Award proves business ethics are alive and well
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Tom Barry Contributing Writer
Since its founding in 1980, Convergent Media Systems has had a "Do the Right Thing" motto; that goes for customers, vendors and employees alike.
Over two decades, the Buckhead company has grown from a handful of workers to a diverse, 300-employee company that is a leading provider of business television networks and interactive distance learning systems.
Corporate mottos are often little more than catchy hot air, but "Do the Right Thing" is an apt description of Convergent's operations.
That's the view of the Atlanta Society of Financial Service Professionals and Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson School of Business, which has named Convergent the winner of their first annual Georgia Business Ethics Award. Atlanta Business Chronicle is the award's media partner.
What sets Convergent apart is that officials "always ask what is the right way to treat people," said Joe Hope, an Atlanta financial adviser who nominated the company. "Always."
Hope has advised Convergent Media for nine years on an array of matters.
"Not only do they ask the question, but they work to bring it about," Hope said. "That's very unusual. Expediency dominates today's business climate. It doesn't mean that people are necessarily doing things wrong, but that they just don't take the time to get it right the first time."
The effort to go the extra mile extends to Convergent's employee benefits package, which "is on par with a Fortune 50 company," Hope said.
Trial by fire
Convergent Media's ethical culture has remained strong through several corporate incarnations -- true trials by fire -- according to the judges.
Founded by Jim Black and Ken Leddick, the company began as VideoStar Connections, providing business TV networks to Fortune 500 companies. It had become the leading provider of such services by 1989, when it was acquired by EDS, and operated as a subsidiary (EDS Video Services) until being spun off in 1992.
The next year, Convergent Media acquired its largest competitor, Private Satellite Network Inc., creating the nation's largest business TV company. Clients include American Express Co., BMW, Ford Motor Co., The Home Depot Inc., IBM and the U.S. Army.
Mergers and acquisitions often bring out the worst in corporate behavior. But Convergent has treated employees equitably and ethically throughout, while building a culture that stresses "true partnership from top to bottom," said David Culley, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals' Atlanta chapter.
Ellwood Oakley, director of GSU's MBA program in law and ethics, chaired the judging panel.
"These are basically engineers -- not the touchy-feely type -- who have created a good client base with their technical skills while also being very good on the human resource side," Oakley said. "For instance, most corporate codes of conduct are couched almost exclusively in negative terms -- thou shalt nots. Convergent Media's is a good balance between the positive and the negative. It really emphasizes doing the right thing."
Communication is critical
Since the early 1990s, Convergent has held monthly town hall meetings for all employees. Announcements are made, and employees are encouraged to ask questions.
"I've sat in on a couple, and they're very effective," Oakley said.
A recent meeting dealt with helping Wall Street clients rebuild in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
"They weren't trying to generate more business, they were just trying to do what's right," Oakley said.
Convergent employs a client/associate intranet, and it has set up an internal organization called PRIDE (Positive Relationships Increase the Drive for Excellence) to plan social, community service and charitable activities. PRIDE members also mentor new employees as they adapt to the company, another unusual wrinkle in a midsized firm.
President and CEO Jeff Freemyer is fond of a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "If you want to move people, it has to be toward a vision that's positive for them, that taps important values, that gets them something they desire, and it has to be presented in a compelling way that they feel inspired to follow."
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