Sometimes a first opinion of someone can be terribly wrong. Early on in my career, I was on the opposite side of an accountant that I immediately didn’t like.
I also lost a client to him, but then got one of his. When I spoke to him about the client he lost, he was very cooperative in turning over whatever I needed but took every opportunity to badmouth the client. There were some other picky events that I won’t bore you with. Sometimes you meet someone, and you just do not like them. Of course, it is subjective and it is a first opinion, sort of like judging a book by its cover. One thing I could grant him is that his firm had a reputation for delivering extraordinary results for its clients. It was rumored that his partners’ incomes were much higher than similar-size firms, and they flaunted it at every opportunity.
However, I have one favorable story about him. One time my CPA society had a practice management program, and he was the featured speaker. I attended it, but intended to only sit in for a few minutes and then cut out to make some phone calls (on the pay phones in the lobby), which in those days was a minor chore.
Well, here was this ogre sharing ways that made him successful. He started talking about how he ran his firm, what he expected of his partners and staff and also from the clients, how he set fees, the training he gave his staff (this was in the days before mandatory CPE) and many other ways he ran his practice. His presentation was well prepared and organized, and he also put up charts showing client and staff realization and ways to spot scope creep and how to call the client’s attention to it. Not only was I riveted, but I looked for ways afterward to get friendly with him. We never became friends, but we had some positive collaborations. Actually, from then on, every interaction was positive for me.
One time I asked him why he “gave away his secrets.” He said it was for selfish reasons. He figured that if he could help other firms become more successful, then that would elevate him, since he felt he was above them. He said that a better image for all accounting firms could only benefit him, and he was doing what he could to help them.
I learned a lot from my relationship with him. First is that I shouldn’t be so fast in judging someone by my first impression. Second, people who work hard for their clients occasionally will rub some people the wrong way. Third, never badmouth a former client (or anyone else). Doing so reflects poorly on the speaker. Fourth, successful people do not become successful by accident. It takes work. People might become rich by accident, but not successful. Fifth, seize opportunities to learn from successful people, especially when they are in a sharing mood. Sixth, some people might have ulterior or selfish reasons for doing something, but that doesn’t negate what you can learn from them.
These are some lessons I was fortunate to learn early on in my career, and I can definitely trace part of my success to this person who I just did not like based on a misguided first impression.
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