Insights and Ideas

Are you putting growth efforts on the back burner - or pausing them completely - due to capacity concerns? While having the time and resources to effectively complete the current workload and deliver exceptional client service and experience is important, not looking past today can be detrimental.

No is an uncomfortable word for most people. The simple little word can conjure the worst feelings of failure, rejection, and disappointment. But it may not be the horrible response we make it out to be. How do you handle no?

From initial due diligence to post-merger integration, it’s hard to know what will work for you. How can I help you identify if an M&A is best for your firm?

Not to decide is to decide. How can I help you find clarity to make a decision and move your firm forward?

How are you supposed to focus on the essential things you must do today and focus on the future? Does your ongoing to-do list stress you out to where you have difficulty focusing on the things you must do today?

It’s time to move past being reactive to meet the constant change and return to being proactive in your strategy, and it all starts with your retreat.

Survey benchmarks provide a window into what other firms are – or are not – doing, which can provide a foundation to build or adjust your strategy and refocus your efforts. However, evaluating the results at face value is only part of the equation for success.

There’s no denying the past 18 months have been rough, as any generational-defining situation is. But the profession rose to the demand as leaders during the crisis, and you responded with innovation. Don’t get comfortable! Keep the ideas coming and continue pushing forward.

Now is a great time to take a step back and assess how you are doing. And there are benefits to doing that alongside another person who can help – as an accountability partner, a strategic thinker, or a sounding board.

There are many reasons to embrace trusting the next generation’s ability to take on the succession challenge. There really aren’t good reasons to delay.

What causes me to scratch my head sometimes is how long we’ll keep people we say we don’t “trust.” So in reality, it’s likely not a lack of trust from an integrity standpoint, it’s more likely we either haven’t trained or empowered them to own the work.

Whether you asked for the call, established yourself as a candidate, someone recommended you, or you simply were out of the room and drew the short straw, you can now have a significant impact on your firm.

More than 75% of CEOs agree great results are best supported by accountability. However, the same group also identified the most significant challenge is to create and sustain a culture with accountability at its core.

The emerging mental health issue that developed during the pandemic has dominated headlines, but the underlying concern is pure fatigue and burnout. It’s been an issue in the accounting and advisory profession for years, yet the pandemic has forced firm leaders to address it head-on.

Optimism has been difficult for many professionals to find during the COVID-19 pandemic. For leaders, it’s been paramount to support their team and keep them focused on coming out on the other end stronger than ever.

When was the last time you thought about your firm’s culture and performance metrics in the same conversation? Do these two areas normally go hand-in-hand for you, or do you see culture as a human resource issue and metrics as a management issue?

If I were to walk into your firm and ask your partners to share with me the firm’s strategy for growth, culture, performance, or succession, how consistent would the answers be? My experience informs me that where the answers are consistent there is a remarkable correlation with success at multiple levels. The converse is true, where the answers are inconsistent, performance generally lags. Quite simply, partner/owner alignment on key goals is essential for success.

It’s not unusual to meet a new managing partner who was chosen to lead but didn’t necessarily “look” for the job. They don’t doubt their skills as a CPA, rather they wonder if they’re in the right position to effect change and how they should do it. I call them reluctant leaders. Reluctance is not unwillingness – it simply means the leader doesn’t see themselves as the “typical” CPA firm leader. But sometimes, atypical is just what a firm needs.