Edward Jones Values

EDWARD JONES: VALUES AND GOALS A fourteen year veteran of Edward Jones counted one of the perks of her job as reading client "thank you" notes penned when children went to college, or when retirements were launched a little bit early (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). This veteran could have counted many other types of perks such as salary, career advancement, etc., but she did not. She stated the intangible, intrinsic benefits like “thank you” notes and personal greetings. Many other employees stated similar things like “all we do is help people obtain goals”, clients are just as likely to come in to tell of good news or show off their new car as they are to sign business paperwork, and “everyone is focused around a single mission” (Wolfe, 22 Feb
It is blatantly obvious that Edward Jones not only believes in, but practices strict moral values. These values have been the keys for the continued business success since World War II. From its conception to today, Edward Jones believes in “Serving the serious, long-term individual investor” (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). This was especially evident in the mid 1990’s when Edward Jones not only refused to jump on the ‘dot com’ bandwagon, but actually sent out letters advising the opposite to its customers (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). Edward Jones’ as an entity took the middle of the road ‘tortoise’ versus the speculative ‘rabbit’ approach to investing every time; which lead the company to outperform 14 of the top 15 U.S. brokerages. Employees and customers alike observed what a value driven company with a keen strategy this was, a strategy that acted like permanent glue in Edward Jones’ professional relationships. The key values of conservatism and service of the steadfast investor are just scratching the surface of what makes Edward Jones a truly fascinating
Yet, unlike most other companies, they stuck to their simple, value driven goal of serving the serious, long-term individual investor (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). Accomplishment of this goal was achieved through branching out to communities and taking on a personal approach towards each investor. Here, Edward Jones created a utopian focus, one that many businesses or firms never reach; an organizational goal that equates to the individual’s goal. An operative goal set out by this firm involved having employees as partners, meaning each worker could own stock in the private company (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). This was another stellar example of how to keep employees motivated; getting their complete ‘buy-in’. These goals truly energized the workforce and clientele, as well as inspired top performance throughout the ranks of Edward