Tools to Make You More Effective Enhancing effectiveness revolves around listening to employees, providing timely quality feedback, providing resources needed by the employee and giving employees a chance to shine. Several models are presented to allow an employee and the firm to enhance effectiveness including the tips from Stephen Covey’s book, management by wandering around, and the Pareto rule.
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Reduce Your Stress and Those Around You This article addresses time management, avoiding time wasters, prioritizing what is important to you, setting goals and writing them down, and looking at life holistically to help bring peace to our otherwise turbulent hectic life style.
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Not all Social Networks Are Created Equal Has your firm embraced social media? Be ready! The days of ignoring social media are long gone. Professional services firms looking to accelerate their growth need to embrace social media and dedicate the resources needed to create a strategy, implement it, and track it. In this article, the author presents research on the impact and value of social media to professional service organizations.
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The AICPA’s Accounting Inclusion Maturity Model helps organizations assess their current diversity and inclusion practices in four core areas: workforce, workplace, marketplace, and community and supplier relations. To find out more on AICPA’s tools, click: Where does your firm stand on Diversity and Inclusion?
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Demonstrate Leadership to Get Ahead Training leaders means developing a partnership between the employer and employees. This involves both bottom line and business metrics, as well as behavioral and team building skills. The issues related to soft skills such as behavioral and team-building skills are explored in depth in Mike Gregory’s book, The Servant Manager, 203 tips from the best places to work in America. This article introduces some of the concepts from this book and a corresponding video series.
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Is Zero-Base Budgeting (ZBB) making a comeback and will it stick around this time? Matt Fitzpatrick and Kyle Hawke for McKinsey, examine five key elements of success and share their tips for a new beginning. To find out more on the McKinsey and Company’s article, click: The return of zero-base budgeting.
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Conflict Resolution in the Business Valuation World Conflicts exist with clients, co-workers, and with the other side on valuation issues. Most valuation cases settle well before litigation. This article focuses on steps that can be taken to enhance your perspective and work with those you find difficult to communicate with in any setting.
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Is transitioning into the CEO position all in your head? Or are there many intricacies involved you may not have thought of? Author David McCann for CFO Publishing, looks at Gary Burnison to share his views and his compelling narrative on the topic. To find out more on the CFO’s article, click: Moving from CFO to CEO: A Half Brainer.
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Are you tired of the office? Do you pine for the day you’ll have more time to see the country? Well, Rod Burkert and his wife Amy have it figured out. Cheryl Meyer, freelance writer, interviews the Burkerts to find out how they’ve made going mobile work for them. To find out more on the Journal of Accountancy’s article, click: Going mobile.
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Recognizing How a Position-Based Perspective Limits Communication The topic of communication, diversity, and perspective may initially seem like basic common sense. However, exploring how you and others look at things through our own lenses based on personal experiences shapes how we interact with others. In this article, the author shares his views on what limits communication and what it takes to effectively communicate with others.
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Are you looking for new ways to evolve your own financial planning business? Michael Kitces, Partner and Director of Research for Pinnacle Advisory Group, discusses the innovative and inspiring ideas found in Chris Anderson’s book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price”. To find out more on the Nerd’s Eye View article, click: Freemium Pricing Models For Financial Advisors | Kitces.com.
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For those of us who spent much of our careers in the old professional services marketplace, it’s all too easy to think of our firm websites as an afterthought–something you have to have in today’s world, but not a priority. A growing body of research demonstrates, however, that this couldn’t be further from the truth. This article looks at recent research on the matter and suggests that a website may well be the most important asset of a firm.
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Will Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon continue to competitively price match, even if it’s not necessarily in the downward direction? Barb Darrow, a senior writer at Fortune, discusses cloud pricing and how the changes may affect your company. To find out more on the Fortune article, click: Surprise! The cost of cloud is about to rise.
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The Opportunity for Value Growth Services How can one differentiate oneself? Scale production or services? Whether you’re an M&A advisor, a business valuator, a CPA, a transition planner, or a turnaround consultant, you would probably be very successful if you could consistently execute this simple growth strategy. For most people, the challenges of differentiating and scaling often seem to prevent success. However, once you know the secret to differentiating, landing the highly profitable new client becomes exponentially easier. In this article, Kenneth Sanginario shares his views on how to unlock client value and unleash firm growth.
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How can your firm present different pricing options to customers, decide which pricing model is the best to use, and overcome pricing objections? Chris Baysden, for the Journal of Accountancy®, sits down with Ron Baker for this sixth in a series of Q&A sessions. To find out more on the Journal of Accountancy article, click: How to present your prices to customers.
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And How to Become One We all know their names. They’re the industry stars that headline conferences and write the definitive books in their fields. Sometimes their names are known beyond their industries and they bring acclaim to their firms. We call these individuals Visible ExpertsSM, and it has become increasingly evident that they are changing the way professional services are purchased and understood. So what benefit, if any, does a firm derive from giving Visible Experts? In this article, Hinge Marketing’s Dr. Frederiksen reveals the findings.
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Today’s competitive market helps to create the attraction and real possibility of employee mobility. James Pooley, author of Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage (Verus Press 2015), shares nine insightful tips every employer should consider and put in practice to protect themselves and their companies. Find out more on the RIA Biz article, click: Ways to ensure your firm’s secrets remain in-house when employees leave.
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The workplace is exciting and ever-changing. Think about the evolution from your parent’s jobs to yours. Landon Dowdy, Reporter for CNBC, examines how the next generation will transform it once again. Find out more on the CNBC article, click: How millennials will reshape the workplace.
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How can your firm effectively convey its value to clients? Carl Peterson, CPA, proposes three ways firms can enhance their competitive advantage for you, your firm, your clients, and your prospects. Find out more in the American Institute of CPAs® article, Three Steps to Enhancing Your Competitive Advantage.
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The Growing Importance of Social Media and Marketing Expertise Referrals are an old standard—perhaps the old standard—for growing your practice. For the better part of the last century, firms have worked under a simple assumption: do good work for your clients, network with referral sources such as attorneys and CPAs, and you will win new business through referrals. In this article, the author discusses the viability of this and emerging models.