Marcus was offered a partnership in his firm in October.
Not a junior partnership, a full equity stake. The senior partner who had founded the firm twenty years ago was beginning to think about succession, and Marcus was his choice. It was the thing Marcus had been working toward for most of his professional life.
He came home with the offer and told me before he had an opinion about it, which was new. The old Marcus would have formed a position first and then disclosed the situation in a way that left less room for my perspective. This Marcus sat down at the kitchen table and said, "I need to tell you something and then I need you to think with me, not just listen."
"Tell me," I said.
He told me about the offer. The equity stake. The increased responsibility. The change in his schedul
