Get on the Rollercoaster

Written by Hunter Stevens, RSM Intern

Six interns recently had a chance to go “Behind the Cs” and sit down with RSM US LLPs top executives to talk about the accounting industry, RSM’s culture, career advice and much more. Read on to see what Hunter Stevens took away from spending an hour with COO Bill Gorman. 

Bill Gorman (Left) and Hunter Stevens (Right)

Bill Gorman, RSM chief operating officer, told a story about the pit in your stomach that you get before you go on a rollercoaster; that moment when you think, “Am I really about to do this”? Coincidently, this is the exact feeling I had going into a meeting with Bill himself. However, Bill’s advice was this: get on the rollercoaster because if you don’t you’ll never get to feel that excitement. He was right.

As nerve-wracking as it was meeting the COO, I left the meeting not only with an idea about his responsibilities, but also knowledge about important life lessons. The most significant thing that I noticed about Bill was that every question was answered with advice on how to better ourselves and help others. Every time, the answer came back to relationships and bettering yourself, and not being self-focused. In fact, the three biggest pieces of advice that he gave us were:

1. Be a great teammate

2. Be intentional about getting to know other people’s points of view

3. Be authentic

Bill doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. When I asked Bill what the most exciting part about being COO was, my expectation was that he would say something along the lines of, “getting to manage people” or “developing and implementing strategy” or something of the like. Instead he said, “This.” Bill’s authenticity and eagerness to help interns figure out the beginning of their careers made his advice all the more valuable. Not only did he believe these things, he lived these things, and that makes all the difference.

It reminded me about RSM’s emphasis on being not only client-focused, but also employee-focused. Bill was a prime example of how RSM puts value into caring for others, both clients and employees. However, the authenticity of the conversation made it clear that this wasn’t just an act, it’s who Bill is and, in turn, what the firm emulates. I came to realize that what we learn at work shouldn’t be that much different from what we learn at home. The values that Bill described to us were built on this: relationships. What we do should be focused on building relationships with others and understanding other’s points of view, be it your boss, your colleague, your family or your dog.

In my meeting with RSM’s COO, I was able to not only get advice on how to be successful and the best books to read, but advice on how to live. I am sure glad I got on the rollercoaster.