High Biller

From time to time, an associate will walk into your office and proclaim some great billable achievement (e.g., “I just billed a hundred hour week.”, “I billed 350 last month.”, “I spent the night in my office.”).  These high billers are either looking for a moment of commiseration or for an acknowledgment that they are a high achiever.  You will be best served to proactively end these conversations immediately so you don’t have to engage in some drawn out pity party or feel like you have to make disingenuous compliments.  One good way to do this is to respond with a highly personal statement about yourself when the high biller makes their opening move, whether or not true.  The conversation might go like this. High biller - “I just billed a 100-hour week.” Your immediate response -  “Hey, what do you think this weird rash is?”