We caught up with Phoenix Mecano CEO Philip Brown at a busy airport, San Francisco International Airport to be exact, returning from a trip abroad, no doubt a regular part of the job for the leader of such a globally connected company.
Brown: “Let me start by saying how authentically committed I am to being multicultural. Phoenix Mecano is a global business with multilingual teams. I would not have the talent I’m blessed to have if we didn’t operate this way, so it’s important that we recruit and develop talent globally and retain this cultural component of Phoenix Mecano. This commitment to multiculturalism also speaks to the company’s commitment to literacy.”
This is literacy in every sense of the word. Phoenix Mecano supports both basic literacy and workforce literacy in the local Frederick community by participating in programs such as the Literacy Council and the Workforce Services Board (the latter of which Brown chairs), and by partnering directly with Frederick Community College and the Frederick County Public Schools system. “These are wonderful people,” enthuses Brown. “These literacy teachers build up a very strong trust relationship with our workforce; and our workforce needs to know we’re not measuring them but, rather, supporting them.”
Brown knows the importance of being able to speak the local language, wherever in the world one might be, through personal experience. Brown: “I’m British, and though Brits and Americans speak English, it’s not always the same English. There are peculiarities I’ve had to learn. Look, I’ve traveled the world. I’m a big advocate of learning the language of any place you’re going as best you can. I speak several languages other than English at least moderately well. In many parts of the world, English is the lingua franca, but I never want to assume that everyone reads and writes perfect English. One of the things we do at Phoenix Mecano in this regard is offer the same document in multiple languages.”
In the end, in Brown’s mind, Phoenix Mecano’s support for workforce literacy and workforce multiculturalism gets directly at what the company wants to be. “I want our people, everywhere in the world, to have that multicultural mindset,” says Brown. “It enriches our organization in every aspect. It adds so much depth. Wherever you are in your career, learning development is crucial. Literacy is a vital component of learning development. And I think literacy supports a learning mindset. A commitment to literacy also engenders a feeling of trust in the organization. There’s a concept called exchange theory. That the core of any business is trust. It’s important to me that all our stakeholders trust this organization: shareholders, customers, and, crucially, our employees.”
