Firm Management
What Accounting Firms Can Learn from Justice Antonin Scalia
I mourn the loss of Justice Scalia. I had great respect for him because he was brilliant, witty and articulate, even though I disagreed with many of his opinions. The tone of that sentence probably made a lot you say: “Aha, Marc’s a liberal, so of ...
Feb. 24, 2016
I’m writing this post in the most spectacular library I’ve ever seen, the Library of Congress’ Main Reading Room in Washington, DC, just four days after the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, who spent 30 years in the building next door, The Supreme Court. The poignancy is striking.
The egregious behavior on both sides of the aisle over the appointment of Scalia’s successor began a few scant hours after the poor man died and days before his burial. It’s emblematic of the appalling, politics-at-its worst polarization of our government, not dissimilar to partner groups I’ve worked with.
My intent here is to be as non-political as can be, something I’ve attempted before and according to some of you, failed miserably at. But I’m a glutton for punishment.
I mourn the loss of Justice Scalia. I had great respect for him because he was brilliant, witty and articulate, even though I disagreed with many of his opinions. The tone of that sentence probably made a lot you say: “Aha, Marc’s a liberal, so of course he disagreed with Scalia’s opinions.” Sorry folks, you’re dead wrong. I’m neither liberal nor conservative, but that’s a discussion for another time.
One of the most touching tributes I’ve ever read were Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s comments on the passing of her long time close friend. Better examples of two total opposites getting along you’ll never find – the outspoken liberal Ginsburg and the arch-conservative Scalia. The close relationship actually predates their time together on the Supreme Court. I’d like to share some of Ginsburg’s comments, taken from an NPR online story. It is supreme testimony that people can passionately disagree but still work well together, respect and genuinely care for each other.
“We were different but we were one. Different in our interpretation of written texts, one in our reverence for the Constitution and the institution we serve. From our years together, we were best buddies. We disagreed now and then, but when I wrote for the Court and received Scalia’s dissent, the opinion ultimately released was notably better than my initial draft. Justice Scalia nailed all the weak spots and gave me just what I needed to strengthen the majority opinion. He was eminently quotable, his pungent opinions so clearly stated that his words never slipped from the reader’s grasp.”
NPR went on to state: “The respect that Ginsburg’s statement shows for Scalia’s intellect – that she could trust him to point out flaws in her arguments…shows the difference between a genuine agreement of principle and an error that needed to be corrected. But more importantly, it shows that it’s okay for people in politics to spend time cultivating other interests and that those can be a genuine basis for friendship. This is worth celebrating.”
A year or so ago, I attended a rare interview of Scalia and Ginsburg. Their friendship was obvious that night. Said NPR’s long time Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg: “There were a lot of laughs. They really did a lot of jokes at each others’ expense and also to compliment each other.” Ginsburg talked about her famous nodding off (her head was totally sloped down) at the President’s State of the Union address a year ago. She had vowed not to have wine with dinner that night. But she said the dinner was so delicious it needed wine to accompany it.”
Scalia quipped, “That’s the first intelligent thing you’ve done.”
I don’t want to get all preachy here, but I hope that partner groups can learn a lesson from the Scalia-Ginsburg relationship. Despite their differences, CPA firm partners need to work together for the good of the firm. At times it may appear hopeless, but it can be done.
Justice Scalia, you will be missed.
Why can’t we just get along? As the unlikely friendship between Justices Scalia and Ginsburg illustrates, colleagues with opposing viewpoints not only can but must find common ground for the good of the institution they serve. Our monograph Effective Partner Relations and Communications offers solutions to partner groups mired in conflict.
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Marc Rosenberg is a nationally known consultant, author and speaker on CPA firm management, strategy and partner issues. President of his own Chicago-based consulting firm, The Rosenberg Associates, he is founder of the most authoritative annual survey of mid-sized CPA firm performance statistics in the country, The Rosenberg Survey. He has consulted with hundreds of firms throughout his 20+ year consulting career. He shares his expertise regularly on The Marc Rosenberg Blog.