EllisDon is founded on a way of thinking

 

Why is EllisDon a very different kind of company? It’s kind of hard to describe the vibe of this place, of what it’s like to work for EllisDon and to work with EllisDon in mere words, but perhaps a few examples will help give you an idea…

Most companies, proudly put their shareholders first. They strive to ‘maximize shareholder value’.   At EllisDon, we believe that our prime reason for existence is to give the people who work here the opportunity to maximize their career opportunities and accomplishments. We put our employees first and our shareholders last. It’s not just idealism. We know that if we attract terrific people, and provide an opportunity for them to succeed beyond their expectations, that our clients will have a terrific experience, and our shareholders will do very well indeed. 
 
Most companies set a "Mission Statement", a statement of what they intend to do, and where they intend to go. At EllisDon, we don’t care where we end up – we care passionately about how we get there, and therefore we have a "Values Statement" that sets out our Core Values about what we believe and how we will act. The destination is unimportant, the journey is crucial.
 
Most companies love to say that they stick to what they know, to their ‘core competencies’. At EllisDon, we think this is hogwash. We look for every opportunity to capitalize on the entrepreneurial ideas of our great employees, to give our clients whatever they need, and to take charge of our destiny. That is why we have strange profit centers, like Equity Services, Integrated Communications Technology, and Insurance Management Services that are often led by the employee that dreamt up the idea, and that together contribute about 20% of EllisDon’s profits. Core competencies be damned – that’s what we think.
 
Most companies have hierarchical reporting structures and don’t like to give out information. At EllisDon, we give people the kind of authority that they wouldn’t enjoy anywhere else – but they know that they are accountable, not just to their boss, but to each other, every day – and then we share all the information. If everyone is accountable, then everyone needs to know as much as possible.
 
And that’s just the beginning. Of course it is very important to execute proficiently. But it’s more important to think originally.  
 
Clearly, with The Way We Think, EllisDon is not like most companies. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.