Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Samuel Brice Hall is the director of investor relations at Piedmont Private Equity, LLC. He has managed the company’s tax mitigation and conservation strategy project teams since 2011. He also manages communications among third-party advisors, investors, and other professionals at Piedmont. Before joining Piedmont, Samuel Brice Hall worked part-time as a controller at Chuck G. Fabrication. He gained experience as a controller with Pinnacle Properties, LLC, in Charlotte, and The Noisette Company, LLC. From 2000 to 2004, he served as the senior accountant in the audit department at Pratt-Thomas, Gumb, and Company. In addition to accounting and tax mitigation, he possesses professional experience in solar energy farms, land trusts, and long-term investment strategies.
Mr. Hall earned a master of science in accounting from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is a member of the Atlanta chapter of the UNC Alumni Club and community organizations such as the Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
6:00 AM – 8:00 AM: Personal Routine & Preparation
• Morning routine (coffee, exercise, reading, planning)
• Review daily KPIs and overnight updates
• Scan financial news and market updates
I use this time for uninterrupted thinking and high-level planning — before emails or calls hijack my day. My overall key to productivity is managing client and team expectations and prioritizing tasks to avoid simply answering email correspondence or Slack messages all day.
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Team Check-ins & Strategy, Client Focus
• Daily check in with team
• Review performance metrics, client pipelines, and operational issues
• Tackle and/or assign high-priority tasks
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Client-Focused Work
• Virtual client meetings or strategy sessions
• Responding to key client communications
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Break / Recharge: Lunch Away from Screens
1:00 PM – 4:30 PM: Business Development, Admin, Plan
• Prioritize and delegate administrative work
• Tackle or delegate high priority client requests
• Review business development initiatives, schedule meetings, etc.
• Plan for the next day
How do you bring ideas to life?
I begin by making a simple framework. Think about the resources that could be collaboratively useful…technology, colleagues, personal relationships. Share the idea with those resources and refine based on the feedback.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Remote work is something that very much excites me. We all know the obvious benefits: cost savings, increased productivity, access to a global talent pool, and time flexibility. But more personally for me, before the pandemic, I spent an hour in traffic every day to commute less than 5 miles to an office where I spent nearly 12 hours each day running a private equity firm. I now walk down the hall from the master bedroom to my home office and manage a global accounting services firm that is just as successful. No road rage. No expensive client meals. No drycleaning bills. And I haven’t missed a single soccer game for my nephews in 3 years. Remote work has given me a life balance I never even thought possible.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
To Do Lists. I have been a list maker for as long as I have been able to write. To do lists for everything from groceries and social planning to client and company priorities help me to balance my entrepreneurial endeavors with my desire to continue be a thoughtful son, brother, uncle, partner, friend with a well maintained household.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Everybody makes mistakes. Don’t replay your mistakes on a constant loop. Learn from them. Make it right. Move on.
And…answer the phone every time your beloved grandmother calls you. Visit her more often than she asks. You won’t always have her ear and her heart to listen and love you.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
Regardless of the situation, social or professional, familiar or foreign, a gentleman always pays the bill. No matter what. And, a gentleman always stands when a lady enters or leaves a room or sits down/gets up from a table or bar. Nearly everyone I know laughs when I do this.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Lead with kindness and mind your manners. If you curse or raise your voice, you have already lost.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Generally one or both of the following: Sequester myself on one of my porches, preferably the upper reading porch off of the master bedroom and read several passages from a hard copy volume of Edna St. Vincent Millay poems or a beloved novel.
Call my best friend of 35 years who lives 3 miles away and is a professional psychotherapist and invite him over for a cocktail and calming discourse.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Communicate clearly and often. Do not be afraid to be vulnerable. It is my firm belief that assumptions adversely affect relationships much more so than honesty ever could.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Early in my career I thought being a strong leader meant doing it all. As my responsibilities grew, I hit decision and task fatigue and ended up being a bottleneck and jeopardizing growth. I have learned that delegation isn’t weakness, it’s leadership. Surround yourself with the right colleagues and give them ownership and yourself, freedom.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
I use Slack for messaging with my entire team. I have set up channels for specific clients or financial teams and it allows us to answer each other’s questions more efficiently without filling up our in-boxes with email communications.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird has been my favorite novel since I was 14. I have reread it nearly 10 times and have always gotten something new each time. Scout (the daughter of Atticus Finch the protagonist) learns a life lesson about prejudice being taught instead of biological. But it’s her awakening about the true nature of their neighbor Arthur “Boo” Radley that gets me every time. I can quote her end of novel speech about Boo saving her and her brother’s life.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I have always been a bit anachronistic when it comes to movies. Turner Classic Movies is a staple in my home. Out of Africa has been my favorite movie since I was a teenager. I watched it last week when Robert Redford, another of one of my heroes, passed away. Out of Africa…it’s not just the stunning cinematography or the sweeping score or the beautiful cast and their love story and what that eventually costs them…it’s more about Karin Blixin (Meryl Streep) and her journey and resilience that resonate with me. I have always wanted to go and was lucky enough to journey to Africa for 3 weeks in 2018…complete with a week on safari.
Key learnings
- Be a curious life-long learner. Seek growth through media, experience, and others.
- Value deep relationships and don’t take loved ones and time with them for granted.
- Make mistakes. Own them. And use them as fuel to become stronger.