Former Business Hall of Fame honorees on how to find meaning in your work

Given the number of hours we spend at work, it’s natural to want more than a paycheck. Feeling fulfilled, having a sense that one’s work has meaning, is another precious dividend. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” 

For more than 20 years, many of Rochester’s most talented entrepreneurs have been inducted into Jr.  Achievement’s Rochester Business Hall of Fame. We asked a few of the past inductees to tell us how they derive meaning from their work. 

Lori Van Dusen, who was inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame in 2019, founded LVW Advisors, a wealth management firm, in 2011. Within just 10 years, she has become one of the nation’s most highly regarded wealth managers. In 2019, Van Dusen was number 66 on Forbes’ list of the nation’s top wealth advisors, number three on the list of best in-state advisors and among the top women advisors. What’s more, LVW has consistently landed on Barron’s list of top wealth advisors. 

Van Dusen’s career path will give solace to high school students who feel they must have their entire future mapped out before arriving at college. As a young musician, Van Dusen attended the Eastman School of Music; she was a performance major. She changed course, earning a masters degree in education at Harvard University. Then she made another detour, becoming a stockbroker at Lehman Brothers in 1987. She became managing director of CitiGroup’s Smith Barney and in 2008, with $6 billion in assets under her management, Van Dusen went independent. 

“I think my life has been a journey to learn and grow and so far has taught me that I do not want to live in the past because I cannot change it, but only learn from it,” says Van Dusen.  

The financial advisor continues to find meaning in her work through “continual learning and teaching.” “If you can continually embrace self-improvement and, in so doing, find ways to enhance the lives of others, that creates meaning,” she says. “Our culture is to be sure everyone who is a team member at LVW knows how valuable they are in achieving the best outcomes for our clients. This perspective and culture is the way we find meaning in what we do every day.”  

Lauren Dixon, founder and former CEO of Dixon Schwabl + Company, the Perinton-based marketing agency, is passionate about creating an office culture that encourages and nurtures employees.  

“You need to keep an eye your team and understand what drives them,” she says. She does this partly by developing clear communication, continually raising the bar and doing her best to keep employees happy.  

“Our IT director really wanted to be an audio engineer,” she says. “We made it happen because we wanted to keep him.”  

Employees also gain meaning by giving back to the community — Dixon Schwabl encourages staff to sit on nonprofit boards and committees. 

Dixon practices what she preaches. She has been board chair of the United Way of Greater Rochester for the past three years. At the beginning of the pandemic she initially found herself on the phone with Jamie Saunders, executive director of the nonprofit, every day.  “Everything was turned upside down and sideways,” says Dixon, but she adds that the work was extremely rewarding.  

“It allowed me new challenges and I was energized by it. We solved problems and made the community better.”  

Dixon stepped down from her agency this January, but shares the board chair position with her husband, Mike Schwabl, former company president. The entrepreneur won the Athena International Award in 2021. 

Another past Hall of Famer, Victor Salerno, chief executive officer of O’Connell Electric Co., derives meaning from work in a simple but satisfying way: By providing a source of income to his more than 1,000 employees. When Salerno joined the company in 1971, it earned $2 million in sales and employed 35 individuals. It now has more than $350 million in sales and more than 1,000 employees. 

“It is a wonderful feeling that you are helping to provide the livelihood for so many families,” he says. And the company continues to grow: O’Connell will soon be opening an office in Pennsylvania.  

“It’s all good,” says Salerno. “We keep growing and providing for people.”  

Salerno is responsible for “defining the strategic vision and culture of the organization, managing day-to-day operations, promoting a safe work environment, developing business opportunities, and maintaining company goals.” 

O’Connell provides employees opportunity for advancement.   

“We give them the opportunity to do a great job and to hopefully be able to grow in their careers and I think that would add meaning,” Salerno adds. “I thank everyone all the time and encourage them.”  

Salerno also invests in education and training of field and office staff.  

“We want to make sure everyone has the latest training. We do a lot of safety training. It’s a dangerous business and we want to make sure everyone goes home to their families,” he says. 

Salerno cites Walter Parkes, the chairman of O’Connell Electric, and Donald Bain, PhD, president emeritus of St. John Fisher College, as mentors. 

His honors include the Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) Business Achievement Award in 2012, the 2013 Rochester Builders Exchange Lifetime Achievement, the Rochester Business Hall of Fame in 2017 and the 2018 Rochester Rotary Award. 

Donna Jackel is a Rochester-area freelance writer.