John Murphy was named chairman and CEO at OppenheimerFunds in summer 2001, and the following September, the company introduced a corporate strategy to diversify its business. Just over six years later, the company has doubled its assets under management, established thriving institutional and affluent businesses and jumped from the 13th largest mutual fund provider to the 7th in terms of assets. OppenheimerFunds has become one of the most respected asset management firms in the country.
Murphy, a Boston College graduate, spoke at the CEO Breakfast at Saint Anselm College March 4. In discussing the current economic downturn, he said the economy is fundamentally sound and that Oppenheimer analysts do not expect the weakness to extend beyond yearend. The value of many companies is artificially low, he said, so for those interested in investing for the long term, this is a good time to buy stocks.
He then turned his attention to what he believes to be the one of the most important issues facing businesses today – the battle for talent. Here are excerpts from his talk, which he commenced with a quote from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
" 'I think the main reason for any success that we have is attributable to the players who go out there and make the plays that enable us to win. Without good players, players who play in tough situations and consistently perform, you can't win. So I give the credit for whatever games we've won, whatever success we've had, to the players that have gone out there and made those plays.'
"To me, Bill's message is dead-on. Consider at OppenheimerFunds, it's our people who produce the investment excellence, it's our people who provide great customer service to advisors and shareholders and it's our people who uphold and protect our reputation.
"I can't stand here and say that we have any special magic formula; it's a combination of factors that has helped us continue to attract, retain and develop top talent. I'd like to share four of those factors with you.
"First – Strong, Visible Leadership
Leadership needs to set the tone, set the strategy and then push leadership down. The only way to get people to think like leaders is to trust them to be leaders, which leads me into my next point.
"Second – Provide Opportunities through Empowerment and Autonomy
The best way to motivate a workforce is to give them the autonomy to run their business/department [all within the framework of a greater corporate strategy and risk controls, of course]. This fosters more independent, strategic thinking, which in turn leads to more meaningful bottom line contributions to the firm.
"Third – Values-Based Culture
In the end, it’s about winning, but winning the right way. We have a Corporate Values statement that hangs throughout our offices and one line in particular always stands out to me: Our success is measured not only by what we achieve, but also by how we achieve it.
"Fourth – Open Communication and Great Transparency
My fourth point – open communication and great transparency – very much compliments my first point on strong, visible leadership.
"I've always felt that if employees have a better understanding of where you are and where you are going, they can better align their goals with your goals. Open communication helps breed a winning corporate culture and people want to be part of a winner.
"Employees today want the 'full circle experience,' which includes both tangible items such as compensation, benefits and job structure, and intangibles such as the company's values, culture and business philosophy. To be successful, you clearly need talented, values-driven, committed individuals. But to be the best, you need to manage, motivate and lastly, engage those employees."