Jones has a proud legacy…100+ years of being a truly client and associate oriented firm. As an associate of this firm who has also had extensive experience outside of the firm, I can confidently say THESE DAYS ARE OVER, and I highly recommend reconsidering your affiliation with this firm.
What happened? It’s not a unique story to EJ, but the downfall has been swift and it’s rooted in one phrase: Failed Leadership.
Back when Penny was appointed Managing Partner in ‘19, the MP talent bench was already weak to begin with - she and Ken C were the only viable choices the firm had internally and there was no appetite to go outside. If I had to chose from that lineup, I would have taken Penny any day and twice on Sunday - as Ken C has no business leading a function, let alone the entire firm.
On its face, the choice of Penny wasn’t entirely terrible - she is intellectual, well spoken, been an advisor, broad based in the firm’s business - and the first female MP. And she dresses to impress, of course!
But Penny’s weakness was on full display in her track record - picking talent around her. This would be a knockout gap for a CEO candidate in any company, let alone one leading a business transformation.
Over the next 5 years, this gap became amplified in a massive way:
She kept inept legacy leaders in key roles - Ken C, Lisa D and KJ among them - allowing them pull her into their own ineptitude. She promoted truly horrible talent like Andy M, Suzan M who are small time at best. And she hired some outside talent like Hasan and David C that while intellectually strong, were “scratch and dent” leaders in their prior companies - deemed not promotable because of narcissistic or egotistical behavior. And that says a LOT at places like Citi or Goldman.
Bad leadership ki-ls companies. If you are a client, consider the decisions being made affecting you and your money:
- Raising fees you are paying to line the pockets of greedy executives
- Sending your personal information overseas as part of outsourcing projects to drive higher profits
- Treating employees and branch teams who handle your money and services like they are second class citizens - including not paying market wages.
- Technology that doesn’t work half the time and that your branch teams are helpless to fix
If you’re an associate, you feel the impact of this leadership everyday - the visceral disdain ELT members demonstrate for you as associates. You’ve heard it directly from David C’s mouth in town halls - but it’s even more evident in action: Pathetic wages/benefits; targeting firings of anyone who dares to challenge; promotions for toxic but loyal leaders; poor quality front line managers. The disdain is so strong that some say it feels like ELT places the blame for their own failures on the backs of associates. The paradigm is that associates are entitled, overpaid and underworked.
The company is not bankrupt financially, but I can assure you that it is from a leadership perspective. Rest assured one will blend with another over time.
I sincerely hope if you are a client or an employee that you reconsider your affiliation with Edward Jones - for your own good.