Hey THRIVE Tribe Members, there has been a lot of chatter about how to meet the needs of our spouses as we move into firm ownership. They live with the consequences of our choices. Let’s bring them into the conversation!
The registration link can be found in the Events section of Yammer, or just let Jennifer know if you need it.
After an exciting first year in THRIVEal, several members recently decided to go a little deeper by joining a THRIVE Tribe. While we had all enjoyed some pretty lively discussions in the THRIVEal LinkedIn group, it became clear that we needed a better platform to be able to share files, photos, recordings of meetings, etc. We wanted to do more than just chat. We wanted more collaboration. That is where THRIVE Tribes and Yammer come in to play.
For the members that have chosen to participate at the Tribe level, access is given to our Yammer account. This is where the real magic happens. As Kevin McCoy put it, “Meeting people that are going through the same crap you are and figuring out how to deal with it – that’s worth the price of admission, in my opinion. Knowing you are not alone and having a small group supporting you in failure and celebrating successes is pretty cool.”
Now THRIVEal members can use Yammer to create events, upload recordings from their GoToMeetings, share photos, create pages that are searchable and taggable, create groups and subgroups for specific discussions topics, and really get down to the nitty gritty of helping each other become better CPAs for their clients. Joe Manzelli explains, “THRIVEal utilizing Yammer has made it easier to follow my fellow THRIVEal CPAs. Being able to share ideas in a network without any outside chatter allows for a true exchange of ideas with no judgements.The tool, Yammer, is addicting and has been a great addition to what THRIVEal has been doing.”
Each tribe has up to 10 members, including a leader, and has its own private Yammer subgroup where they can discuss the online meetings they have each month. Michael Wall is already seeing the value of being in a tribe, “Being a part of a tribe allows each of us from different regions and backgrounds to collaborate in order to enhance our professional experience and provide our clients with value to help their businesses thrive.” Carol LeBlanc agrees, “I love being able to post a question or share something on Yammer and get a quick answer or support from the group. We are so much stronger together. The generosity and knowledge in THRIVEal amazes me daily. I love having my own Tribe with a specific focus because we have our own place within Yammer where we can learn and grow together in the area we are most interested.”
THRIVEal members are free to create their own pages and interest groups for more specific discussions, and Joy Lizotte is loving it. “Members are sharing very detailed real-life information. It’s not the basic info you’d get off a website or out of a book!! I’ve read how other members are pricing, hiring, firing, what they’re reading, software and hardware to use and not use….and on and on!! It doesn’t get anymore real than this!” Magen Smith has been active in several discussions on pricing. She commented, “ I have been schooled on providing value, called out on being a wimpy pricer, and encouraged that I can do this. Yammer is my lifeline and support system for growing my firm. I could not do any of this without THRIVEal.”
One of our tribes is for those who are considering leaving employment to start their own firms. We call them Cliff Jumpers in THRIVEal because they are about to take a very scary but exciting step. Barrett Young, in the process of jumping now, said “I would not be going out on my own without such a great support net.”
Bottom line: Tribes are the heartbeat of the THRIVEal community, and Yammer is the tool we are using to achieve our why, which is to engage, empower, and encourage current or prospective CPA firm owners towards disruptive innovations, meaningful education, and deeper relationships with their customers. Wanna join us?
So the latest THRIVEcast came out just before Christmas. Did you hear it? Jason Blumer and Greg Kyte discussed the upside of customer complaints and what is means to work in a ROWE. Jason and Greg also had a fun conversation with Jay Shepherd, author of Firing at Will. Be sure to listen before the next one comes out, and don’t forget to rate us on itunes!
Thank you to The CloudSolutions Alliance for partnering with The THRIVEal +CPA Network to make the THRIVEcast happen each month! You rock!
I was talking with a banker friend the other day about how his bank manages people using analytics. They produce lists of lenders periodically ranking everyone in the bank… from top to bottom.
I remember being judged by a number. Realization rates mean everything in CPA firms. I knew it was time to disrupt our profession. And I remember our purposes being to make money. Everything was centered around the bottom line. And when the bottom line is first, customers and your staff (now called team) are second.
I challenged my banker friend not to judge his team by their “report” but to give them ultimate freedoms and then let them shine. But the bank says no to that. The bank has goals – and that is to make money, and they believe they can manage that growth by judging people with sterile reports.
So I told him to start a new bank, where profit is not the goal. Huh? Profits are a result of great businesses. They don’t have to be your mission statement.
CPA firms need to be disrupted where profit is not part of our mission statement, but simply a result of being a great firm. Banks need to be disrupted too. Higher education needs to be disrupted. Governments need to be disrupted.
Maybe your profession needs to be disrupted. What will you disrupt in 2012?
Hey THRIVEal members! You’ve been hearing about the Family Meeting for a while. Wanna know what to expect? Just watch the video of Jason and then register at the link below. See you at the Family Meeting!
Register here!
We had a blast recording the THRIVEcast with an audience in Greenville, SC! Ron Baker and Ed Kless were fantastic guests, and the energy of the THRIVEal members was incredible! Listen in to the newest episode to hear about the demoralizing effects of timesheets and the billable hour. Also hear how THRIVEal has been impacting members for the past year.
Huge thanks to our CoCreators, the CloudSolutions Alliance as well as the sponsor for this episode of the THRIVEcast, Right Networks.
Listen on iTunes or on our website.
Co-hosts Jason Blumer and Greg Kyte
Have you heard of ROWE? It stands for Results-Only Work Environment, and it is solely focused on results at your workplace, not outside influencers (like time clocks, physical location requirements for work and dress codes).
And when I say results only, I mean results only. Nothing else matters in a ROWE. For the stodgy, technically focused profession of accounting, this seems scary. “This kind of freedom leads to anarchy,” some partners might say. But the opposite is actually true.
Without knowing it, our firm implemented ROWE a while back with the following two statements made to the team at our firm:
1. I trust you,
2. Do whatever you want.
That’s it. No ifs, ands or buts. Our team is SOOOO good at what they do, all you need to do is set the expectations, describe what results look like and then get out of the way. Truly, nothing else matters.
Through out the history of work, we’ve been trained to believe that outward motivators (carrots and sticks) are what make people do what they do. But we have been confused as to what truly motivates people (see a great TED Talk video on this from Daniel Pink). People are not motivated by what you think they are motivated by. The right people (which are the only people that should work at your firm) do the right thing when given the freedom to flourish and thrive in their environments. It’s intrinsic to their nature.
Cali and Jody of CultureRx (the creators of ROWE) wrote a blog post on how implementing corporate culture changes, such as a ROWE, leads to Innovation. Which ones has your firm implemented?
Hiearchy is horizontal – management has authority over resources and strategy, but no power over people’s time.
Leadership serves – there is no ‘command and control’ leadership styles in an innovative work culture. Leaders coach, mentor and encourage their teams.
Time is powerless – a traditional work week does not exist in these environments, and time spent at work does not equate to success.
Orientation is organizational – employees can work on different projects within the same company, free to cross the organizational boundaries of the enterprise.
Results are king (no one is entitled) – status or position mean nothing, while results are everything, and the only thing.
Does this scare you? Are you a control freak? In the near future, I’ll have some videos of our team (if I can find them) tell you what ROWE has meant to them. See ya.
Did you know that I have a monthly column called “The Change Agent” in the CPA Practice Advisor? The column is focused on helping our profession see that now is the time to change so that we don’t fall into irrelevancy.
In September, I told CPAs that they can be Comfortable No More. In October, I shared 6 Key Senses to a New World of Creative Service. And in the latest edition, November 2011, I explain How Creative Service Begets Proper Pricing.
It’s time that our profession looks away from our tax returns and looks to our customers to see what it is they need, and how we can meet their deepest desires. Our customers need us – sound the alarm! Change is coming, and you can be a part of it! To get more involved in changing our great profession, go to our Membership page for more info.
After the most recent Firm of the Future Symposium, I have to digest what I’ve learned. And I have to remind myself that learning doesn’t always lead to quick change.
How do we change? We can learn a lot about how we change by noting how we DON’T change. That is, we keep doing the same things we’ve always done because we stay comfortable. Admit it – it is comfortable to keep doing the same things we’ve always done. Staying comfortable holds back the wall of innovation waiting to break through and pour on our future profession. Putting ourselves in a place of discomfort will:
1. Prove that change does not hurt, and
2. Prove that change is not quick.
After the Firm of the Future Symposium, some of our members are uninstalling their time and billing software in their firms, practicing value pricing and compiling knowledge about successes from others on value pricing. But rest assured, our journeys have only just begun. Our marketplace is not yet educated as to these methods – they are used to the way our profession has always operated. Changing our customers is going to be a difficult task too. They will not understand our methods, even after we are done practicing. So what does that mean?
It means we are not for every customer. Not everyone is going to see things the way we are going to see them. It means our sales processes will be slowed down by our intentional and strategic methods of pricing and our brand new up-front conversations.
In fact, I bet most customers will not accept your value pricing quotes until you’ve practiced a while (and you will get better each time you do it). You are changing, but so are they. We can’t forget the truth that pricing a customer towards their value is the best thing for them. Having up front conversations with them so we will know how to price them is what they need (even if they don’t know they need it). And being forced to be creative about our pricing after we uninstall our time and billing software will MAKE us focus on the customer. You will have no other choice.
As we start on our journey, let’s encourage each other that the Firm of the Future where we are creative and price strategically up front must always take us back to our beliefs – that this is best for us, it is best for our customers and it is best for the future of our profession!
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