​We all think this, but we are afraid to say it. Right? Come on. You know I am right! Didn't you immediately have someone in mind when you saw the title? Yeah, of course you did. Leaders get worn out by the negative nellies. I mean, really, how do the NNs of the world make it through life? At work, at school, at church, wherever you are they exist. They are the bane of my existence. What was it the Apostle Paul said, the thorn in my flesh? Yeah, I am sure that is part of his concern.

The temperature isn't right. The music is too loud. The music isn't loud enough. The free food you provide is terrible (it is FREE food!!). Geez. Seriously? Are your Life Glasses dirty? I just wonder what glasses people view the world through. Dirty glasses?

What I know is this, people will find the worst in situations, no matter how much better it is than anywhere else they could go. People are so happy with their compensation, UNTIL, they find out what everyone else makes. 
You must resist human nature to find what is wrong about the people around you. Anyone can find the problem! Can you identify the solution? THAT is what matters.

​Leaders seem to sometimes think that they have carte blanche to say whatever they want, whenever they want. I call this “DQ Syndrome” or DQS. DQ for drama queen. Admittedly so, it is hard to not respond to the drama you may be faced with. As a recovering DQS guy, I find myself caught up in the drama. The great thing is that I have partners and a wife to keep me straight. As I interact with upcoming partners and leaders, I see (and experience) certain traits that need so much attention, so much so that I thought I would write about it.

You Must Have A Filter
Seriously. Why is it that upcoming leaders think they can say whatever they want, whenever they want? What, now you are suddenly God? Here is my advice. Shut UP. Please. As a new leader or partner, you do not now have this newly discovered pass to say whatever you want. In fact, you have to be MORE careful about what you say and how you say it.

Silence is Golden.

​Are you a business owner? Chances are you can’t sell, you can’t market and you are not so great at client service. You really are great at WHATEVER your technical expertise is. Right? It is what got you here! But you want to get to the next level and all you know is your training. You’ve achieved some level of success, so why can’t you do all of these things to get to the NEXT level?  Take a lesson from my profession.

A statistic from PH Media group reaffirmed a belief I have long held. CPAs are terrible at client service. Yes, we stink at it. We have convinced ourselves that we don't, but in general, by the standards of other industries and professions, we do.

PHM found, in a survey of 2,234 people, that only 24% percent of of American consumers are satisfied with the way accounting firms handle their phone calls! That means 76% of our clients are NOT happy with us on the phone.  Not exactly breaking news if you ask me, but affirmation of what I have always believed.

Ok, this one will get all of the experts riled up. But I am just going to say it. 9 out of 10 partners I talk to really do not even understand the difference between marketing and business development. I am not going to take the time to explain the difference, except to say that if you do not know the difference, it has to be hard to actually do real marketing.  This applies to ANY business. A few quick thoughts:

• Networking is overrated. Yes, I said it. Spend more time writing and less time networking, your marketing ROI goes up.  Don't abandon networking, change your time allocation. 
• Advertising is not marketing. If you don't have effective inbound digital marketing, advertising isn't going to help.
• Pay Per Click, just not that effective. Paid SEO, it could ruin you. Just write! Be an expert and be patient.  A lesson I learned the hard way. 

​That's right. CPAs can't sell. If you happen to be a CPA who actually CAN sell, I will tell you what a mentor of mine told me....."You just happened to go to college and get the WRONG degree".  Wow, Allan Koltin, you are right! Why do we keep pressing on these square pegs? 

Partners in our firm don't have to sell. That's right, they don't. Why would I ask our best revenue producers to sell? I believe they should do what they are best at, solving problems, providing ideas and getting results for our clients. It is in fact what went to college for isn't it? Tax? Audit? Accounting? 
How many people in other organizations, industries or professions expect the people with the industry and technical knowledge to split that time between selling and generating revenue? Look at them. They have professional sales teams with true sales resources and practices. What do CPAs do? Take their best CPA and make him or her a salesperson.  

I saw a statistic today from PH Media group that reaffirmed a belief I have long held. CPAs are terrible at client service. Yes, we stink at it. We have convinced ourselves that we don't, but in general, by the standards of other industries and professions, we do. 

PHM found, in a survey of 2,234 people, that only 24% percent of of American consumers are satisfied with the way accounting firms handle their phone calls! That means 76% of our clients are NOT happy with us on the phone.  Not exactly breaking news if you ask me, but affirmation of what I have always believed. 

Here is my philosophy. You put the right people on the right task.
As a CPA, I didn't select this profession because I was outgoing, personable or a people person.  Some would even say that I am still not. :-) I was the quiet, shy, nerdy kid that made all A's and was a math wiz. Hence, accounting was my choice. Right?