15
Make It So
Mary Ellen Rodgers is a star. A superstar.
She is the corporate responsibility officer for Deloitte. Before that, she was managing partner for U.S. field operations. Deloitte is the second largest among the Big Four public accounting firms.
Mary Ellen is a member of the firm's exclusive Operating Committee. In 2012, she was named among the most influential women in the nation.
In her previous position, she headed the Western Michigan office in Grand Rapids. She was one of only three women in the firm's hundred-year history to head a major office. Often, the best man for a job is a woman!
This will give you an idea of Mary Ellen's effectiveness. As the head of a major office, she tripled revenue in just seven years. That should get your attention!
I'm sitting with her and talking about her work. I particularly want to know how she develops the client relationships that have managed to so greatly increase her revenue.
“Sometimes,” she tells me, “it can take a long time to develop a relationship to its best. It takes persistence. At times, it's more a marathon than a sprint.
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. Often, a strong relationship is persistence meeting opportunity.”
Then she tells me an amazing story.
It's all about patiently developing a very important relationship. It proves that unwavering determination can ignite glowing results.
“I worked for five years cultivating and developing a relationship with a huge potential client,” she tells me. ...
