new environment, new ideas.
by ed mendlowitz
managing an accounting practice, the complete 2-volume set – 202 questions and answers, the 650-page encyclopedia of practice management
q: is there any value to a retreat?
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a: absolutely! retreats are very important to reconnect with your partners and reassert why you are in business and what you hope to accomplish, in addition to making a living and not having to work for a boss who isn’t as good or nice as you are.
i had retreats with my partners in various forms. we went to out-of-town hotels; had full-day off-site meetings; spent a day strolling on a college campus; and traveled to aicpa conferences in las vegas, disney world, new orleans and similar fun places.
variously, we prepared agendas in advance, “negotiated” agendas before we started or discussed ideas as they seemed to arise. one time, peter and i spent three hours in a parked car in a shopping center where i went to buy some new magic tricks after leaving the hard rock café in orlando and we formulated the ideas that became the partners’ network. another time we spent a day walking from the tip of manhattan up to madison square garden, stopping along the way to pop in at clients’ offices, and came up with the quickbooks consulting service that has provided us with more than a few hundred thousand dollars of business. and one time, after spending a day in a local hotel room, peter, frank and i came up with some ideas that increased realization 5%, directly adding to our bottom line. going back to the early 1980s, my partners, sy siegel and paul rich, and i, and our key managers came up with a method of exciting our staff that increased productivity and decreased turnover.
retreats work and i highly recommend them.
partners’ retreats are an excellent way to take some time to reflect, plan, strategize and assess your practice. actually, it should be more appropriately called a partners’ advance!