three outlooks from our exclusive expert council: pipe, dobek, grundy.
by martin bissett
passport to partnership
what does communication mean at the partner level?
more: four surprising keys to communication | four reasons people struggle with communication | why firm culture matters for partners | three things that rich accountants do | four reasons it’s hard to sell | eight questions to hold yourself accountable | win your first client: yourself | 10 questions for reconsidering your prices
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ask yourself and answer these questions when considering the current and future communication tactics that you’ll employ.
- if i were my client, boss, peer or subordinate, how would i want to be communicated with by me?
- what areas of my firm’s communication can i improve quickly?
- i need to understand that it does not matter how i think i’m coming across. i need to understand how the person i’m communicating with thinks i’m coming across.
the expert council
here’s what a number of experts exclusively interviewed for this project had to say about communication in cpa firms.
what would be your advice to senior managers wanting to develop their communication abilities?
“technology will change the picture as it has been doing for some time. for example, many believe that in the future we will be able to run our businesses from our mobile devices.
“remember, much of what used to feature in the role of an accountant doesn’t now. for example, i spent most of my early career reading over between two sets of wordperfect accounts and carrying the comptometer machines around – all of which is anathema to today’s profession.
“so we need to make sure that we spend our time providing what computers will never be able to provide – the trusted relationship to clients and colleagues alike. we need to keep the promises we make and keep them brilliantly.” – steve pipe, founder of the added value network
“your people are your biggest asset in an accounting firm. firms that are investing in their people and spending the time to train and develop them in non-technical areas, like marketing and sales, management and leadership, are going to far surpass firms that can’t address this. they will not only grow, but be able to remain independent.” – sarah johnson dobek, inovautus consulting
“although most firms won’t admit it, communication can be an issue internally because partners consciously and actively keep what it takes to join their ranks as a bit of a secret. this can be from a sense of self-preservation (some partners feel challenged, or even threatened, by up-and-coming managers) but mainly because the enthusiasm and drive that you need to find out what is needed to become a partner is much the same as what you need to be successful as a partner, so it’s a self-proving ‘test.’” – david grundy, fundingstore.com