Archive for the ‘Partner topics’ Category
Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020
“Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before.” – Franz Kafka
I have seen it many, many times. You have seen it inside your own firm. Certain people simply opt-out of learning new processes, procedures and new technology. They do things the way they have always done them.
I used to recommend that you ignore them, work around them and take the majority of your people forward. Don’t let one person sink the whole ship. I don’t want you to make it easy for these non-compliant people. If they can’t keep up, don’t make another person do the work for them.
This often happens with older partners and especially with owners who have supposedly retired but continue to work at the firm. They will definitely have difficulty keeping up with the firm technology and usually expect an admin person or some other staff to “take care of them.”
All this came to mind because of a recent tweet by my good friend, Dustin Hostetler (@Flowtivity). Here’s his tweet and I agree!
Firms are not maximizing their technology investment until all team members are embracing the technology. Having workarounds for certain individuals because they don’t know how to use it (or won’t learn) to perform their function of the process holds everyone back.
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The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today!
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Nolan Bushnell
Monday, January 20th, 2020
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs
It is very difficult to find and hire talented accountants and administrative personnel. Accounting firms have been struggling for years with this topic and it only seems to be getting more challenging. So, once you do hire a qualified person, how do you keep them?
I recently read a good article via HBR titled, Why People Quit Their Jobs.
In the CPA profession, we have heard for years that the reason people leave their jobs is the fact that they have a poor manager (boss).
Research now tells us that there is more to it than just a bad manager. Technology has enabled companies to better track reasons people leave jobs. A lot of it is personal reasons. Another interesting aspect is that large companies are tracking what employees are doing that might indicate they are unhappy with their current job like how much time they spend on LinkedIn.
It seems that comparing themselves to their peer group – both business peers and personal friends causes people to consider their current job status.
Take a few minutes to read the article, I think you will find it helpful in your quest to retain top talent.
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Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions and a healthy dose of curiosity. What do you think is the most important factor when building your team? For us, it’s personality.
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Richard Branson
Wednesday, January 15th, 2020
“Some heroes save the day. Other heroes keep the day from needing to be saved.” – from a Mark Sanborn tweet
When I read the above quote, I thought of CPA firm administrators. They are the unsung heroes inside so many successful and profitable accounting firms.
Top-notch firm administrators/practice managers keep the wheels turning, eliminate the hurdles and often “take a bullet” for the sake of the firm and the team.
The best part is, as noted in the above quotation, they keep the day from needing to be saved.
How much are you investing in your “Save the Day” person? Are you spending money to send them to the right conferences? Are you, as partners, standing firmly behind them as they take those daily bullets? Are you investing in their professional growth by providing a coach?
A successful firm administrator shields the partners from the daily grind.
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Stones in the road? I save every single one, and one day I'll build a castle.
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Fernando Pesssoa
Thursday, December 12th, 2019
“Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” – Ronald Reagan
Some of your team members are not meeting expectations. Some are downright disruptive.
You have been unhappy with them for a long time, usually years. A new employee could easily cover their workload and often at a much lower pay rate. Yet, you do not deal with the situation.
The unhappy employee continues to inject poison into your culture. When asked, they willingly explain that they are not happy with firm leadership but they stay because they love the work, love the clients and the firm needs them.
The real reason they stay – they make too much money to quit. With their performance and work history, they could not easily find another job that pays as well.
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The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said. The art of reading between the lines is a lifelong quest of the wise.
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Shannon L. Alder
Monday, December 9th, 2019
“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.” – John Wooden
Everyone is hiring. It used to be a seasonal event for accounting firms. Now, progressive firms have adopted a plan for continuous hiring. Firms are growing and it is important to hire before you have to.
My questions for accounting firms (and some things for you to consider):
Do you have a rigorous focus on professional development? Maybe this is why there is so much worry about succession. Why not be more generous with education dollars for your younger staff. Of course, you must give them technical training but don’t forget about the “success skills” (formerly known as soft skills) if you want them to become business advisors earlier in their careers.
Have you attracted and retained the smartest people? Young people are drawn to public accounting because they appreciate being able to work with smart, successful, creative, and hard-working people. Do the majority of your people fit this description? Do you keep too many mediocre performers?
Do your young all-stars have vast opportunities? Or, do they have to wait ten years to become a manager?
Do you reward your best performers with salaries beyond being competitive? Or, do you try to get by with the minimum of just keeping pace with average firms?
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Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.
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Bill Gates
Wednesday, November 27th, 2019
“The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill
Don’t you love to hear those three little words?
Sure you do, everyone wants to hear “I love you.” I hope you hear them and say them daily. But wait, that’s not the “three little words” I’m talking about.
The three little words I’m referring to are three you do not want to hear. You probably hide from them and deny them.
I hear the following comment often from CPA firm managing partners, “We don’t have a succession plan. There is just no one at our firm who can take over from me and do what I do.” I ask them, “Whose fault is that?” And, the answer is three little words – Baby It’s You.
If you are the managing partner at a firm (or a sole proprietor), you are in charge. The future of the firm is in your hands.
- If your people are not good managers, relationship builders or passionate about the firm
- If your managers are not coaching less experienced team members
- If your team spends too much time on the web and social media for personal reasons during the day
- If they put too much time in a job because they don’t have a budget
- If they make you cringe some days because of the way they are dressed
The responsibility for all of these kinds of issues comes back to the leader – Baby, it’s you.
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The task of the leader is to gt his people from where they are to where they have not been.
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Henry Kissinger
Thursday, November 21st, 2019
“The truest wisdom is a resolute determination.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
CPAs have been immersed in the process of succession planning for years.
As the Baby Boomers have aged and retired succession planning for firms took on a whole new life. How will the firm survive without me? Who will take over my client relationships? And, the continuing statement made by retiring partners, “We don’t have anyone who can replace me!”
When I hear that statement I always ask, “Whose fault is that?”
As you approach succession planning, I am sure you are making sure that your successors have all the experience and technical knowledge that public accounting demands. But, they need more.
According to Bruce Tulgan, a writer specializing in management training and generational diversity in the workforce, “One of the hardest things about succession planning is what I refer to as ‘wisdom transfer’—passing on institutional knowledge and soft skills to new leaders. How are you tackling wisdom transfer in your organization?”
What are you, as a firm and as individual senior partners, doing to be sure that you are making that “wisdom transfer” to the next generation of firm leaders?
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Foolishness is a twin sister of wisdom.
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Witold Gombrowicz
Monday, November 18th, 2019
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford
Beware of the age-old behavior that kids use – They want something and they ask their mother. Then, if Mom vetoes the activity, they go behind her back and ask their father (without telling him they already asked Mom). Maybe, just maybe, Dad will say yes and they are very happy and proceed to move ahead.
This occurs in accounting firms. An employee wants to do something a certain way. The partner on the project says, “No, do it according to the firm procedures.” The employee seeks out a different partner, perhaps one they work for more often, and whines about having to do the client project a certain way when they can do it faster “the old way.” The second partner, not wanting to get into a big discussion, just says “Do it however you think is best.”
Owners should be united in many ways even in how work is processed. Of course, they should discuss the processes, modify if necessary but then commit to the processes they helped establish.
Partner unity (in all things) is important in becoming a one-firm firm rather than a group sole-practitioners under one roof. I call those firms silo firms. You can be a silo firm and make decent money but don’t call yourself a one-firm firm if you really aren’t one.
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Individual commitment to a group effort--that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
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Vince Lombardi
Tuesday, November 12th, 2019
“Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities.” – Terry Josephson
If you are part of a smaller firm, with one owner or two partners and are reading this blog – my answer is a resounding YES!
Just because you don’t have a multi-partner firm doesn’t mean you should not devote a special time and place for strategic planning. Try involving your entire team in the planning session. When I have facilitated these types of planning sessions, the employees contribute an amazing amount of relevant ideas and suggestions.
Sole practitioners who include their entire team in sculpting the firm’s future are making a positive difference for their firms. I believe it is a tactic that smaller firms should embrace wholeheartedly. It’s not too late to have this type of session in December or early January. It could even be a half-day event with a follow-up session in late April.
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Take a chance! All life is a chance. A person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.
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Dale Carnegie
Monday, November 11th, 2019
“Influence means your behaviors matter. The people around you – to some degree – reflect you.” – Dan Rockwell, Leadership Freak
If you are a partner in the firm and it bothers you when people are not punctual yet, you often come into the office late, others think it is okay.
If you are the manager on a review engagement and because you are experienced, you cut a corner or two, others think it is okay.
If you are at the Senior level in a firm and you are not completely accurate and punctual recording your time on jobs, others think it is okay.
If you are the firm administrator and you occasionally take an extended lunch hour for no particular reason, others think it is okay.
No matter what your title, your peers and others observe what you do and are influenced by your actions. What you do and the behaviors you adopt make a difference – you are an influencer.
You can also strive to be a GOOD example. That also influences others.
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Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.
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Albert Schweitzer
