beBetter 

I turn 64 today! Yes, today is my birthday and as an introvert, I normally tell no one it’s my birthday. So odd how differently people react to this day. Many shout it out from the rooftops and we should as each one is a precious gift from God. When you are entering the fourth quarter, you tend to reflect more on things, you realize the clock might be running even faster than you think as we never know if we will get to the fourth quarter or how long we get to play.

Jumping into the car with CeCe, we are running a quick errand to pick up some plants for her gardening. Like her late father Poppy, CeCe is a master gardener and we have the yard to prove it. Beautiful!

Capturing the beauty and power of this storm so closely is a bucket list experience. Now, it’s certainly not something I have listed on my bucket list, yet as I experience this with CeCe with the wind rushing all around us, lightening beginning to pop in the near distance, it is an experience of awe and beauty. Scary, but beautiful, is the best way I can describe it. 

The beach is one of the places that restores my energy and creativity.  

Thanks to some great friends’ hospitality, CeCe and I have enjoyed the beautiful ocean views on 30A near Seagrove Beach, Florida, this year. I decided to work virtually and gaze out of the den to a beautiful white sandy beach and clear ocean waves.

CeCe and I have spent a lot of time at home together with the COVID-19 shelter in place orders, as I am sure you have with your family. So when the Governor opened up the restaurants for 50% dining capacity, we were the first in line at our favorite spot. It was delightful, and we reflected on how much we had taken this privilege for granted when we were able to go whenever we wanted.

“Pull the trigger, Davis!” We chime in at the shooting range with my grandson Davis, who was nine at the time. As you probably know, we’re a hunting family, and the day before this happened, Davis had passed on a nice 8-point buck because he was frozen by the thought of the recoil even though he has successfully shot this gun before. His rifle is loud, but not deafening, and a great youth gun to learn gun safety with because of the size and limited recoil. So his dad, Brandon, and I took him to the shooting range trying to get him comfortable shooting again.

“Oh, a meeting with a bunch of number crunchers,” is ringing in my ears as I look into the eyes of this complete stranger who has taken the liberty of labeling our profession.

It’s the AICPA Major Firms Group meeting in Laguna Niguel, California, and we had just finished our afternoon session and I was briskly walking back to my room when I bumped into this beautiful family in the hallway.

Popcorn is a favorite snack at our house. Pro tip: drop in a few M&Ms right after popping—delicious! CeCe, who hates to cook, has grown to love this snack, too, and one day a few weeks ago, she ambitiously decided to pop herself a nice fluffy bag of popcorn. She stuck the package in the microwave, hit the popcorn button and left the room as she usually does when "cooking."

We’ve already pulled back the curtain on trends and opportunities to innovate by visiting strategies of Top 100 CPA firms as well as industry thought leaders. Now, let’s pull back the curtain on what appears to be the primary growth strategy for large firms and certainly for our profession. As we will soon see, there will be no surprises behind this curtain but we may be surprised at the opportunities and challenges hidden behind this strategy. 

I often hear team members refer to a star performer as having the “IT” factor or expressing the desire to be personally known for excellence. What stands between us and excellence or being one of the star players is DELIBERATE PRACTICE.

People ask me, “Joey, aren’t you scared of this massive fast-moving change and exponential technology transformation?” The quick answer is YES, absolutely! I really think a professional would have to be in denial to not be afraid of what is in front of us. It reminds me of the first time I jumped on a big street bike.

A few months ago at HORNE’s State of the Firm, we discovered together that most of us are swimming, wading, tiptoeing or running through the swamp of despair since we took a new direction in response to the transformation we see around us. We reviewed this insightful graphic, “The Emotional Journey of Creating Anything Great,” and each of us identified where we were on our journey. It was not pretty, big change never is.

Ever notice the trend when we are faced with stagnation, less relevance, stiffer competition or slow growth—we’re quick to default to a “more is better” approach. An approach based on beliefs that bigger means being relevant and brings certainty for future growth. If we were bigger, more companies would choose us so we would have more growth. If we do more of any of our services, our relevance will grow also. These beliefs or approaches might be a very slippery slope that could land us at the bottom of a swamp infested with other non-distinctive commodities.