Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category
Monday, July 29th, 2019
“Never believe that a few caring people cannot change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” – Margaret Mead
Currently, we are in a time of rapid growth for accounting firms. The whole merger & acquisition scene is creating firms that are becoming larger and larger and larger.
As firms get bigger, some of the personal touch culture is in danger for both the clients and the employees.
Your mission/vision says you care, you provide the best possible service for your clients and the best possible workplace for your people.
Have you lost some of that culture? Is it much more difficult to be sure that you are “keeping your word”?
If you are at the top of one of these larger organizations have you become too disconnected to know what is really going on?
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The only to really care is to have human beings who care (and give them the authority and resources to demonstrate that).
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Seth Godin
Thursday, July 25th, 2019
“Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.” – J. K. Rowling
I know, you love to sit in the stillness of your cozy office and work on tax, accounting, audit and various client matters. It’s comfortable, but don’t forget about one of your important duties as a person responsible for managing people – MBWA – Management By Walking Around.
MBWA is the habit of stopping by and simply chatting with members of your team. The theory came from Bill Hewlett and David Packard and they practiced it at their notable company.
Here are some posts I have written on this topic. Yes, I’m still urging (nagging) you to MBWA.
The MBWA 8.
MBWA for CPAs
It’s More Than A Lot Of Warm & Fuzzy Stuff
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To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.
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Doug Conant
Tuesday, July 16th, 2019
“Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.” – Teddy Roosevelt
There is a lot of complaining and what I call drama going on inside accounting firms. That’s why the quote, above, inspired this post.
Most of us have learned this one: When a team member comes to you for an answer, redirect them and ask them to come to you with the question and also with a suggested solution.
When leaders identify an issue, a challenge, an idea… they often fail to act. It is the classic failure to implement. It turns into a session of whining.
Maybe it is time to buy a sign. You can get one for $1.39.
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You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.
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Shirley Chisholm
Monday, July 15th, 2019
It happens daily in accounting firms. Younger, less experienced staff members hesitate, and even fear, to ask what they consider a dumb question.
Yet, one brave soul will often ask it and then everyone nods their head and admits that they wondered the same thing. I love people who ask the dumb question.
That’s why this quote means so much to you as you build your career in accounting:
“No one is dumb who is curious. The people who don’t ask questions remain clueless throughout their lives.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
Beginning this week, no matter how many or how few years of experience you have – be brave, ask questions.
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What makes us human, I think, is an ability to ask questions.
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Jane Goodall
Monday, July 8th, 2019
“Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.” – Laurence Sterne
I have definitely noticed that over the last five years or so, the need for giving someone your business card has decreased.
With all of the exposure, your firm gets via your webpage, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc. people know how to get in touch with you. People can Google your name and find you. That is why it is so important for ALL your contact information to be on your website. I still find it disappointing when I look for an email address of a CPA and their website discourages visitors from easily contacting people at the firm.
All that being said, I know that the majority of CPAs still carry and distribute business cards. For young people at the firm (and maybe for some older ones), there are some etiquette rules surrounding how you distribute your business card.
Here’s a great article via Fast Company – How to give out your business card without seeming like a jerk. Here are the tips (but got to the article to find out more about each tip).
- Don’t use them to impress
- Don’t rush to give your card out
- Choose the right situation
- Make sure it’s presentable
- Think about what the card says
When I was working at a firm, I encouraged our newest team members to place their business card in those goldfish bowls at restaurants so that the firm name showed through the glass!
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Civility costs nothing and buys everything.
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Mary Wortley Montagu
Friday, June 28th, 2019
“The spoken word and the written — there is an astonishing gulf between them.” – Hercule Poirot
Inside accounting firms, the team develops its own way of talking. Could it be confusing to your clients?
Emails zip out of the firm almost every minute. Have you ever been embarrassed by mistakes in spelling or grammar?
Read more here.
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Damn the subjunctive. It brings all our writers to shame.
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Mark Twain
Wednesday, June 26th, 2019
“You’re not learning anything unless you’re having the difficult conversations.” – Gwyneth Paltrow
Maybe you have already had your annual partner retreat. Did you talk about the elephant in the room?
Maybe your annual retreat is coming up soon. Will you talk about the elephant in the room?
I have been involved in and facilitated many retreats and often, as the old saying goes, it is like pulling teeth to get partners to be completely honest and talk about the elephant.
Whether you are in a partner meeting or in a performance feedback session with a team member, it can be difficult to address those elephants.
Marlene Chism has some great advice for discussing the undiscussables in her article via SmartBrief. She gives some specific, practical advice on how to:
- Get out of your head
- Get out of the story
- Own your stuff
- Set a positive intention
Read the article and begin to practice these helpful tools.
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Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
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Ambrose Bierce
Friday, June 7th, 2019
“It has been a motto of mine my whole life – just be yourself.” – Patrick Kane
Most firms have them. Many firms have them prominently displayed on their website. I am referring to the firm motto or tagline. Most are rather boring.
Read more here.
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Concentration is my motto - first honesty, then industry, then concentration.
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Andrew Carnegie
Wednesday, June 5th, 2019
“Excellence is a way of life that sustains us and inspires us day in and day out. There is no ‘long term.’ There is only the way we act when we step out into the corridor after a meeting—or, yes, the quality of your next four-line email.” – Tom Peters
The above quote from Tom Peters got me to thinking.
Firm leaders will always declare, “we provide excellent client service.” They will also tell me that excellent could be used in describing how they treat and train their employees.
Is it true at your firm?
Think about the above quote. Do you act in an excellent manner day in and day out? Do you maintain excellent behavior after a heated partner meeting? Do respond in an excellent manner when you avoid a call from an unhappy client? And, what about when you are writing an email?
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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit.
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Aristotle
Tuesday, June 4th, 2019
“Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her to solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service.” – Brian Tracy.
I have heard it repeated for years and years by accountants of all ages and genders – “I didn’t go into accounting to be a salesperson!”
Get over it. Everyone has something to sell. Sales is a fundamental skill. Selling is not pushing people to buy something they don’t want. Selling is moving somebody else to action. No matter what your role, you are continually selling yourself!
Firm leaders should not wait to introduce young accountants to marketing and sales. Teaching and including them at the very beginning of their career makes it a natural part of their career advancement.
Too many managers have told me that they didn’t realize the importance of marketing/sales until they were almost ready to become a partner.
In an accounting firm, the secret to practice development (bringing in clients) is to simply like people. People are naturally drawn to CPAs because they realize the knowledge you possess. Selling is also all about understanding what you are selling. Do your young accountants know?
Read this article via HBR – How to Improve Your Sales Skills Even If You’re Not a Salesperson by Rebecca Knight. Send a link to all you young accountants
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Keep Your Sales Pipeline Full By Prospecting Continuously. Always Have More People To See Than You Have Time To See Them.
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Brian Tracy
