The word passion comes up frequently in the context of business strategy for accounting and advisory firms.
I still remember when Jim Schiro was first elected chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers in the 1990s. During his first address to partners, he told us that “passion” was one of his three strategic initiatives for the firm. He recalled the enthusiasm of entry-level staff and stressed the importance of keeping that freshness and enthusiasm as a part of the firm’s culture, especially at the partner level.
To quote Jim’s words: “If you were born excited, stay excited; if you weren’t born excited, get excited.” This was a not-so-subtle message to the partners to live a culture of passion and cascade it to staff at all levels. It certainly worked. It’s quite a tribute to Jim that we can recall his precise words decades later.
