Listening is secret to business development

My Great Uncle Hughes Spalding, managing partner at King & Spalding, had just hired a bright attorney, Furman Smith, but he needed to find legal work for him.

So Hughes went to lunch at the Piedmont Driving Club and listened intently. A CEO at an adjacent table was complaining about suddenly having big troubles with the IRS. Hughes leaned over: “I just hired the smartest tax attorney in the state. Hire us.”

Back at the office, Hughes grabbed the huge tax code book and dropped it on Furman’s desk. “You are now a brilliant tax attorney. Start reading.” And he did.

– Chris Schroder, The 100 Companies