---
url: 'https://www.fmjlaw.com/ceo-corner-first-100-days-heidi-carpenter/'
title: 'CEO Corner | First 100 Days'
author:
  name: Georgie Stocks
  url: 'https://www.fmjlaw.com/author/gstocks/'
date: '2022-07-01T15:10:10+00:00'
modified: '2022-07-01T15:24:17+00:00'
type: post
categories:
  - Newsroom
  - Thought Leadership
image: 'https://www.fmjlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/AdobeStock_253886629-Converted-scaled.jpg'
published: true
---

# CEO Corner | First 100 Days

The first 100 days of a presidential term tend to carry with it a lot of significance. It can give an indication of the character, leadership style, and priorities of the newly sworn-in president.

As I enter my first day as Chief Executive Officer of FMJ, it occurred to me that clients, colleagues, and my staff might be particularly interested in how my first few months as new CEO of the firm will transpire. Here are a few things that have come to mind as I’ve thought about this.

First, I would like to emphasize that I am committed to continuing FMJ’s goal that Bob Fafinski and the other co-founders created 23 years ago: to provide big-firm knowledge and experience in an intimate, small-firm customer service model.

Second, I hope to continue to forge the path for other female attorneys to continue to make their way into leadership roles as, currently, I am joining the ranks of only 25% of female executive leaders in the legal industry.

Last, and certainly not least, I want to continue to grow under the leadership of Bob and I am truly thankful that he will continue to be down the hall from me so I can still enter his office unannounced to talk, strategize, celebrate, and even rant.

I often get asked why or how I could have remained with one firm my entire career. And, for me, the answer is simple. At some point, the firm stopped becoming an office and became a home, and the people I work with and represent were no longer colleagues or clients but became friends that I cared deeply about.

How did that happen? After almost 50 trips around the sun, I’m old enough to know that the value and strength of organizations (and relationships) are not defined by good days. Rather, they are defined by bad days and how you react and treat people on the bad days. And this firm gets the bad days right.

I’ve had mentors and colleagues that supported me when I had to bring toddlers and babies into the office to close a deal because I had no other options, visited me in the hospital demanding that I hand off work to them, listened to me when I needed an ear, and even drove five hours to give me a hug at my mom’s funeral when I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the day. They have held me up on my bad days.

I’ve also been in shareholder meetings where leaders unanimously agreed to take salary cuts during tough periods to insulate the rest of the team from the impact, where clients going through difficult times were given grace, and where we talk about doing the right and fair thing for our clients and employees more than we talk about profits. And, we’ve found that doing the right thing is usually profitable.

I could not be more excited about this next stage in my career and for the firm. I hope to continue to build on its foundation while preserving the values that have made it successful. And I know I have a team that will not let me fail.

***If you have any questions or would like to reach out to discuss anything, please do not hesitate to do so. I can be reached at [heidi.carpenter@fmjlaw.com](mailto:heidi.carpenter@fmjlaw.com).***

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