A Culture of Worth

The day Marissa Levin’s boss told her she would never be worth more than $34 thousand dollars was the day she decided that, in that capacity, her days and potential were limited.

Marissa had been feeling undervalued at the small consulting firm she was employed with for quite some time, and rather than complain or demand a raise, she spent long hours researching the revenue she brought in to the company, her education level, and her experience in an impressive effort to quantify her value to that organization and worth in the marketplace.  She had compiled compelling arguments for why she deserved more credit and respect than she was being given for her work, but her boss leaned back in his chair and told her that she would never, be worth more than $34,000.

“My mother used to tell me that no one could determine my personal worth or value,” Marissa comments today.  “Before that day, I never really grasped the significance of what she meant, but in that moment, it clicked.  I realized that, while I still wasn’t clear about what I wanted for my career, I knew I did not want to work for someone who undervalued me.”

It was a turning point for Marissa, and within weeks, she started her own company from her home.  Indeed, if she couldn’t find a culture of worth at her previous workplace, she would create one herself.  “I literally started it because, if I was going to be working 15 hour days, I wanted to be learning, growing, and doing as much as I could for someone who appreciated my worth and trusted me—and that person was me,” she says.  Luckily, she was able to network her way to a $35,000 contract writing an online help system for a utility cooperative.  She made more during that three-month contract than she did in a year at her previous employer, and from that point on, her business continued to grow.

Today, that fledgling business has matured into Information Experts, a strategic communications, human capital, and training firm dedicated to helping clients access knowledge and skills they need to better perform their jobs and achieve the organizational mission.  Having recently passed the $10 million mark, Information Experts works predominantly with federal agencies, as well as with the private and non-profit sectors.  Today, one of the ongoing programs it supports is the design and development of web-based and classroom-based instruction for the procurement system of one of the largest federal agencies.  “Anytime an organization implements any type of system to automate a process, there will be a training requirement, a change management requirement, and a requirement for a communications strategy,” Marissa explains.  “We provide all of these services to ensure learners have access to the information they need to perform their jobs well, and to support the mission of the organization.  We do the design, development, and implementation of the online learning with an emphasis on the user’s experience so that the training is very intuitive.  Today, there tends to be so much information that the critical pieces can get lost when it’s all trying to be digested at once.  We alleviate this by bringing the most essential training to the user, so they only get what they need when they need it.”

When the company was started in 1995 when Marissa was 27 years old, eLearning and online learning had yet to be developed, so adult learning and training was still conducted in instructor-led classrooms.  “When I first started, I wasn’t knowledgeable or experienced enough to understand how the work I was doing fit into a specific strategy,” she confesses.  “I definitely learned over the last twenty years how the big picture fits together, and now I can’t look at anything without taking a strategic perspective.”

In many ways, she was forced to quickly adapt to the nature of her new company when, in 1999, the CEO of Cisco, John Chambers, made the declaration that eLearning would be a giant force on the internet.  This affirmation effectively transformed the education field over night.  “We went from only doing classroom-based learning to only doing eLearning online,” she recalls.  “We had to learn how to do it immediately, because if you didn’t do it, you became irrelevant and went out of business.  That was a huge lesson in business for me—that you have to respond to market shifts instantly or you’ll be out of the game.”

In June 2011, Marissa started a second company, a solo endeavor that allows her to connect with business leaders to help them remove the roadblocks impeding their ability to grow as a company.  “A handful of CEOs have hired me to identify what’s holding their company back, and to then implement strategies to help them move forward, such as building an advisory team or board,” she explains.  “My passion is helping these business owners, and I think I have an edge over other coaches out there whose only business is coaching.  Unlike them, I’ve had employees, and I’ve scaled a business.  I’ve personally been through the struggles and pains of big company growth.  I’ve been through 9/11 and the market collapse, as well as a multitude of personal problems that have conflicted with my business.  What I’ve found is that business owners want coaches who have been through all that.  There’s a certain level of comfort knowing they share those experiences.  I constantly reach back to my 18 years of leadership experience to help other business owners excel.  I don’t just talk about resilience—I live it.”

Her new work inspired her book, Built to SCALE: How Top Companies Create Breakthrough Growth Through Exceptional Advisory Boards, published in early 2012.  The book outlines her concept of SCALE, a model for privately held business owners to build an advisory board.  “It stands for Select, Compensate, Associate, Leverage, Evaluate, Evolved, and Exit,” she explains.  “It’s a full end-to-end model to help business owners find the people they need to surround themselves with to get to the next level of growth.”  Since publishing the book, SmartCEO Magazine asked her to write a monthly column called “Get On Board,” which launched in February of 2013.

In many ways, it is no surprise that Marissa holds such a deep passion for helping others succeed, since she comes from a family whose values are deeply rooted in community and service.  Her father worked for NASA for thirty-five years as Chief for the Office of Commercial Programs, and her mother worked at one of the largest homeless and AIDS shelters in Baltimore City as a financial controller for People Aiding the Traveling and Homeless (PATH).  “I inherited my commitment to service from my parents,” Marissa readily avows.  “My father had a very big job where he helped to stand up the SBIR Program and was a huge mentor to minorities at NASA.  He was also instrumental in standing up one of the first entrepreneurial incubators in Baltimore City. As well, my mother advocated for the homeless in the 1990’s when there were a lot of misconceptions about AIDS.  She was there helping them every day.”

This deeply rooted value of bettering society underpins the currents of success that permeate Marissa’s family.  Her father played a pivotal role in NASA’s contribution to medical devices, including the implantable defibrillator and the implantable insulin pump. He was also responsible for overseeing the transfer of NASA technology to non-aerospace usage.  Marissa’s oldest brother, Craig Friedman, is now a physician and co-owner of a surgery center, while her other brother, Sandy Friedman, is an attorney.  Both have their own practices, and Marissa always laughs that she is the family underachiever.

Outside of work, her parents dedicated a great deal of time to their Synagogue, which felt like a second home to Marissa.  “My parents always told me we had hundreds of aunts and uncles through the synagogue,” she smiles.  “We grew up with a huge commitment to the community, to service, and to Judaism, which is something I’ve tried to carry forward with my family today.”

Despite her parents’ divorce when she was twelve, Marissa experienced an ideal childhood.  She went to camp, walked to school with her friends, played kick-the-can, ran bases, played capture the flag, and chased down the ice cream truck with her best friends.  She spent most of her time running around with her neighborhood friends and with her two older brothers, who have remained two of her closest friends.  As a child, she always loved writing, from short stories to poetry.  Her communication skills were strong from an early age, so much so that she often got in trouble in elementary school for talking too much.  “In fifth grade, my principal wrote in my yearbook, ‘Quiet the chatter and you will perform miracles’,” she laughs.  “I have to say, though, that I think he got it wrong, because I do my best work and make the most impact when I’m speaking and communicating.  But as a kid, that didn’t keep me out of the principal’s office for talking in class.”

Her parents always stressed the importance of education, so it was never a question that she would attend college one day.  After graduating high school, she attained her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland in English with a concentration in Shakespeare.  She was then hired as a journalist on Capitol Hill for Capitol Publications, where she focused on the telecommunications market.  “I was in the courtroom when Judge Harold Greene handed down the modified judgment that broke up AT&T and created the Baby Bells, so that all of the sudden, we had a competitive telecom industry,” she recalls.  “That’s what was great about being a journalist on Capitol Hill—I could write news about legislation being made literally right before my eyes.”

Marissa gained invaluable knowledge on the telecommunications market through her journalism job so that she was eventually hired away by a small consulting company that offered training to telecom companies on how to sell their products more effectively.  “I knew the regulations, the technologies, and the players, so I knew what was happening in that market,” she says.  “I could bring my subject matter expertise and my writing to that field to design and develop the learning programs.”  Although that was the same company that would eventually undervalue her work, she’s thankful her experience there for having allowed her to realize her love for the education and adult learning field.  “Everything is a stepping stone,” she comments.  “Every experience is preparing us to go further, and while I loved my time on Capitol Hill, it enabled me to get the next job, which gave me the knowledge and confidence to ultimately start my own firm.  Even my negative experience there helped me start a successful culture in my company to help others.”

Marissa spent roughly three years with the consulting firm, during which time she attained her Master’s degree from Marymount University in Instructional Design and Curriculum Development.  She then launched Information Experts, where business steadily progressed to the point that, around the company’s sixth birthday, Marissa found herself at a crossroads.  “I told my husband the business was growing so fast that I could no longer do it myself,” she remembers.  “I needed him to come in and help; otherwise, I’d have to start turning clients away.  He was a partner at a freight forwarding and logistics firm at the time, but he saw the potential for growth in my industry, so he decided to quit his job and join Information Experts to cover the administrative side of things.  We put all our eggs in one basket.  There were some incredibly stressful periods, but it worked out, and he’s now the Senior Vice President.  I couldn’t have done any of it without him.”

Ever since she started the company, Marissa has never been afraid of asking for help.  As an active member in Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), she frequently hears from and connects with other business leaders to seek advice and support, and the organization’s founder, Verne Harnish, has been particularly pivotal in her success.  “Verne helped me realize that my company is really just getting started,” she said.  “He reminded me that most companies don’t hit their stride until they reach 25 years old.  If you look at Starbucks and Apple, that’s exactly what happened to them.  Information Experts is only 18, so we really have only scratched the surface of our potential.”  Another essential mentor to her career as a business owner is Herb Rubenstein, an attorney and strategic advisor she met the day after she started Information Experts.  “We met at a Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship event, and have been close for the past 18 years,” she says.  “He’s been with me through thick and thin, and knows me better than almost anybody.”

To give back to EO, Marissa is involved in the Accelerator Program, which mentors entrepreneurs in getting over the $1 million mark.  She helps to drive membership and works as an accountability coach for a small group from the Accelerator program, which helps keep entrepreneurs on track with their goals.  Beyond that, she has launched a structured community service program within EO, which she branded as EO-DC CARES: Community Allstars Responding, Engaging, and Serving.  CARES is committed to creating and strengthening the bonds among EO-DC members and providing opportunities for them to “lift where they stand” through meaningful community service initiatives.  “EO-DC is the flagship model for other EO chapters to establish a community service outreach initiative,” she explains.  “Thus, EO-CARES becomes a standardized component of all EO chapters.  I initially got a group together to serve at SOME (So Others May Eat) in D.C., but now we have a movement.  We worked the whole kitchen, and it was very impacting.  I sent out a survey afterward and got very positive feedback, indicating that the experience had opened up a new way of thinking for the volunteers.  We served 400 people that day, all of whom are the hardest hit out of our society.  One lady that I served looked me in the eye and thanked me for treating her with dignity, which really shook me.  I believe there is a very fine line between the person that helps and the person that needs help.”

Thus lays the cornerstone of Marissa’s philosophy toward work, humanity, and life at large.  Whether she’s lending a hand at a homeless shelter or making a business decision, she remains steadfastly dedicated to a culture of worth, always treating others with dignity and grace.  “I believe in leading by giving others what they need and empowering them to succeed,” she says.  “I’m more of a collaborative CEO than an authoritative one.  I encourage and depend on my executive and leadership team to make good decisions.  That builds an environment of trust.  On the flip side of empowerment, however, there comes accountability.  It’s not just empowerment with no strings attached.  You have to take action and lead, and no matter what happens on the other side, you have to take ownership for the outcome.”

Despite her impressive career accomplishments and noteworthy knowledge of the business world, Marissa is driven not by financial and professional success so much as she is by her family.  “I have responsibilities, like we all do, so I’m driven by the people who depend on me,” she says.  “I’m motivated to do well not for myself, but for my employees, my kids, and my family.”

While Marissa hopes for her company to continue to grow and help others, she measures her true success in her sons.  “If I can raise two boys who respect women, who are present fathers, and who cherish time with their kids and wife, I will be successful, because they will then pass those values on to their children and create a legacy,” she says.  “In the Jewish religion, we believe strongly in not just helping our kids, but in also shaping the thought process of the next generation, so that values and integrity have staying power.”  Undoubtedly, Marissa is a product of the same line of thought, since her parents were able to raise three children who all have successful careers, healthy marriages, and kids with a strong value system.

Moving forward, Marissa hopes to continue sculpting her company around the same values she holds in her personal life: dedication to community, service, and helping others while treating them with dignity.  With this in mind, in advising young people entering the business world today, she offers the same advice she gives her clients.  “Everything in life is a continuum,” she says.  “I think people get hung up when they are in the middle of difficulty and challenge.  They need to remember that everything that happens to us is temporary, so as hard and painful as something may be, it is short-lived in the grand scheme of our life spectrum.  We must look at the totality of our experiences, rather than measuring ourselves against a single moment in time.”  Amidst these temporary difficulties, furthering a legacy of grace by promoting a culture of worth and treating others with respect ensures that those values we hold most dear are the ones that truly last.

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