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 activity once and then write about it. In this episode, he talks about how he used the skills he developed in...
Mar 23, 2016•40 min
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 Toyota MR2. Jim talks about a really cool activity he’s doing every month with the staff at HBK to help...
Mar 17, 2016•41 min
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. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable because that’s when goods things happen. And most importantly, we talk ...
Mar 09, 2016•36 min
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 she started sharing her passions at work. She also brings up an excellent point that talking only abou...
Mar 02, 2016•38 min
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 Business Valuation Hall of Fame in 2010, recognizing fewer than 30 individuals whose lifetime achievements...
Feb 24, 2016•34 min
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 that he needed to practice quite a bit before taking the stage with them, which shows that you don’t have...
Feb 10, 2016•38 min
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. I talk with Caleb about how his hobby became his passion, then his work, and now his job. And the fr...
Feb 03, 2016•37 min
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 she admits to becoming an accountant "on accident". Rumbi graduated from Mount Holyoke College in M...
Jan 27, 2016•42 min
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 start his own practice, Hack Tax and Accounting Services. Stuart has a Bachelors in Mathematics and a M...
Jan 13, 2016•27 min
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 Partners, that was later merged with BKD. Donna graduated from Mississippi State University and is curre...
Dec 16, 2015•26 min
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 business valuations. He graduated from the University of Michigan and went to work at Deloitte & T...
Dec 02, 2015•40 min
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 worked in public accounting and earned her CPA. And for the last 14 years, she’s been at Burnham, workin...
Nov 25, 2015•20 min
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 dairy farm and why baking is better than cooking -- not necessarily in that order. Jason is currently a...
Nov 18, 2015•32 min
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 it or talked his way into it. Currently, Dave is the Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Kronos So...
Nov 11, 2015•40 min
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 Innovation Officer of his own firm, Blumer & Associates, CPAs. In this episode, we talk about overcoming fe...
Nov 04, 2015•32 min
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 the Ivory Coast. And when he isn't designing custom men's clothes, he's practicing martial arts or play...
Oct 28, 2015•33 min
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 he's got great perspective of both public accounting and industry. In this episode, we talk about h...
Oct 21, 2015•30 min
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 our first training at PwC, moving into the Internal Audit side shortly thereafter and how an accountin...
Oct 14, 2015•26 min
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 became a middle school teacher. Listen to the hilarious reason he left teaching and what it was about...
Oct 07, 2015•32 min
"The Dancing Accountant" dishes on how she stands out to clients Nancy McClelland loves dancing so much, when she decided to start her own firm, she called it The Dancing Accountant, LLC. She shares some great insight into how opening up to her clients about her hobby makes her seem more human and less intimidating. Being a professional 1960's Go Go Dancer was something that Nancy had always wanted to try. Shortly after a milestone birthday, she realized that it was now or never, so she began ta...
Sep 30, 2015•47 min
John Garrett introduces you to The Green Apple Podcast “Recovering CPA” John Garrett introduces you to The Green Apple Podcast. He shares his vision for the podcast and shares a little bit about himself. After graduating from Notre Dame, John started at PwC in St. Louis. He worked hard to pass the CPA Exam, get promoted to Senior Associate and even be selected to work on the firm’s largest Financial Services client. Out of all of those resume-building things, wait until you hear what a PwC Partn...
Sep 21, 2015•9 min
