the “best” isn’t enough. “unique” is the secret ingredient.
in his new book, “leading from the edge – creating a standout, high-performing organization,” anthony zecca focuses on the type of leadership that accounting firms need to succeed in a future driven by seismic disruptors. this is the first in a series of articles that will focus on key aspects of “edge leadership” and the challenges most accounting firm leaders (all leaders for that matter) are facing today. the next article will focus on “the art of leadership – empowerment”. empowerment without accountability is like making ice without water – can’t be done.
by anthony zecca
leading from the edge
strategy: so much has been written about it and how to create it. harvard’s michael porter famously said strategy is best based on being unique, and not being the best.
more on the edge leader: is your team climbing the right wall? | how to build a standout team | competing for talent in a private-equity world | five keys to becoming a high-performing firm | assessing your firm | the 4 traits of great cpa leaders | why leaders must ensure clarity | incremental vs. exceptional success | do you lead or just manage? | managing vs. leading | is your leadership team at the edge? | 6 leadership challenges through covid and beyond | edge leaders share 7 strengths | leadership must drive culture | leading from the edge
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sounds crazy but the following quote (slightly modified) is what i think aligns with how an edge leader will think about strategy:
“strategy starts with thinking the right way about competition. many managers (leaders) compete to be “the best”—but this is a dangerous mindset that leads to a destructive, zero-sum competition that no one can win. competing to be unique, on the other hand, is the basis of a sound business strategy…”
how many firms go through the annual ritual of budgeting and partner retreats that in the end, at best, create some tactics that might improve the firm’s results incrementally? how many leaders at these firm retreats focus on tactics versus strategy? how many leaders think that developing long-term strategies (3 to 5 years) is unproductive given the challenge of thinking about the future so far down the road? finally, how many leaders, when strategy is discussed, focus on being the best versus being unique?
think about it this way. focusing on being the best, however you define that, will result in competing on being better than your competitor firms and position your firm in the crowd. focusing on being unique will create a strategy that truly separates you from the competition which creates a much stronger competitive advantage. the challenge is how can any accounting firm be truly “unique?” therein lies a key characteristic of an edge leader.
the edge leader will:
- always focus on the target client and their wants and needs,
- always focus on ensuring that their firm is client-centric,
- always ensure that what is delivered is value and not compliance,
- always ensure that every partner focuses on their client industries to create the knowledge they need to truly add value to their client’s success
- always focus on being unique
- always communicates with confidence and courage a vision that might seem impossible to partners
being unique is not about offering services that are different. it means offering and delivering services in a way that most competitors just don’t. so many firms talk about their “value proposition” and for too many it is just words on a poster, or on a website or glossy brochure. most firms and leaders miss the strategic imperative of creating a value proposition that is based on what the target client wants and needs (client-centric) versus what the firm offers (firm-centric). i guarantee if you ask your partners what the firm’s value proposition means to clients most will fumble trying to explain it. edge leaders ensure that every partner will clearly and convincingly communicate the firm’s value proposition in words that are client-centric and not firm-centric. edge leaders understand that value is in the eyes of the client. when a firm’s value proposition is based on helping the client be more successful versus how to make the firm more successful, that firm will win every time and become that sustainable, high-performing firm.
as you think about strategy and how to transform your firm into a standout, high-performing firm based on being unique, think about the following from prof. porter (slightly modified):
| focus on being the best – center leader | focus on being unique – edge leader |
| · be number one | · be value-driven |
| · focus on market share | · focus on profit |
| · serve the “best” clients with the “best services” | · meet the diverse wants and needs of your target client |
| · compete by imitation | · compete through innovation |
| · be firm-centric | · be client-centric |
the above table clearly reflects the seismic difference between a firm that is center-led versus a firm that is edge-led. it clearly reflects a firm whose strategic focus on being the best is an internal focus versus a firm whose strategic focus is on being unique – client-focused.
why do i start with strategy? simple – without a clear and transformative strategic roadmap focused on creating a firm that is unique, no firm can achieve anything other than incremental performance improvement, maybe. developing effective, transformative strategies coupled with tactics that will successfully achieve each strategy is the most basic responsibility of a firm leader. it is a responsibility that edge leaders understand as foundational to their ability to lead the firm to greatness. the quality of the strategies and the extent to which the resulting strategic plan is transformative versus incremental will without a doubt determine whether the firm will be a standout, high-performing firm and unique versus a me-to firm that struggles each year to achieve incremental performance improvement.
one of porter’s quotes on strategic planning is “the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” the options that a firm has in terms of strategies are almost unending. when most firms think about the future, most just tinker around the edges. their strategic thought process is weighed down by what has worked in the past or by trying to copy a strategy that another firm has implemented. good strategic planning is not about copying what has worked for another firm; it is about what will work for your firm – it’s not about imitation but innovation. just because a certain strategy has worked for another firm is not a reason to say yes to that strategy for your firm.
effective strategic planning is not an optional or theoretical exercise. done correctly, it will result in a roadmap to a more successful future for the firm regardless of what metric you use to measure success. an effective strategic roadmap is also not a static document, but one that changes and evolves as the future unfolds. whether your firm has 3 partners or 300 partners, the process of strategic planning will create unity and focus on a common vision and roadmap. it will result in everyone rowing the boat in the same direction versus what happens in far too many firms – individual partners rowing the boat in the direction that aligns with their vision of the future.
in the movie “armageddon,” there is a scene where the military wants to send hundreds of missiles at an earth-bound asteroid to change its course. one scientist asks them to think about what happens to a person’s hand if he puts a firecracker in his palm and it explodes. then he says think about what happens if the person closes his fist around the firecracker. the power of the explosion is magnified 1,000 times when the fist is wrapped around the firecracker. it’s the same effect with strategic planning. when a firm operates with a strong long-term strategic plan and vision, the power of each individual partner’s actions grounded in a value-based unified vision and roadmap (closed fist) will impact the firm’s results 1,000 times greater than each partner marching to his/her own drum – every time.
what makes good strategy? good strategy starts with a clear and honest assessment of where the firm is today, the good – the bad – the ugly. a deep diagnosis of the firm today through various filters (financial, client, talent, leadership, business development) is essential to ensure that you are building future strategies based on a factual picture of today. a good strategy also requires a clear future vision regarding what the firm should reflect 5 years down the road. edge leaders know you can’t build a strategy to drive the future if you don’t know what that future should look like. edge leaders know a good strategy will push the envelope to create transformative change versus what most firms do, develop strategies that are tactical and at best incremental. finally, a good strategy needs to build on the firm’s quest to be unique.
build your strategic plan following these steps:
- complete a deep and impartial diagnostic of the firm today.
- prior to the summit, the firm leader, working with the leadership team, should develop the future vision – what should the firm look like in five years (financial, target clients served, markets and industries served, community service, talent profile, services offered, among others. edge leaders understand that critical to this future vision is to clearly state, understand, and believe what will make the firm unique.
- conduct a facilitated “strategic summit” using an experienced facilitator. edge leaders will always focus on building consensus but not let the goal of consensus result in strategies that will not achieve the future vision. the summit is not just about developing strategies. edge leaders understand that a more important aspect of the summit is to build the emotional buy-in to a set of strategies that will be transformative and build on the firm’s quest to be unique. emotional buy-in is what will create the power of the “firecracker”
- focus your strategic thinking around four key strategic buckets: growth, talent, clients, leadership/organization
- end the summit with a clear and agreed-upon project management model that will focus on execution and accountability
let’s start the conversation.