Our goal is not to become known, prestigious, or powerful. Our only goal is to make our clients and their organizations better.

It’s Not About Us

Too many advisors make their popularity and profile the measure of their success. We believe profile does nothing to help our clients, and we much prefer to work behind the scenes and below the radar.

We Say No to Opportunities

While we believe we are the best at what we do, we don’t believe we do everything equally well, nor that we are the best fit for every client or engagement. A firm that does not say “no” as often as they say “yes” lacks integrity. Our goal is to create excellence, and when we can’t, we are delighted to refer to someone who can.

What We Believe


We Know Things Others Don’t

Conventional wisdom is long on convention and short on wisdom. While there is much good advice in the world, our differentiator is having ideas, solutions, and behaviors others don’t have. We are always on the hunt for things others don’t know that can help our clients — in our research, our learning, and our daily experience.


Investing in Relationships Is How We Succeed

Adding value to others is the lifeblood of relationships, and we see the act of investing deeply in relationships as essential to who we are as individuals and as a firm. This means cultivating a deeper understanding of our clients and colleagues, bringing our best advice always, and maintaining a principled independence that allows us to put the needs of a relationship ahead of our own.


Learning Motivates Us

We see learning not only as a source of perspective, insight, and wisdom, but also as fuel. New ideas compel us to act, with a desire to bring insights to bear for our clients. We are curious to know more and understand better, not for the sake of learning, but to build our excellence as advisors.


Practicality Makes the Difference

Ease of application is a stronger measure of efficacy than the quality of an idea. After all, if a client can’t put your good counsel into practice, what good is it? “Can they do this?” is an explicit test in our organization. If we can’t make it practical, our advice needs more work.


Excellence Is Habitual

As historian Will Durant paraphrased Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do … therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.” We believe this is true and that having excellence as a standard in our work requires having excellence as a standard in our life: as parents, partners, colleagues, and friends.


We Maintain a Contrarian View

When all is said and done, we can only do our best work if we are free to do what we think is right. This means keeping our independence as advisors, and more important, as thinkers. This often makes us different and even contrarian… but also free: free to say what must be said, free to insist on a better way, and free to do what we must if it’s in the best interest of our colleagues and clients.

WHAT OTHERS SAY

CRA | Admired Leadership’s approach is well grounded in communication research, theory, and best practice but eminently pragmatic and practical … As a result, CRA’s advice and counsel is more strategic and tailored. I’ve never felt that I was being handed an off-the-shelf, generic set of recommendations.

VP of Corporate Affairs and Director of Global Communications, Global Food and Agriculture Company

… because the Admired Leadership team lives their work within their own company, I am confident that their “products” remain true and relevant.

Chief Strategy Officer, Government Sector

CRA | Admired Leadership has been an invaluable resource for our organization over the past several years … Their executive counsel has reshaped how our leaders perform and helped to redefine our culture.

Commissioner, Major Sports League