Succession Institute, Author at CPA Trendlines

How Overachievers Can Get ‘Unstuck’

Here’s your new process.

I was looking for a process that was logical, yet would be dynamic enough to respond to life as it unfolds around us.

MORE ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: When the Inmates Are Running the Asylum | The Two Most Common Management Styles | Different Roles for Different Partners | How Big ‘Books’ Hurt Firms | Developing a Three-Year Vision [VIDEO] | More Merger Questions Than You Imagined | MPs: How to Elect Them … and Fire Them | Partners as Role Models: The Good, Bad & Ugly
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For example, when I am hired to help an organization create a strategy and then implement it, I call upon a formal process to get us from vision through execution. However, often the reason I am called in the first place is that someone or some organization realizes they are stuck.

When this is the case, I first take a look at

where they are,
what they have already done and/or attempted
and where they want to go,

and then help them see for themselves what next action will likely unstick them so they can continue moving again in the direction of their choice. The steps in this system follow a logical flow.
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MANAGEMENT

Why You Must Constantly Push Work Down

New staff won’t work the hours you did. Forget that notion right now.

By Bill Reeb and Dominic Cingoranelli

As we work with firms throughout North America, one of the most constant, critical issues we find is that of staffing gaps. Those gaps are manifested in shortfalls of billable hours, as well as shortages of people, and a lack of critical competencies of people – all at various levels throughout the firm.

MORE ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: When the Inmates Are Running the Asylum | The Two Most Common Management Styles | Different Roles for Different Partners | How Big ‘Books’ Hurt Firms | Developing a Three-Year Vision [VIDEO] | More Merger Questions Than You Imagined | MPs: How to Elect Them … and Fire Them | Partners as Role Models: The Good, Bad & Ugly
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

In these situations, we tend to find that often the partners, and sometimes the managers, are billing too many hours. Meanwhile many staff, especially at the lowest levels within the firm, consistently are missing their billable hour targets.
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FEATURED

How ‘Take What’s Given’ Works in Business

Don’t ignore the opportunities right in front of you.

By Bill Reeb

In the practice of martial arts, the concept of “take what’s given” is drilled in to teach us to respond to what our opponent is offering rather than either following some mental plan we have conjured up or overrelying on our strengths.

MORE: You Might Be Your Biggest Obstacle | From Martial Arts to Business: 5 Steps of Evolution | Expect and Embrace Failure Anytime You Do New Work | Determining Your Desires Should Be an Active Process | Know Where You Are Running To | Let Go of What You Think You Know
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When you have an unfamiliar opponent, both a mental plan and leveraging strengths require information you don’t have to dependably work. In other words, those two options presume superiority; that I know my strengths are greater or that my plan has all the necessary contingencies to appropriately react to the actions and reactions of my opponent. How could you have this level of knowledge or insight about an unknown opponent?
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FEATURED

You Might Be Your Biggest Obstacle

Self-criticism is healthy … until it isn’t.

By Bill Reeb

A couple of years ago, when I was consulting onsite with the executive team, one of the managers pulled me aside and asked me for some personal advice. She said, “I am thinking about asking to go part time because the stress of this job is really getting to me. What do you think they will say?”

MORE: From Martial Arts to Business: 5 Steps of Evolution | Learn to Work ‘Better’ Instead of ‘Harder’ | Be Realistic Regarding Expectations | A Clear Direction Provides You a Sanity Check | Refining Desire
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I told her that I thought they would be willing to do whatever she wanted. But then I added, “What are the owners or your direct boss doing to create this stress?” Here was the conversation that followed:
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FEATURED

Expect to Change Your Plan

Adjustments are not only OK, but expected.

By Bill Reeb

This sounds like an odd comment to make given the importance I have assigned to identifying your desires and creating plans and tactics to achieve them. But we aren’t focusing on Desire in this step, but rather the Work needed to achieve your desires.

MORE: From Martial Arts to Business: 5 Steps of Evolution | Learn to Work ‘Better’ Instead of ‘Harder’ | Be Realistic Regarding Expectations | A Clear Direction Provides You a Sanity Check | Refining Desire | Roadblocks from People with Good Intentions
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Desires and plans change, or we need to be flexible enough to allow them to change as we gain more knowledge, skills or experience as we do the work. In other words, you want to leverage the wisdom you gain from doing the work.
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FEATURED

From Martial Arts to Business: 5 Steps of Evolution

“While change can be risky, remaining the same can even be riskier.”

By Bill Reeb

John, my instructor, teaches us that there is a hierarchy to learning martial arts.

MORE: Learn to Work ‘Better’ Instead of ‘Harder’ | What to Stop May Be More Important Than What to Do | Stop Wishing Your Life Away | Don’t Let Inertia Determine Your Direction | Let Go of What You Think You Know
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First you learn techniques, like punching and kicking. As you gain confidence in your technique, you can jump to a higher level and incorporate interval into your self-defense toolkit.
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FEATURED

Learn to Work ‘Better’ Instead of ‘Harder’

This extends to how you use and train your people.

By Bill Reeb

Overachievers typically don’t have a problem working hard, but they often have a problem working “better.” So let’s focus on learning how to work better.

MORE: What to Stop May Be More Important Than What to Do | Expect and Embrace Failure Anytime You Do New Work | Determining Your Desires Should Be an Active Process | Know Where You Are Running To | Let Go of What You Think You Know
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Regarding any technique, know that by remaining open to learning while doing the work (letting go of what you think you know), that is where you will find the “wisdom in the work,” which can bubble up into profound thoughts and ideas that can help you work better.
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FEATURED

What to Stop May Be More Important Than What to Do

Make sure your plans are sustainable.

By Bill Reeb

As you continue doing the work, as you make progress toward your desires, much of your focus should rightfully be on “What can I do today to move me one step closer to whatever I am trying to achieve?” While “doing the work” really seems to be about actions you should take, often it is just as much – if not more – about what actions to stop.

MORE: Expect and Embrace Failure Anytime You Do New Work | Be Realistic Regarding Expectations | A Clear Direction Provides You a Sanity Check | Refining Desire | Roadblocks from People with Good Intentions
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

In martial arts, regardless of the activity, learning to use proper technique is essential.
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