Accounting for Life

Link to a moving tale of the life and death of Eugene O'Kelly, CEO of one of the "Big 4" accountancy firms.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8123-2083997_1,00.html

Having trained as an accountant myself I have heard all the jokes, but this man achieved a rare combination- professional success followed by a real undestanding of life.

The irony is that understanding of life is only reached in the face of death. The unanswered question is did his devotion to career delay his understanding of life ? As someone given to cynism about "careers" as distinct from "lives", I actually don't believe he wasted his life. He achieved what he wanted to do and then at the end understood more than many others ever do.
If he had been a professor of philosophy, a cafe waiter or sold souvenirs on the beach he may or may not have gained this understanding earlier or not at all.

But business and life do differ in one way- there's no accounting for life.

RIP Eugene O'Kelly