Leading With Diversity is This Company's Secret to Success
Luminas LLC partners (left to right) Fred LaManna, Marie LaFerriere, Felisha Lewis, and Roz Pierson
When their former employer shut down its health care practice near the end of 2017, a door closed, but another opened. That’s when Roz Pierson, Fred LaManna, Felisha Lewis, and Marie LaFerriere, partnered to establish Luminas LLC, and clients, from pharmaceutical companies to academic medical centers to big box pharmacy retailers followed. “Clients had faith in us,” says Pierson.
Luminas prides itself on a customized approach by asking all the right questions, including what the client thinks success looks like for each project. “We think about their goals and the story they’re trying to tell,” Pierson says. They will challenge a client’s thoughts and push back on their thinking but do it respectfully and with grace.
GROWTH THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
Luminas values relationship-building over oneoff engagements. “We don’t just want to go on a couple of dates, we want to have a long-term relationship,” she says. “Our entrée is often problem solving,” Pierson says, and it is the center of the web that determines the optimal solution, whether it is market research, consulting, or storytelling.
The relationship-building is not just with key players but with an entire business unit. Luminas develops deep enough trust that clients often reveal upcoming business changes that their colleagues don’t know about. “There’s a level of disclosure and trust our clients have with us, sharing information they may not normally share.” This trust leads to additional internal projects but also external referrals. “Our clients are like our sales force,” Pierson says.
The Luminas approach is to figure out how to help clients be successful. “We lead with yes. We are focused on what they need to achieve their business goals,” Pierson says. While other companies may think about money and rates first, she says Luminas focuses on the partnership, finding ways to provide the maximum value.
BRING THE WHOLE PERSON TO THE TABLE
As a woman-owned business with two BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) partners, diversity is not just a talking point. The company composition reflects the country’s makeup, Pierson says, with a mix of gender, ages, and races. They focus on finding people in different geographies and with different experiences. “We look at who the right person is for us and if they bring something unique to the table to enhance our culture, our efficiency, and to help us connect better with clients.”
Team members are attracted to Luminas because they want to be around people who value integrity and creativity. “They know that about us,” Pierson says. “We attract people who respect our beliefs.”