beBetter 

So I’m running late to make it to the office for a cherished face-to-face meeting (I’m a little zoomed out, how about you?).

Entering the garage, our third garage door is open. Hmmm, I know I came out last night and hit the buttons to put all three doors down. Yet, there it is, wide open. Something must be too close to the sensor at the bottom of the door.

We see it every day — automation, implemented well, reduces the amount of compliance work we perform.

We experience it every day — fierce competition from outside our profession pursuing our clients. 

We feel it every day — the market for professional services is demanding and opening the door for “higher-value services.”

A recent beBetter blog, Price is Rarely the Issue, generated some interesting comments and thoughts. One that really caught my attention was from a HORNE team member in Tennessee, David Friedt. David shared a humorous story about how a car salesman was attempting to make a car distinctive with some of the features.  

I’m so excited to be headed back to my camp just north of Vicksburg, MS, close to Eagle Lake and inside the Mississippi River levee. What a special place to enjoy God’s creation and the beauty of all the nature around us. 

This week, let’s continue our look back, this time revisiting what got our attention in the middle of the pandemic. 2020 may not have been what we planned. It certainly wasn’t what any of us wanted. But the lessons learned were pivotal and maybe just what we needed to set us on a better path ahead.

When the weather starts to get cold, heaters crank up and I spend time at deer camp where the water is hard and my skin begins to get dry. After five days at camp over Thanksgiving, I’m worn out and headed to bed early. Last thing I do is put some lotion on to help my skin because I know CeCe will ask.

A few weeks ago, we discussed the importance of getting off-road more to see and find our clients new and changing needs. In essence, doing many things that we haven’t done before. It requires us to get muddy, get a scratch or two and even assess what we are driving as a firm. Are we getting off-road enough?

We are still experiencing the waves of disruption caused by the hard trend of baby boomer retirements. Companies and firms are feeling the void as they watch the mass exodus of knowledge, wisdom and experience walk out the front door into retirement. This baby boomer hard trend, as all hard trends do, provides us opportunities also. Besides the opportunities for so many team members to step up in roles and grow exponentially, we have the opportunity to listen and learn as these valuable team members hang up their cleats.

As we watched the first two episodes of the new season of Yellowstone, you could hear a pin drop. Season three ended on a cliffhanger with multiple lives hanging in the balance and finally, it was time to get some answers. I’m not going to ruin it for those of you who haven’t caught up yet. But if you haven’t seen this series, my advice is to start at the beginning and turn off social media. 

CeCe and I have signed up with a group of friends for an outdoor excursion that involves riding in all-terrain army vehicles, hiking and some mountain top sightseeing. Unfortunately, it has been raining cats and dogs for three days. We meet for lunch together before heading to the excursion and our conversations turn to the rain.

I’ve just finished lunch with my partner and good friend before he leaves for a week-long Disney trip with his family. He shared some of the activities they had planned and how some things had changed due to COVID. It sounded exciting for someone who loves Disney. (Not me, but my grandkids are anxiously waiting). I know I’m going again, but I’m holding out for fewer restrictions and for the younger ones to get a little taller. Hey, if you have to go, go when you can knock it all out — rides and kids!

Last week, we had just cleaned up the duck eggs from our front yard when one egg exploded filled the air with a stench that nearly brought me to my knees. After hosing the sidewalk down, I ran into the house to get away from this smell that was continuing to make me gag.  

We have been excited the last few weeks watching a mallard hen nesting in our front yard rose bush. She has three eggs but we have not seen her on the nest in over a week. So this afternoon, we are checking one final time to confirm she has abandoned her nest. We were looking forward to seeing the little ducklings make their way back to the lake but it does not appear it will happen this year.