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Passion is Everything
An Interview with Bruce Morrow • Senior Branch Manager of a Major Financial Services Firm
By Mark Sincevich

Bruce displays the kind of quiet confidence, a depth to his character that invites closer inspection. As we sat down to lunch at his favorite Chinese restaurant, smells of the kitchen: garlic, scallions and jasmine tea, mixed with the midday light that slipped in through heavy wooden blinds. The afternoon light gave Bruce’s face a natural look, behind eyes that sometimes don’t look at you, but through you. We spoke of his desire to instill in his employees a passion for what they do. “It is everything to me,” said Bruce.

His employees know Bruce as Bruce Morrow, Senior Branch Manager at one of the largest financial services firms in the country. A little over three and a half years ago, Bruce took over this office with just nine employees and has seen ‘cash in-flows’ increase from $100 Million to more than $237 Million at the end of 2002. During the same period, his office ranking has risen from 75th to 30th out of 90 offices in the country. I asked Bruce how he accomplished this feat, made even more remarkable given the bursting technology bubble and the NASDAQ stock market dropping more than 75%.

Bruce said, “I want my employees to be here because they have a passion for what they do instead of just being here for purely financial reasons.” This must be the reason why only two employees remain out of the original nine from three and a half years ago. His two senior employees are part of 14 highly dedicated and passionate employees that make up two locations of his branch. I wanted to know if this new group of employees was the major reason why his office has been so successful. “Definitely,” replied Bruce. He said his employees are his most valuable assets..

What is Your Passion?
Bruce’s first goal with each new employee is to find out what really drives the person. He wants to know their passion. Bruce feels that a true test of a person is their reaction to, ‘when life whacks you in the knees.’ Why does Bruce want to know this information from the start? His employees are expected to make 100 new phone calls each and every week and there is a lot of rejection in this approach. He said that only 20 of these calls will result in an appointment and only two will become new clients. Bruce is reminded of a lesson he learned from his first boss in the financial industry, “There are two people out there in this world who need your help, go and find them!” .

“You have to have conviction to get past the negativity,” said Bruce. It is certainly passion that will sustain his employees in the midst of the thousands of ‘hang-ups’ and ‘noes' they will most certainly receive. What is this passion all about anyway? According to Richard Chang, the president of a performance-improvement firm which bears his name, “The passion I refer to is the underlying force that fuels our strongest emotions – it is the excitement and intensity that result when we engage in activities that interest us deeply and ignite our hidden reserves of energy and emotion.”

I asked Bruce what drives him. Besides his family, Bruce’s number one passion is surfing. He said that every time he is offshore sitting on his surfboard, he feels ‘free.’ He equates surfing with freedom. He plans two surfing trips a year, each about six months apart, and these help motivate him during the months before a trip. This would lead me to believe that he only surfs twice a year, but he actually surfs more like 40 times a year. This is helped in large part by having a property at a local beach.

Work for a Company that Cultivates Balance
Bruce’s firm, a privately held, family-run company, actually encourages their employees to have balance in their lives. Toward the end of Bruce’s first year, he had two weeks of vacation left. Bruce thought that he could cash out the extra vacation pay, but his manager made sure that nobody heard from Bruce for two weeks. It is obvious that Bruce’s company doesn’t just pay lip service to work-life balance; they ‘walk their talk.’ This high-degree of balance is one of the key aspects that attracted Bruce to the company after coming from a culture at a rival firm that ‘freaked out’ when he wanted to take a day off. “How can a person have balance in their lives when they are required to work from 8 am until 9 pm every day?” said Bruce. There simply isn’t an argument to make on this point.

Bruce wants his employees to not only have a balance in their lives, but he wants, “The Company to be part of their life’s purpose.” He said, “Having balance will allow creativity to flourish which will make for happier employees and benefit the firm in unseen ways.” It has been this creativity that is now changing some of the management direction to focus on the financial services side of the business. A key component of this is going to be customer service.

One of the more subtle ways that Bruce helps to improve the customer service skills of his employees is by ‘floating’ three books around his office. One of the current titles that he really likes is “Gung Ho” by Ken Blanchard. The book makes a strong point of asking the reader, ‘Do you do work that is worthwhile?’ Bruce feels that stories like “Gung Ho,” which use analogies are some of the most powerful ways to keep his employees happy by reminding them of what is really important. Bruce wants to make sure that his employees have a common goal or vision at work. He encourages each team member to make their own contribution using that person’s natural talents and abilities.

Passion is Directly Related to Business Success
I believe that Bruce’s message of passion is directly related to a person’s ability to succeed in business. This is evidenced by the happiness of his employees and by the incredible track record of his branch office. It creates a completely different work environment when people really want to be there. It makes rejections seem minor. It makes work fun and exciting because each person feels that they uniquely contribute to the success of the team. As I sipped my jasmine tea at the end of the meal, I opened up my fortune cookie to read, “You’ll advance far with your abilities.” I read this to Bruce and he smiled confidently.

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Mark Sincevich works with organizations to develop leaders with more focus and creativity. He does this through a unique photography angle in his speaking programs and writing. Mark is the chief perspective officer of his company, Leading with Focus, and the executive director of the Digital Photography Institute. He can be reached at 301-654-3010 or www.LeadingwithFocus.com .