Something to be proud of

The thing I'm proudest of is to be able to leave the office for two or three weeks with almost no contact and enjoy peace of mind while I'm on holiday since I know that when I get back the office will still be shipshape.

I think its one of the highest achievements a business proprietor could hope for: a kick ass office that runs itself. It wasn't always like this and Maverick took three years before we managed to begin shaping a team that works like a dream machine. I think this is because my partner Lita and I learned from our mistakes and refused to compromise on quality.


The people we recruit are usually signed on to a 6-month contract. During this time they prove themselves. We use a Caree Journal that the staff fill in themselves. There are all sorts of parameters we've put in. One of them is a record of how much the staff network. Another is a record of the books they've read for the months they've been with us. Then they are asked to evaluate themselves in terms of professional skills, interpersonal skills, creativity and drive. We then have a discussion with them to see if our perception agrees or differs from theirs in these crucial areas for a successful PR carreer.

Those who score satisfactory overall may have their terms extended so they can prove themselves. Only those tho score good or extraordinary get recruited. We repeatr this process every six months. Each timethe staff builds on their journal entries and we check our perceptions against one another.

This method of performance evaluation has proven extremely effective. One other thing that Lita and I have done is to be stoic about insisting on both attitude and perofrmance. Our experience is that staffers will work out only if they have both the right attitude and performance. If they have one without the other the organization is looking for trouble if it settles for them.

The result is that we have a team that I'm extremely proud of. I'ts a team whose productivity, gung ho and kick-ass attitude places them way above many other Indonesian organizations. I'm also willing to wager their efficacy against foreign PR firms.

So what this really means is that I can enjoy my holiday and that's what life should be about. I hope that Lita and I can swing it so that when the time is right they can alsy have as good a holiday as us while the others in teh office cover for us.

So, some photos as a tribute to the hardworking Mavericks in Jakarta.