In 1998 Jon Pennington was watching the news and became aware of a problem – the Hispanic population of Memphis was growing rapidly, and the city of Memphis was not prepared to handle their needs. Pennington, having spent 2 years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Guatemala, had developed a great love for the people and their culture and wanted to help. In partnership with his friend Monte Hansen, the two published the first edition of the Spanish Yellow Pages for the Mid-South Area which provided all the community and business information needed. After three tiring years of working a full time job and raising a family in addition to their new endeavor, they decided they had reached their objective and that it was time to sell the publication.
Now ten years later, that same entrepreneurial bug has bitten Pennington again. “I recently realized what I am good at and what I enjoy. I research problems and solve them, and I enjoy helping people. Sound familiar?” said Pennington. After having worked 10 years at FedEx and 5 years at AAA Service Company, Pennington has decided to start a business of his own. Having worked in front line and middle management positions for the last 10 years, he has seen every type of problem people can create at a company. “People are truly the greatest asset at every company and therefore can make or break a company,” states Pennington.
One day, while working in his office at AAA Service Company, Pennington received an express delivery that contained the book Developing the Leaders Around You, by John C. Maxwell. The sender was Steve Kennedy, Pennington’s boss and COO of AAA Service Company. Kennedy had read the book on the first day of his vacation and was so excited about the principles it taught that he couldn’t wait to share it with Pennington. “Leadership books are of no value to an organization if the reader doesn’t put into practice the principles taught which is difficult to do when one is preoccupied with the day-to-day operations of the company. We made a commitment to the principles and made numerous changes in our efforts to develop our employees. The commitment, however, is not for a determined period of time, it has to be forever,” says Pennington.
Ultimately, Maxwell’s book and Kennedy’s mentoring led Pennington to his decision to seek employment that would enable him to accomplish his dreams – something Pennington had never given much thought. In searching for employment, Pennington found a company in Waco, TX named Profiles International whose company vision is to empower individuals to realize their full potential by maximizing their talents and abilities. “I was immediately interested,”
Pennington named his company The Ad Fontes Group. The Latin term “ad fontes” means “to the sources” or “to the fountain.” The term was frequently used in the late 14th Century as part of the European Renaissance Humanism movement. “I chose this term as the name for my company because of the related belief that people are created to fulfill a specific purpose, and I want to help them do just that,” remarks Pennington.
Pennington sees as his biggest obstacles a poor understanding of the value of people and a lack of commitment to maximizing their productivity. “People problems are extremely frustrating and stressful. They take up a lot of time and drain everyone’s energy. I know… I’ve been there. Many organizations put a band-aid on the problem and rush back into the trees to handle other problems that seem more important. Still others will deny or ignore the problem and hope that it will eventually go away, no matter the cost,” says Pennington. He is looking for those companies that are willing to admit that people problems exist and that they need help. “I don’t even want to talk about any professional assessment tools until I can fully understand the problem. Then, I can determine the best solution for my customer,” says Pennington.
The Ad Fontes Group is an Authorized Partner of Profiles International which provides a comprehensive array of employee assessment instruments used to put people in the right jobs, help managers lead, coach, and motivate effectively, and help all employees direct their efforts to achieve greater productivity and profitability.
For more information:
www.adfontesgroup.com
jon@adfontesgroup.com
Phone: (901) 239-1879
