthony or . . .

Let’s grow BIG -- but stay small like a family . . . without stuffed shirts.

Our Contribution --

Each one of us must pay for ourselves each day.

Strive to promote placements, control costs, and increase productivity each day.

Stern & Associates’ business is your business.

Corporate Officers --

Corporate Officers are regular people who have experience and knowledge that you can use to help do your job better. They have contacts, can usually sell pretty well and are able to take on special projects. This gives you additional hands and feet. Two heads are always better than one.

Stern & Associates’ Corporate Officers work for you and with you (not the other way around).

Use them!!!

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Letters --

Our product is our service and our tools are our telephones. The phone is the “wheel” that keeps our business turning and the “lever” for negotiating.

We are opposed to letter writing as a form of business communication.

Letters are too slow, too cold, and just do not get the job done.

E-mails are a great tool, but also a cold form of communication.

We want telephone conversations and lots of them.

Letters and E-mails are OK for summing up actions decided over the telephone, making commitments to goals, and documentation.

Letters and E-mails are great for thanking people!!! And we should thank our clients and candidates for the opportunity to work with them at the beginning and end of each search assignment.

Phones --

We make our own calls.

We answer our own phones.

We are never “in a meeting” or “busy.”

Hiring --

We do not hire people.

We invite them to join our company to help us make it better.

Firing --

We do not fire people.

We ask them to leave the company and help them go where they can be productive.

Compensation --

Pay the producers what they are worth.

Ask non-producers to improve, coach them for success, then address alternatives if they do not produce.

Our Climate --

We work for fun and money. (Is there any other reason to work?)

We put issues on the table, work them out, and then get down to improving the business.

People --

“People” is the first word in our business philosophy . . . and the last.

If we take care of Our People, they will take care of Our Business.

Our Business . . . Is People!