Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
TERMINOLOGY, PERSISTENCE AND PARTNERS
Sometimes I feel like a broken record.
Since most of you haven’t “heard” a record in a very long time and many of you have NEVER heard one, I might not be using the right terminology. How about, sometimes I feel like a CD with a scratch or I feel like a faulty iPod? It all means the same thing: I keep saying the same thing over and over and over and over again.
- FIRE CLIENTS who suck up more of your time trying to collect than they do with helping their business.
- Outplace poor performers more QUICKLY.
- Update your website so that visitors see timely information that is of IMMEDIATE value.
- Put partner performance and accountability under the MICROSCOPE.
- Make it a WIN-WIN for partners who have retired-in-place to exit gracefully.
- Spend money on continually educating your people – client service, internal management and administrative team member. It’s called CPE. Don’t forget the CONTINUING part.
- Become a MARKETING organization that provides accounting and tax services.
- Hire a firm administrator/COO who can help the firm MAKE MORE MONEY.
- Critically assess your PROCESSES.
- ENFORCE the guidelines, rules and adherence to the processes OR don’t bother wasting all the time it takes to establish them.
- EMBRACE change, marketing, technology, social media…..
- Figure out how your firm can be UNIQUE, different from your competition.
As I heard yesterday from an internal manager at a firm, “Rita, how do you get THEM to DO THINGS? Why don’t they GET IT?”
That’s where the broken record comment comes into play. I get these, and very similar questions, OVER and OVER and OVER.
My reply is always the same – be PERSISTENT, DON’T GIVE UP, KEEP BEATING THE DRUM, TAKE BABY STEPS, IDENTIFY THE OWNERS WHO DO GET IT AND STRONGLY, YET GENTLY, MOVE THEM FORWARD.
Partners: YOUR internal management team (firm administrator, office manager, HR, IT, Training and marketing managers) should be doing this; pushing you forward. Are they?
“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” – - Warren Buffett
I'll try to keep beating that drum!
Speaking of records, loved the picture of you with Elvis on CPA Trendlines!
http://cpatrendlines.com/2010/04/20/whos-that-with-elvis/
I think today you would say set to repeat the track. That’s good, if the message is worthwhile. Fortunately, these ideas are.
I once heard a CPA say that he disliked the word practice, when it was describing his firm. He went on to say that he worked hard building a business. He was playing for keep, not practicing.
What you are describing are steps business leaders make on a regular basis. Most CPAs know this, and they often advise others on how to improve their businesses. The great paradox is that many CPAs neglect to treat their firms the same way. It might seem to some that they are “practicing” at business.
From now on, it’s make a plan, work the plan and set t he tracks to repeat.
[...] of allowing me to become a resource to you and your firm. There is still time to take action and embrace change before the end of the year. You simply have to DO [...]
[...] You have several valuable weeks to identify and act upon changes that will make your firm glow with vibrant color once 2011 rolls around. Re-read this post from July, you still have time to make changes. It takes persistence. [...]