job #1: setting direction.
by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
how to engage partners in the firm’s future
there are many reasons why too many managing partners fail to truly engage their partners, especially as no managing partner we know ever sets out to fail. 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 →
four checklists for thinking through the process, picking the right candidate and making it work.
by august aquila
creating the effective partnership
it seems that you can’t pick up a newspaper today without reading about a merger of national, regional or local firms.
if you are a partner in a cpa firm that is contemplating a merger, you are about to enter into an extremely risky venture. this article will help you to lessen your risk and give you a better chance of having a successful merger. read more →
dealing with dysfunctional partners: the six-step process.
by august aquila
creating the effective partnership
as much as you would like to, you cannot ignore them; nor can you accept them as they are. doing that would be unfaithful to your core principles and ultimately cause more harm to the firm than any one of them is worth.
that leaves us with three options: rehabilitate them, fire them or place them outside of the firm. but first, be sure it’s not you.
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 →
four quick fixes and a magic bullet.
by august aquila
the fact of the situation is that too much time is wasted in meetings that don’t accomplish anything. we meet, we talk and we leave. no one takes minutes, there is no follow-up and we are all glad that another meeting is over. don’t get me wrong; i am not a meeting basher. a meeting can be an effective way to make sure you are on course to achieve firm and departmental objectives and use your “bully pulpit power” as the managing partner. 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 →
six guesses. only one right answer.
by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg survey
of the 45,000 cpa firms in the u.s., an elite group of these firms, referred to as the top 100 (in terms of annual revenues), is publicized by several media groups. what do they have in common? what are they doing right? read more →
reading a lot of magazines keeps thinking fresh.
by ed mendlowitz
“tax season opportunity guide“
question: why do you read so many magazines that have nothing to do with accounting? i noticed this from your blogs and references you make in your speeches.
answer: i read a lot because i like to, and because i view it as part of my job of bringing ideas to clients to help them in their businesses and because i am always looking for ideas to help my business grow. ideas are not specific to an industry. read more →
by robert j. lees
and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
as much as a firm’s performance is driven by partner engagement, partner engagement is driven by performance goals. our research shows that when partners’ performance goals – individually, as a team or department – are misaligned with the firm’s strategic initiatives, the firm will suffer.
we see this too often in multilocation, multinational firms where what’s important in one location isn’t in another and, as a result, it’s downplayed in favor of local priorities. unfortunately, though, it’s the whole firm that suffers, not just the initial location. 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 →
and 12 elements essential for success.
by marc rosenberg
rosenberg map survey
there are many ways to improve profitability in most cpa firms. but there are only four, time and time again, that have the highest impact: