When I look back at my time as an employee, before I ran my own practice, before I was speaking in stadiums and calling the shots, I remember two kinds of people: the good ones and the bad ones. And truthfully, most fell in that first category. I always tried to be the good fellow employee. I treated people with respect, did my work, and showed up. I wasn’t perfect, but I never tried to hurt anyone. I wasn’t there to step on necks or play office politics, I just wanted to do the work, do it well, and maybe, at the end of the day, earn the respect that comes from that.
But some people? They had a different playbook.
I can’t get one moment out of my head, even all these years later. I was a law clerk at Bernkopf Goodman. I wasn’t even in the deep end yet—still learning, still finding my footing. And there were these two partners talking. From where I was sitting, I was convinced they were goofing on me. Whispering, chuckling, glancing in my direction. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe it wasn’t. But when you’re the young guy in a rigid pecking order, it’s hard not to feel like you’re the punchline.
And here’s the twist: those partners? They didn’t last. The firm no longer needed their services at a certain point. Why? Because they weren’t bringing it in, as they say. They weren’t producing. You can coast on bravado for only so long in this business before the numbers catch up with you. And when they did, the snickering stopped.
I never wish bad on people like that. Honestly, I don’t have the energy for grudges. But I’ve lived long enough to see how this all plays out. The bullies, the snarkers, the ladder-climbers who step on others to rise, they always get their comeuppance. Maybe not on your schedule, but it happens. Because in the long game, talent, integrity, and consistency always win out. The quiet people doing the work eventually pass the loud ones making the noise.
That’s one of the small comforts I take from those years. That and the knowledge that I didn’t have to burn anyone down to get ahead. I stood up for myself when I had to, and maybe that rubbed some the wrong way. But I’d rather be remembered for being decent than being a shark.
So, to those still grinding it out in the office trenches, keep your head up. Do the work. Treat people right. And when you feel like someone’s mocking you or trying to make you feel small, remember this: time has a funny way of revealing people’s true value.
It all works out in the end. It really does.
