author Last month I spent a special week at FBS headquarters and felt it was worth sharing some of the pearls.
The highlight was an evening focused on FBS employee-ownership (FBS is a 100% employee owned company). It was our first all-employee gathering and we flew every single FBS employee into Fargo to be together for the big event.
During the evening, we discussed the industry, its evolution and the exciting future opportunities ahead. We honored our rich history: a tapestry of stories, anecdotes and milestones that have shaped us. We recognized our growth, acknowledging employee-owners who have been with us for more than twenty years while awarding ownership to a new generation of vested employee-owners. We honored our CEO, Michael Wurzer, for his 20-years of leadership that has meant so much to so many along the way. Suffice it to say we laughed and learned, ate and drank and mingled with team members from across the building and across the United States.
This celebration was memorable for so many reasons but one thing was resonant: our past, present and future are bound together by our shared core values, which in part are: we embrace the responsibilities necessary to gain the freedom, opportunity and respect of ownership. We are empowered to exceed our clients’ expectations with innovative products and services. Unlike so many things that constantly evolve in a software business, our core values are a timeless constant that grounds our actions, responsible for four key accomplishments that are uniquely FBS.
- Our ability to retain nearly every MLS client-partner we’ve ever signed spanning decades of concurrent, significant business growth.
- Our reputation for innovation and service: making sure our customers are satisfied, earning us the highest client and end-user satisfaction ratings year after year after year.
- Our truly personal approach: Solving business complexities beside our client partners, with open ears and sleeves rolled-up creating deeply cherished trusting, personal relationships.
- Our dedication to positively impacting how real estate software users do business with their customers: By improving workflow and addressing mobile with powerful solutions, the Flexmls System has doubled the size of our user- base during the last 4 years. Add to that our dedication and support of industry progress on whole.
In closing, it’s necessary to speak about our CEO, Michael who has been at the helm of FBS for the last 20 years. With his leadership, we have realized these great accomplishments and feel excited about what is to come. With one foot firmly planted in today and the other striding somewhere off in the future where few people can see clearly if at all (let alone find some footing), Michael’s intellect, vision, passion and dedication are both humbling and inspirational.
The exclamation point on all of this is that while Michael surely sets the course for “the FBS Way” as CEO, the company is comprised of owners, each empowered with the freedom and opportunity to lead …right beside him. When you step back and think about from any perspective, it’s exciting: FBS is a company of owners and leaders vested in the future and empowered to act. That is a powerful differentiator to anyone seeking partnership or employment with an organization of leaders built for the future.
Cheers to the FBS family (including our extended family of client-partners), and to the future journey ahead!
Until next time –
Kim C. Prior