Name: Howard Perlman
Title: Principal/ President
Company: Perlman Architects Inc.
Type of Business :A multi-faceted architecture firm that includes (among others) master planning, urban planning, commercial and residential projects, public works, hospitality and interiors
Location: Henderson
Years in Nevada: 10 years
Years with Company: 25 years
Biggest Business Challenge:
The biggest business challenge Perlman Architects, Inc. has faced over the years is finding enough architects, planners and interior designers to handle the workload. The University of Nevada Las Vegas produces very talented graduates, but not enough of them. This has forced me to go on recruiting trips to other major cities such as, Seattle, Chicago and New York City, where they are not as fortunate enough to have Las Vegas’ explosive growth and thriving economy.
What do you like best about your job?
I like firm building – finding talent and then organizing people into vibrant teams in which everyone contributes, everyone learns and everyone benefits, including our clients. I also enjoy mentoring our young talent.
How do you spend your time when you’re not working?
Spending time anywhere with my 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter is the best; when they can work me into their schedules. In terms of recreation, I spend time fishing, skiing, snowboarding, playing golf, running, working out and traveling. In the last year I have traveled to Israel, Japan and Chile. I also spend an hour a day in the synagogue, and I am involved with several associations and boards.
What would you like your legacy to be?
I would like to feel that I have left this world a better, more beautiful place in which to live, work and shop, and that I had a positive impact on the peoples’ lives I have touched.
Favorite Business Book:
Built to Last, by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras. Also Good to Great, by James C. Collins.
Best Business Advice:
Hire the best people you can, and keep them happy. Happy, talented people are successful, and an office full of successful people is a successful business.
Name: Jody Marshall
Title: Director of Recruiting
Company: Resource Associates
Type Of Business: Executive Search Firm, Recruiting and Headhunting
Location: Las Vegas
Years In Nevada: Native
Years With Company: 3
Biggest Business Challenge:
Adjusting to an ever-changing market. It changes with the economy – at times demand is high and supply is low, then it switches around, or the demand moves to a different sector. Dealing with a “human product” can be a challenge.
What do you like best about your job?
Filling a need, being able to succeed where others or other methods have not.
How do you spend your time when you’re not working?
Football is my passion – I have two coaching jobs. I also own a management/production company. Family is important, and I spend as much time raising my children and pleasing my wife as possible.
What would you like your legacy to be?
That I am an example for others, particularly my family. I want life to be easier for my children than it was for me, and if I am the example I believe I am, that trend will continue – financially, spiritually, mentally, physically and so on. I believe opportunity comes more often than most people think. It is important to be prepared when those opportunities arise and to be in tune enough with yourself and your surroundings to know when to take calculated risks. I want to be seen as a confident but humble man, someone who is well rounded and an overall good person. I hope people look at me and are inspired because they see something in me that triggers a positive reaction. I want to be an example that with determination, creative problem-solving, good money management and God’s grace, most things are attainable.
Favorite Business Book :
I read more business-related articles than books. I find interesting articles in Black Enterprise, online Biz journal and Newsweek, and just search for whatever topic is on my mind and learn as much as I can about it.
Best Business Advice :
Simple but practical and true: It’s best to under-promise and over-deliver, do what you say you are going to do, don’t make commitments that you can’t keep. Treat people like you want to be treated.
