Smart Business Magazine, January 2014

12 Smart Business Philadelphia Winter 2014 Its been a successful company that has experienced steady growth and now has more than 130 employees But there have also been some challenging times and Leone says one of the keys to managing the ups and downs is not giving into fear One of the toughest times was back in 2008 when the recession hit There is a tendency to pull the first lever you know how to pull and thats to reduce your headcount Leone says Thats easy to do So over six months I would bring leadership back into a room and it was a huge workshop for us We lived breathed and ate taking our company in the right direction Leone says proposals would be put on The best people to present to our clients are the people who are natural at it JANICE LEONE PRESIDENT AND CEO CORPORATE INTERIORSthe table to make staff reductions but each time she resisted I would say We have to go back to the drawing board because when we come out of this I want a greater commitment a greater connection to our workforce than we have right now Leone says That wont do it for us I wont budge from that In the end schedules were adjusted for everyone including leadership and while a few people were let go it wasnt a lot And things did turn around for the positive It wasnt easy but were in better times now Leone says I think were stronger than we were before we went into this Here are some key principles that guide Leone and her leadership of Corporate Interiors Be yourself Culture may not always be top of mind in the leadership of your business But it is there and it is visible for everyone who comes in contact with your company to see Its reflective of who you are Leone says We can walk into a lot of companies and get a sense of who they are not only from the exterior of the building but the interior From the time we walk into a lobby we can tell what kind of company were walking into COVER CORPORATE INTERIORS SOCIAL MEDIA To learn more about Corporate Interiors like its Facebook page on http on fb me 18lGUtc and check out its YouTube channel www youtube com user CorpInt