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Dream, Believe, Dare, Do 241

businesses, but clients who could pay their bills were considered “good clients.”
In 2001, Jim Turley let it be known that the rules of engagement were going
to change at E & Y.
Not long after the “People First” philosophy was rolled out, Jim was
speaking to a group of managers and senior managers. He asked them, “Please
be totally honest. How many of you work for clients you do not like?” Seeing
a large number of hands raised in response, he then asked, “Leave your hand
up if the client is highly profitable.” Most of the hands went down. Jim then
asked those who had initially raised their hands to raise them again. Finally,
Jim said, “Leave your hand up if this client you dislike is good for your per-
sonal growth and development.” Once again, to Jim’s surprise, most of the
hands went down.
Over the years, David Maister (former professor at Harvard Business
School, now a consultant to professional services firms) has conducted similar
studies with his own clients. David first gives his audience three categories to
classify how they feel about their work: Category One is, “I love this stuff.”
Category Two is, “I can tolerate it, but that’s why they call it work.” Category
Three is, “How the hell did I end up doing this junk?” According to David, the
results are consistent all over the world: 20 percent say they love their work; 60
to 70 percent say they can tolerate their work; and 10 to 20 percent say what
they do is junk. David then gives his audience three categories to classify how
they feel about their clients: Category One is, “I really like these people. I enjoy
serving them.” Category Two is, “I can tolerate them. I give them good service,
but there is no real difference between today’s client and tomorrow’s client.”
Category Three is, “These people are idiots that work in a boring industry.”
David reports that the results of this question are similar to the first. About
20 percent love their clients; 60 to 70 percent can tolerate them; and 10 to 20
percent cannot stand them. When David asks his audience if they think clients
can sense these feelings, the answer is always a resounding “Yes!”
After coming to a similar conclusion, Jim Turley wondered, “Why
should we keep doing business with clients we don’t like, who are not very
profitable, and do not provide an opportunity for our people to grow? At the
end of the day, we don’t want to be thought of as being in the audit, tax, or
corporate finance business. We want to be thought of as being in the busi-
ness of developing résumés, skills, and careers for all the people that come
90
through the firm.”
Once again, like the rest of the leaders of our featured organizations,
Jim dared to challenge conventional wisdom. He wasn’t trying to create the