Young Partners Talk About Their Rise

At our recent Chicago Roundtable group, my guests were three young partners from local CPA firms:  Chris Bozarth from Weiss & Company, Michelle Prosecky of Pasquesi Shepard and Tom Keenan of Mowery & Schoenfeld.  All three firms are in the $5-10M revenue range, enjoy sparkling reputations in the Chicago community and would be considered highly successful by any measure.  Highlights:

MR:  As you observe the traits of young staff at your firms, how would you describe them?

PANEL:   (1) They like to communicate electronically which unfortunately has led to (2)  Reluctance to converse with clients. However, (3) They have a lot of knowledge (4) They are always looking for ways to use technology and go paperless (5) They want a roadmap for how to get from point A to point B in their careers and (6) They thrive on reward and encouragement.

MR:  As we all do!  What were the keys to becoming a partner in your experience?

PANEL:  Getting things done, mentoring by older partners and establishing solid relationships with clients, which enabled us to win their trust as well as that of the partners.

MR:  What are some techniques used by your mentors to help you learn and grow?

PANEL:  Although we are improving at it, none of us made our mark by being a rainmaker.  But our partners did two things to help us along.  First, they understood that it’s easier to grow a book of business if you have one to begin with.  Partners delegated clients to us, allowing us to capitalize on our strong client relationship skills to develop more business with existing clients through expanded services and referrals.

Second, when clients called the senior partners and left a message, they would forward the message to us, fill us in on the details, give us some “talking points” and have us return the clients’ calls.  It didn’t take long for the clients to start calling us first.

Common thread:  the partners were proactive in helping us advance.

MR:  When did you know you were close to becoming a partner?

PANEL:   Two things:  First, we would hear that in partner meetings, the partners would sing our praises.  Second, partners kept giving us more and more clients to manage.

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