What's Your "And"?

Kristen views client connections through a different lens Kristen Rampe is a very busy woman. When she's not running her own consulting firm, she's shuttling her twin boys around and finding free time to pursue her creative side through art of all kinds: photography, painting, drawing, and improv. This provides some balance that she craves after many hours of accounting and consulting work. We tal...

Ron clowns his way tobetter business relationships   When he isn't writing a children's book, grilling some deliciouspork chops or being a clown in Denver's Distinguished ClownBrigade, Ron Seigneur is a highly regarded business valuationexpert. In this episode, we talk about how much accounting hasbecome a people-based business, so having hobbies and passionsoutside of work really helps develop th...

Rick is a real court jester   Rick Roberts manages to keep a busy comedy schedule while also being a Partner in a law firm. He’s performed at Caroline’s Comedy Club in New York City as well as Mohegan Sun and several theaters in Connecticut. He regrets not starting sooner because it has been a huge complement to his law career. In this episode, Rick says that all firms want to have intellectually...

Megan barbecues up some great coworker relationships In 2010, Megan Varani and her husband Brian began participating in BBQ competitions in several different states. Just six short years later, they opened Mookie's BBQ Restaurant and also have a catering business in Northern Virginia. All of this was made possible thanks to EY leadership giving her the flexibility to get the work done with taking...

Misty makes the workplace her stage   When she was growing up, Misty was so shy she used to hide behind her parents in family pictures. That all changed after taking an acting class. Now she regularly acts and directs theater shows while also working in business development in the accounting industry. Thank goodness we didn’t arm wrestle because CPA Practice Advisor named Misty as one of the Most...

MB’s stained glass projects make for colorful client relationships   Several years ago, a friend invited MB (Mary Beth) to a stained glass workshop and now she can’t stop. And when the stained glass studio made the move to QuickBooks, you better believe they called MB first. So her passion led directly to a new client that she still has today. In this episode, MB talks about how people sense when...

Clients enjoy that John is a modern day George Plimpton   John Choe has played an inning of professional and he’s also tried out with an NHL team. And you better believe that clients and coworkers gravitate toward these stories, especially in the sports-obsessed stock picking world. One client compared John to George Plimpton, famous for his “participatory journalism”, where he would do an activit...

Jim races his way to better coworker relationships   Jim Fahey, or “Captain Noncharge” as he’s been called, has a lot of hobbies — competitive Scrabble, fly fishing, visiting Major League Baseball stadiums, driving remote control cars and autocross. He’d be enough to fill three episodes but we crammed it all into this episode. And the next time I visit Ohio, I’m going to get a test ride in Jim’s T...

Jody’s being radical develops stronger coworker relationships   Jody Padar wrote the book that started the revolution of new generation accounting professionals. And she hasn’t looked back since, continuing to radicalize others. And when she’s not doing that, she swims competitively through the Illinois Masters Swimming Association. Jody talks about making friends involves being a friend first. Do...

Misty’s Junior Leagues creates better coworker relationships   When it comes to volunteering, Misty Geer is a pro. Now she’s focused her energy on the Junior Leagues and this has helped her develop presentation skills she uses in her job and many more connections both in and out of work. And all of this helps her become more human to her coworkers. Misty talks about how others reacted to her when...

Kevin relays his way to better client relationships   When he’s not using his business valuation skills, you can find Kevin running around the country on a 200 mile Ragnar Relay or interviewing rock stars as a Beat Writer for AXS Entertainment. Kevin is a Shareholder and the Director of Valuation Services for Brueggeman and Johnson Yeanoplos, P.C. in Tucson, AZ. He was inducted into the AICPA Busi...

Randy rocks his way to better client relationships   All the Partners at Anton Collins Mitchell have website headshots that show their hobbies or passions. When Randy became a Partner, golf was already taken so he had to dig into his past to bring out his guitar. By opening up a little about his college guitar playing days, clients began asking him to jam with them. That’s when he had to admit tha...

Caleb writes his way to better professional relationships   While Caleb Newquist no longer works in accounting, he is very busy being around it all the time. He’s the Founding Editor of Going Concern, easily the most talked about website about he accounting profession. Caleb is also the head of content for Accountingfly and the Founder of Yarn, a creative firm that serves the accounting profession...

Rumbi is the social butterfly between her many networks Whether it's singing karaoke in front of thousands in Berlin, running the New York City Marathon or being a part of the New York African Film Festival, Rumbi is making connections. I talk with Rumbi about how important developing relationships is for someone who started her own forensics accounting firm. Which is pretty impressive considering...

Stuart jokes his way to better networking   Stuart Hack recently stepped on stage at the Improv Comedy Club and was big hit with his clients. In this episode, we talk about how Stuart’s radio host days and stand-up comedy hobby have allowed him to be much better at networking to generate more business for his Firm. He spent many years working for accounting firms before taking a leap of faith to s...

Donna races her way to better client relationships   Donna Bruce started running almost 5 years ago and hasn’t stopped, having completed 19 marathons and countless other races — including the 2013 Boston Marathon. In this episode, we talk about how running has given her an identity that clients are interested in. Donna spent many years at a Big 4 firm before starting her own firm with two other Pa...

Mike Kelley bunts his way to better coworker relationships (and a job)   Mike Kelley has always loved baseball. And it allowed him to have a special connection with his son, born four months early and now a thriving 15 year-old. Mike is the Managing Partner at Wheeler Fairman & Kelley in Austin, TX -- his name is on the door! -- where he's a tax accountant who also does litigation support and busi...

Cathleen Anderson runs her way to better client relationships   Cathleen Anderson is an avid runner of 5k’s and half-marathons. So much so that one time she actually them in consecutive days. Cathleen received her BS in Business Accounting from Indiana University and then went to work for a payroll processing company in her hometown of Elkhart, Indiana. She later moved to Pennsylvania where she wo...

Jason cooks up great coworker relationships   Jason Kalies grew up on a small family dairy farm in Wisconsin so he appreciates cultivating the land for fresh food. Then one day he decided to share his homemade salsa and marinades with a team visiting from out of town and deep coworker relationships were made. In this episode, we talk about whiskey, the Circus Parade in Milwaukee, growing up on a d...

Jack-of-All-Trades uses stories to connect with coworkers   I've been friends with Dave Gilbertson for almost 15 years, since we both started at PwC. He is known among his friends and coworkers for several things -- being Louie Anderson's tour manager one year, writing a published book, playing an inning of minor league baseball, interviewing the Dali Lama -- you name it , Dave has probably done i...

Jason creates stronger client relationships with CrossFit   Over the last few years, Jason Blumer has really gotten into CrossFit. And not only has it helped him get in better shape, he's also realizing there are many parallels to running your own business. So he's able to tell clients that there's no sitting down for breaks if they really want to meet their goals. Jason is now the Chief Innovatio...

Jerry's client and coworker relationships are tailor made   Jerry Folly-Kossi is a sharp-dressed man. And that isn't by accident. When he isn't busy as a financial analyst in the Business Valuation and Litigation Group at Hemming Morse, he's running his own custom menswear company, Swell Attitude. We talk about how his fashion was influenced by growing up in Paris with his family originally from t...

Bob uses fantasy football to score a lot of points with clients   Bob Lung talks about how being a fantasy football expert has lead to some fantastic business relationships. But he stresses it doesn't necessarily have to be fantasy football, his secret is tries to show a genuine interest in others. Bob is now a Controller at a company near Akron, OH but he started his career at Ernst & Young, so h...

Andrew McArthur talks about how his homebrewing and air guitar competitions create stronger bonds with coworkers. Through he stresses it isn’t important to have a “cool” hobby — you should share no matter what your hobby or passion is. I’ve known Andrew since my first day at PwC. He now works in Investment Risk Management at an Asset Management Firm in Denver, CO. In this episode, we talk about ou...

Greg jokes his way to better client relationships   Greg Kyte is a very busy man. When he isn't being a Comptroller (he was able to give himself whatever title he wanted), he is performing at comedy clubs and delivering CPE no one in the audience will soon forget. He definitely took the unconventional route into accounting. After graduating from the University of Washington, Greg moved to Utah and...