the main categories of information for internal communications and management. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 while the substance of information varies from firm to firm, there are 10 categories that cannot go unconsidered:
what successful managing partners do
by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
how to engage partners in the future
the problem is that in the majority of cpa firms there is no clarity around what being a managing partner actually entails and, specifically, what managing partners should do to create and sustain their partners’ commitment to actively participating in delivering the firm’s future.
our research involving in-depth interviews with 150 managing partners at the world’s leading firms identified that the truly successful managing partners share three key activities: read more →
plus: 4 keys to tie pay to performance.
by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
how to engage partners in the future
partners are the culture in a professional service firm – what they believe, what they reward, what they do and how they do it determines what and how things get done. partners are the owners – they, and they alone, are responsible for the firm’s vision and its implementation.
being a leader means each partner must: read more →
nine reasonable entitlements and 15 misconceptions, bad ideas and outright abuses.
it’s a privilege to be a partner in a cpa firm. not an entitlement. too many partnerships seem to operate as if they had it the other way around. and, in most cases, those partnerships don’t usually make the best cpa firms. marc rosenberg has seen his share of dysfunctional firms. they are no better nor no worse than the people who run them. get these 24 points of partner roles and responsibilities correct and your firm could find a renewal in spirit and in growth.
and the eight ways to give core values real business value.
by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
how to engage partners in the firm’s future
when we talk about having a compelling vision, we don’t just mean the simple, well-crafted statement you find in a lot of firms.
for a vision to be compelling, for it to persuade the partners that they want to play an active part in making it a reality, a vision must have four elements: read more →
nine questions to test your mettle.
by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
not every cpa firm can be the market leader. but every firm can strive to be the best at everything they do. read more →
how the best managing partners gain commitment.
by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
in the very best firms, the partners debate the options and, while it is incredibly rare for every partner to agree with every single aspect of the vision and strategy, the partners agree to line up behind the ultimate decisions. read more →
finding the perfect compensation system
by robert j. lees
and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
a critical element in keeping partners engaged is having a compensation system that rewards them for doing the right things. every compensation plan should be constructed to help the firm enhance its ability to service clients, achieve its strategic goals and attract, reward and retain the right people. if a firm’s plan does not accomplish these objectives, it needs to be restructured. read more →
goals alone won’t won’t get you there.
by robert j. lees
and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
many leaders believe that people remain focused and committed to their performance goals if the goals are clear and compelling. however, that’s not our experience with accounting firms.
according to franklin covey’s “the 4 disciplines of execution: achieving your wildly important goals,” team engagement and accountability are necessary to maintain commitment to goals and we are firmly in this camp. read more →
monthly meetings may be the solution.
by ed mendlowitz
“tax season opportunity guide“
question: there seems to be disagreement among our partners on important issues in running our practice and we never seem to have time to discuss it or work things out. we are a three-partner firm with 15 employees and no one is designated as managing partner.
answer: a suggestion is to have monthly partner meetings out of the office and an annual retreat. both of these have been covered previously but i will add some new ideas here. read more →
define measures of success and timesheets.
by robert j. lees
and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
current thinking suggests that people who focus on a few key goals have a greater chance of achieving or surpassing their goals and all of our work confirms this is true.
in our research into what truly successful managing partners do, one of the things the successful managing partners do that differentiates them from their peers is to focus their partners’ efforts on the firm’s key deliverables as a way of avoiding dissipation of energy and a loss of momentum. read more →
plus: four more success drivers.
by robert j. lees
and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
so how do top accounting firms ensure their people operate cohesively and consistently in a highly networked organization?
the answer, in addition to ensuring they are engaged with the firm’s vision and want to play an active part in its delivery, is through an all-pervading set of values.
every successful firm we know has a set of values that are part of the firm’s dna. they drive people’s actions and help them to make the “right” decision should there ever be any doubt about which action to take.
but there are at least four more elements that distinguish the world’s leading professional services firms. read more →
which is greater: the firm or the individual?
by robert j. lees
and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
the lifeblood of any firm is its ability to bring in new, profitable clients or expand the work it does for its existing clients. so bringing in new business is an essential element of the successful firms we’ve studied.
of course, not all partners are effective operating in an environment where they have no pre-existing relationships, whereas some find it easy. the key for any firm is to use its resources where they will achieve the best return rather than expect everyone to be good at everything.
regardless of which environment they operate best in, every partner must bring in new profitable business that enables the firm to grow and develop – and, critically, provides security of tenure for the firm’s people.
but truly great firms also have partners who make a habit of three more behaviors:
read more →