The five people who most influenced my career were, in chronological order, Mabel O’Brien, Randy Manning, Don Beach, Ed Marchant, and David Matheson.
MABEL O’BRIEN
My formal schooling consisted of just eight years in a three-room schoolhouse in Morell, P.E.I. (I skipped Grades 3 and 6). Throughout those eight years Mabel O’Brien was the principal and was my teacher for Grades 8, 9 and 10. (Grades 11 and 12 were not taught in Morell at that time.)
As a teacher she inspired me to learn, made homework enjoyable and going to school something to look forward to every day. As a principal she was tough but fair, as illustrated by the following anecdote.
In Grade 7 we had been assigned topics about which we had to write an essay. I don’t recall my topic, but I remember working hard on it. We passed in our papers during a week when we had a substitute teacher – an arrogant ass from Charlottetown who clearly resented being sent out to what he considered the boondocks to teach students he clearly considered unworthy of his talent. After having marked the essays, he was handing them back by calling our names and having us go up to his desk to collect them. When my turn came he decided to make an editorial comment and said, “This is very good, Lyman. Who wrote it for you?” I replied, “I’m glad you liked it. Who read it to you?” At recess he marched me into Mabel’s room and insisted I be punished for impudence. Mabel asked why. When he told her she said, “You deserved that rebuke.” And the matter was closed.
On my first day at school Mabel called me aside and told me to remember that I was just as good as everyone else there, and then added, “and so is everybody else.” For eight years she encouraged me, challenged me, and admonished me when I slacked off. On my last day of school she again called me aside and told me that my future success, or lack thereof, would depend more on what I thought about myself than on what other people thought about me. And her influence didn’t end there. She continued to offer valuable advice over the years, both in person when I was home on vacation and in letters she occasionally wrote to me.
The most important advice she gave me was when I was eighteen years old and she urged me to take the Dale Carnegie Course, an experience that has had an enormously positive impact on all aspects of my life.
RANDY MANNING
Because without his support I would never have become a CPA, it was Randy Manning who had the greatest influence on my career. In 1961, as president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of PEI, he allowed me to take the course even though I didn’t have the requisite high school diploma to qualify.
DON BEACH
Don’s major influence was suggesting I rejoin him at MacDonald Currie (now PWC) after I had left the firm to take a job at IBM. He was also instrumental in Anne Murray becoming my most famous client. Although Don was perfectly capable of looking after Anne’s affairs, he preferred dealing with corporate clients and introduced her to me.
ED MARCHANT
I met Ed Marchant the first day I worked at MacDonald Currie and we quickly learned we had three important things in common. We had both played Senior “A” hockey in the Maritimes, Ed for the Sydney Millionaires and I for the Charlottetown Royals (although Ed played ten years before I did). We had both obtained our CPA designations without the benefit of a university education. And finally, we both had hockey-playing clients. I had Glenn Hall, and Ed had Bobby and Dennis Hull. Even though Ed was as avid a hockey fan as I was, he turned the Hulls over to me and I eventually had fifty-four NHL players as clients. Ed, like Don Beach, was more interested in doing corporate work.
Ed immediately took me under his wing and always gave me sound advice, whether I wanted it or not. Although his hatred of meetings was legendary, he taught me how to effectively chair and participate in them. He also taught me most of what I know about negotiation, a skill that often came in handy throughout my career. It was Ed who told me that in any new environment the first thing to do is find out who can be trusted; an incredibly important piece of advice.
DAVID MATHESON
Toronto corporate lawyer David Matheson and I have been friends for almost sixty years, and throughout that time we’ve had many mutual clients. As with the other four people mentioned here, David has always been a source of valuable advice. But his most important influence on my career was urging me to join the accounting firm Touche Ross (now Deloitte) and introducing me to their managing partner, Ron Strange. I spent sixteen challenging and enjoyable years as a partner with Touche.