here’s what you’re looking for: steven sacks

what sets you apart … if anything?

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

your firm conducts audits, prepares tax returns and offers some consulting services. yours is one of 42,000 non-big 4 firms in this country, a large majority of which offer the same three packages. firms in the same geographic market may not serve the same slate of industries, but through hiring niche expertise or merging in a firm can make inroads into the same markets.

more: deadlines? ha! don’t make me laugh | 5 steps to better time management | swot’s the purpose? | is your firm’s culture a magnet or a repellent? | building teamwork under covid pressure | make your writing count | etiquette never goes out of style | make news, not noise | take that extra breath with email
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this happens frequently, making a competitive market even more crowded. the challenge that your firm faces is how do you show a real value-added distinction from the firms you compete against? differentiation does not mean a relaxed dress-code policy.
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being “too busy” may signal a need to reprioritize.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

some firms encourage expanding workloads, creating questionable tasks or keeping people occupied under the pretense that their actual activities provide real value. what is the meaning of busy, really? and how are outcomes from efforts measured for value?

more: a rapidly changing business environment requires flexibility | organizational change starts and ends with people | busyness isn’t the same as productivity | staff orientation: a little investment goes a long way | managing information overload | 6 types of non-listeners
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

part of the illusion of being busy is that you can master many things at the same time. it certainly would keep you busy (or occupied) but you won’t nurture new skills and discover what your real aptitude is to help yourself and/or your firm.
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what is your firm’s social contract?

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

you read about companies every day: those that separate themselves from the competition by disrupting the norms and those that remain steadfast, much to their detriment. for the former, think about amazon, uber, netflix and other “change agents.” now, think about the latter: jcpenney, kmart and sears.

more: swot’s the purpose? | another meeting?!?! … sigh | organizational trust: top-down and bottom-up | how can change management really produce change? | trust: one building block of success
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as the late chairman and ceo of intel, andy grove said, “success breeds complacency. complacency breeds failure. only the paranoid survive.”
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don’t just go through the motions.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

cpa firms that seek to position themselves for the future must be brutally honest and self-aware. they might normally start with a top-down or bottom-up analysis of their operations. one tool that has been around forever is the swot analysis.

more: another meeting?!?! … sigh | busyness isn’t the same as productivity | staff orientation: a little investment goes a long way | managing information overload | 6 types of non-listeners
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

swot stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. there are benefits to this tool because it serves as a motivator to examine a situation (e.g., operational, cultural, financial), assess core competencies and capabilities, identify the need to (and key drivers of) change and enable – if conducted correctly – an organizational cross-section of input and insight.
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if they’re necessary, so be it. but set some guidelines.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

when in doubt, call a meeting. jeez! how many hours in the u.s. are cumulatively wasted on a daily basis with meetings? are they really necessary?

more: busyness isn’t the same as productivity | is your firm’s culture a magnet or a repellent? | building teamwork under covid pressure | make your writing count | etiquette never goes out of style | make news, not noise | take that extra breath with email | effective communications in the age of covid |the new covid-19 workplace: are you prepared?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if yes, do you employ rules of courtesy, such as strongly encouraging punctuality? do you have a clearly articulated agenda that was distributed in advance of the meeting? if yes, did it provide advance notice about any preparatory work or research expected to be done by the participants? finally, will the meeting be structured in such a way that it will allow for participation by the complete group?
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do you really need to go to that meeting?

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

did you ever notice when you call an associate, a friend or a business of any type, more often than not he or she will always respond with “i’m really busy” or “i’ve been jammed up”? it does not matter the time of the year, much less the time of week or day.

more: is your firm’s culture a magnet or a repellent? | organizational trust: top-down and bottom-up | how can change management really produce change? | trust: one building block of success | make your presentations memorable | have a real-life conversation | is your message open to interpretation?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

has busy become too colloquial and is simply a throwaway line? what is actually meant by “busy”? or, more specifically, what is the condition of “busyness”?
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