Morgan Group culture ‘based on family values’
A 70-foot-tall mural graces the wall of Pearl Marketplace, a Midtown apartment complex developed by the Morgan Group. On it are the faces of the people who built the project, including that of Shawndra Silas.
As the mural was being painted, Silas was hospitalized following a car crash. The company sprang into action, drawing up a schedule for who would visit her each day she was in the hospital. Her injuries prevent her from driving, and coworkers take turns driving her to work.
“Let’s take care of our families first,” said Michael S. Morgan, the company’s chief executive. “When things are down, that’s when we step up.”
The Morgan Group snagged the Houston Chronicle’s award for Top Workplace among midsize companies. The secret, according to Morgan, is the people and their relationships. “Our culture is based on family values.”
Morgan credits his father, who founded the company, with establishing that culture. William J. “Bill” Morgan, now in his 90s, was not in the office the afternoon that Morgan sat down to discuss his company, but his presence was visible throughout the building, from a bronze bust of him wearing a cowboy hat in the lobby to a smiling Bill bobblehead in Morgan’s office.
Bill Morgan escaped the Nazi occupation of Poland at the age of 16 by sneaking out with a friend’s identification papers. His parents and his six siblings were killed in the Holocaust.
After searching for his family at the end of the war, he boarded a boat to New York, where he worked his way up from a janitor to a store manager. Inspired by “King of the Cowboys” Roy Rogers, Bill Morgan moved to Houston, where he eventually became involved in real estate.
“My father came over here with nothing, and he bettered himself through sheer hard work and determination,” Morgan said. “So anyone who walks into this office who wants a job? If they have that attitude, we reach down with a hand to pull them up.”
Besides helping employees in times of need, the company participates in charity events, such as the MS 150, a bike race that raises funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Civic engagement is also important to the Morgans outside of work. The younger Morgan is on the board of trustees for the Holocaust Museum Houston, which his father has been involved with for more than 20 years.
In fact, if you visit, you might see him. There’s a hologram of Bill Morgan that can answer questions about his experience as a Holocaust survivor.
Morgan’s favorite thing to ask, of course, is about family. Ask the hologram about his wife, and he’ll sigh jokingly. “How much time do you have?”