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What's Your "And"?

John Garrett’s research involves talking with professionals who realize that who you are is so much more than what you do. Accountants, consultants, lawyers, engineers, and other professionals everywhere are doing hobbies and passions after they leave the office. We discuss why these outside-of-work interests matter and how they've impacted their career.
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What's Your "And"?
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Now displaying: September, 2016
Sep 28, 2016

Shortly after starting at Hodges-Mace, one of the salespeople told Ron Shah that he’s “not the typical CFO” simply because he brought his personality to work with him. In the same way that he does in the office, Ron brings his personality to being the play-by-play announcer at his son’s high school football games. So much so, by his third game, people were noticing how much fun he was having in the booth.

In this episode, we talk about how Ron’s sharing stories about his play-by-play calls or other stories about his family, it humanizes him in such a way that makes him approachable. This allows everyone around him to feel comfortable and develop trust, which is the first key to engagement. By getting others to talk about their passions, it creates an energy in the office that’s infectious. Ron encourages everyone to “rip the band-aid off” and just share a little bit with a client or coworker — you’ll be amazed at the interest level and how others will gravitate toward you.

Ron Shah joined Hodges-Mace in October 2011 as the Chief Financial & Operations Officer.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Babson College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia.

Sep 21, 2016

At the age of 22, Vinh Giang decided not fulfill the Asian prophecy and become an accountant, so he took a slightly different path and pursued a career as a magician. Since then he’s won multiple awards for magic shows, he’s a successful international keynote speaker and runs a video production company in Australia called Luminary. Being a magician, speaker, and a director all have one thing in common – Storytelling. And that’s his greatest passion in life.

In this episode, we talk about how everyone in the office first found out he did magic and how bringing that to the office brought a breath of fresh air to an otherwise dull environment. And Vinh discusses how he hated work because he realized his "work self" was different than his "real self", so he was so relieved to be able to bring some of that to work and make it more fun. We also talk about how professionals should be more like performers, having opening and closing jokes or stories that break down the barriers professionalism has built.

Vinh Giang is the CEO and Director at Luminary Productions and an International Keynote Speaker, using magic to deliver his message. Prior to that, he worked at a small accounting firm in Adelaide, Australia.

He studied accounting at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

Sep 14, 2016

If someone were to ask where Joseph Rugger was right now, you’re best guess would be one of our glorious National Parks. He’s been to almost all of them, from Acadia in Maine to the White Sands in New Mexico –driving his Prius all over the country. He created a bucket list of places he’d like to visit all over the world and is quickly checking them off as he does his CFO work virtually.

In this episode, we talked about how we get most of our enjoyment from non-work time, so talking about those things in the office only enhances our jobs. We also talked about how leaders should take the time to genuinely get to know their staff. Using forced programs as the only time to do so is not authentic and doesn’t develop any connections. A good rule Joseph uses is to double the question to statement ratio to open a dialogue and build those relationships.

Joseph Rugger is the CFO of Jonesboro Prosthetic and Orthotic Laboratory and a Continuing Education Instructor with the AICPA. He was the 2011 Arkansas Outstanding Emerging CPA Award Winner and a member of the 2013 AICPA Leadership Academy.

He graduated from Lyon College with a BS Accounting, BS Finance, and BA Economics while being an active member of the baseball team. He later received his Master’s of Professional Accounting from IUPUI.

Sep 6, 2016

Greg Papineau takes service to a whole new level, especially now that he’s a Deacon in the Catholic Church. He was first called to this in 2000 as a chaperone on his son’s World Youth Day visit to the Vatican. Since then, he’s been ordained and in his words, can “marry, bury and baptize”. And, oh yeah, he also happens to be the 1989 Colorado State Champion Cyclist.

In this episode, we talk about how the word “Deacon” is derived from a Greek word meaning “servant”. Greg is always thinking how he can be even more service oriented and also develop a personal interest in clients and coworkers. This leads to a cycling group that meets in the warmer months and team meetings starting where the new staff members tell everyone a little bit about their life outside of work.

Greg Papineau works as the Director of Audit & Assurance for BiggsKofford, PC. He’s also the lead for the Firm’s Physician Group Services and Non-profit Services. Prior to joining BiggsKofford, he was a Controller in the banking industry after spending a few years at a different public accounting firm.

He has a Bachelor of Science, Accounting from Central Washington University.

Sep 1, 2016

Amy Cooper loves Auburn football. And she loves teaching accounting at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Combining the two has let her give the most important lesson — professionals can be successful while also sharing their passions at work. There isn’t a student in her Fall Semester classes that doesn’t know who Auburn is playing the next weekend.

In this episode, we talk about the public perception of accounting versus reality and how that skews people’s behavior, including that of accountants. When Amy sees these college students, they are all unique with different hobbies and passions. Amy is working hard to encourage this from her students even after they begin working full-time and “professionalism” creeps in.

Amy Cooper is an Accounting Instructor at the Universit of Alaska Fairbanks. Prior to that, she worked at a few public accounting firms in Washington and Alaska.

She has a BS in Accounting & French from Birmingham-Southern College and a Master of Professional Accounting in Taxation from the University of Washington.

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