A Strong Legacy
It was the spring of 2000, and I was only weeks away from graduating, but I still wasn’t clear on my plans beyond graduation.
My last semester schedule was light, which should have given me plenty of time to search for my first job. But when the Badgers made an unlikely run to the Final Four in the NCAA basketball tournament, my job search went on pause for about a month.
Later that spring, I heard from Eric Johnson form Strong Captial Management. He held an info session at the end of February on campus and the opportunity sounded amazing. They were hiring recent college grads for a leadership program called Strong Start, where new associates learned about all the areas of the company to help find their fit and learn what it takes to be a leader.
I traveled to Menomonee Falls for interviews and a tour, where I met graduates of the program and associates who all seemed extremely committed to clients and their work. Based upon meeting the other candidates, I was fearful I wouldn't make the cut.....
Thankfully, I heard back from Eric the next day and was offered the job. I was excited to start on July 3, 2000, alongside other members of the Strong Start program, including Shane, Meredith, Levi, Chad, and 23 others who were from all over the country.
During our first week, we met Dick Strong, the chairman who founded the company in 1974 and had built it to over 1,000 associates and billions of dollars in assets under management.
In our first meeting, he seemed tired; he had just gotten back from taking a group of associates to the Philippines for a learning and investment trip.
Side note; we were all associates and teammates, not employees. Whenever someone said they worked for him, he corrected them and said that they worked alongside him for clients.
Despite being tired, he took the time to meet with us. That showed me how important our development was to him and the firm. He wasn’t just building an investment company; he was investing in the people who would shape its future.
From a development standpoint, he not only supported programs like this, but he also invested in a Speaker Series that gave us an opportunity to learn directly from Jane Goodall, Buzz Aldrin, and George Foreman, to name a few. And I even got a chance to learn from and share dinner with Benjamin Zander; he was leading a philharmonic, and I had experience playing the Beer Barrel Polka - pretty similar, right?!?
And it wasn’t all work and development. The “have fun” part of the mantra was just as real.
The parties were epic, from the Fall Kickoff, where I am proud to say I helped recruit and participated on the winning tug-of-war team, which was a big deal! My family even got to participate, with my parents and grandparents joining us at the Circus Picnic, attended by General Hal Moore, who not too long before had his story turned into a movie called, "We Were Soldiers." Years later, Heather got to join me at the Strong Reunion, celebrating Dick Strong’s 70th birthday.
There are so many other examples of how Dick’s leadership and the organization he created shaped my life and career. I met lifelong friends and a mentor who had “grown up” at Strong and demonstrated the kind of leadership that helped me become the professional I am today.
I learned this week that Dick has passed away at age 84. My thoughts go out to his family as they mourn his loss.
*25th Anniversary Annual Report from 1999
While his time walking this earth may be over, his legacy will live on for generations through the people he influenced and the organization he built. I am thankful for his leadership and the opportunities I was given at Strong. I will continue working to live up to his vision of greatness and carry forward the lessons I learned from him.
Learn In The Flow Of Life
Jason
Comments