REAL SOLUTIONS
This Firm Is One Friendly Place

Marc Madnick knows that if you’re going to build a successful business, it’s unwise to treat your employees like friends. But he does it anyway.

As president and CEO of Final Draft, a Calabasas, Calif.-based firm that makes software for movie script writers, Madnick has surrounded himself with chums. He considers everyone on his five-person management team a friend.

“My management meetings are no fun if they’re all business,” he said. “I like some enjoyment at work.”

When Madnick leaves the office during the workday, he prefers not to tell anyone his whereabouts. He guards his privacy, whether he’s meeting to discuss a confidential personnel matter or conducting other off-site business.

“I distance myself to some degree so that everyone in the office doesn’t know where I am every minute of the day,” he said.

Friendships at work sometimes threaten to cloud his business judgment, Madnick acknowledges. To ensure he makes sound decisions in the best interest of the company, he confides in a trusted consultant.

“I bounce things off an impartial third party whose opinions I respect,” Madnick said. “He’ll evaluate my faults and my employees’ faults and then he’ll tell me what he thinks without holding back.”

When Madnick grew frustrated at some employees, he asked his consultant’s advice on how to discipline them. After meeting with the employees, the consultant lectured Madnick on his defects as a leader.

“I hired him to tell me what my employees were doing wrong and how I could get them to change, and he winds up telling me all the things that I’mdoing wrong,” Madnick said.

For example, Madnick learned that as much as he wanted to express himself freely with his employees, he shouldn’t raise his voice to them. His consultant helped Madnick realize the lasting harm caused when he vented his anger.

Over the course of the 13 years since he co-founded the firm, Madnick has had less time to socialize with employees. A critical phase occurred during the business’ third year, when he hired his ninth employee.

“Someone told me that once you hire the ninth employee, that’s when you need to bring in others to manage the growth,” Madnick said. “I had to change my management style at that point. I had to start documenting things and sign more legal agreements. I was still buddies with employees, but it became harder as we grew.”

Madnick has also learned to listen better, especially during business negotiations. He fights the urge to talk by constantly telling himself, “Just be quiet,” so that others drive the conversation.