How storytelling builds trusted relationships

How do you create a strong, consistent culture when your business is spread out to almost 30 countries?

I’ve been asked this question often as APCO has grown. Over time, I found myself answering from my family experience and the link between setting the rules and providing the freedom of movement that comes from trusted relationships.  When my kids were growing up, we had a sign on the wall that read, “There are only two lasting things of value you give your children; one is roots and the other is wings.”

For thirty-six years, APCO has relied on the same principles. As women, when we bring our whole selves to everything we do, there are many learnings from motherhood and raising a family that we don’t only bring to the job, but that also define us. Often, especially for my generation, women don’t talk about work and family as a collective thing. It was almost taboo.

So, I started putting it down on paper as a conversation starter and published my first book last October. “Roots and Wings: Ten Lessons of Motherhood that Helped Me Create and Run a Company” is to celebrate what I had learned and encourage others to challenge the way we think about work/life balance. To me, it’s always been about work/life integration, blending the two and keeping the best of both top of mind.