Speaker: Too Many CPAs Are Too Busy to Think Long Term About Careers
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But, of course, all this requires time and, as he said before, many CPAs are too busy being busy to develop their careers. If CPAs really don't have the time to develop themselves, he said that carving out this time is the first challenge. Find time, he said, whether at night or weekends or during the day, to plan and develop that expertise.
He also noted, however, that it's not just technical expertise that should be developed. He said that his own firm, every year, goes to large public accounting firms and asks to interview their highest performers in order to find out what makes them tick. Time and time again, he said, what makes people the best isn't just technical abilities but soft skills. These, he said, are what make the difference between good and great.
The highest performers at firms tend to be good at building relationships, he said, and in fact make active efforts to deepen them. He explained that they're able to convert customer relationships (where they just perform a service) to client relationships (where they know about their client's business and how best to meet its needs) to, finally, what he called cheerleader relationships (where they know not just their client's business but also their client's family, dreams and what's happening in their personal life).
"The more cheerleaders you have, the more referrals you get, the better clients you get. [High-performers] will tell you [that], however many hours you work, you have to have time allocated to moving customers to clients [and clients] to cheerleaders, and they will say that's their most valuable time you can have," he said.
Koltin added that top performers also tend to be active listeners and can read people well, have a positive energy that just draws people to them, are able to accept criticism and incorporate it into their work, and, conversely, can give constructive criticism without rubbing people the wrong way. Finally, he said, they take risks.
Koltin said that every year he gives a talk to a group of retired accounting leaders in Florida. One time, he asked what they would do differently if they could do their careers all over again, and they almost all said that they would have taken more risks. Koltin said that leaders aren't content to just go along to get along; instead, they leave the comfortable path and takes calculated risks with their careers.
"Are you a risk-taker, willing to take risks with your professional career? Because maybe now you've got a sure thing, but there's a leadership opportunity and you're balancing the safe path with the uncertain path. Where do you go? I would tell you, most leaders say they wish their people would take more risks, to jump for that opportunity," he said.
He also noted, however, that it's not just technical expertise that should be developed. He said that his own firm, every year, goes to large public accounting firms and asks to interview their highest performers in order to find out what makes them tick. Time and time again, he said, what makes people the best isn't just technical abilities but soft skills. These, he said, are what make the difference between good and great.
The highest performers at firms tend to be good at building relationships, he said, and in fact make active efforts to deepen them. He explained that they're able to convert customer relationships (where they just perform a service) to client relationships (where they know about their client's business and how best to meet its needs) to, finally, what he called cheerleader relationships (where they know not just their client's business but also their client's family, dreams and what's happening in their personal life).
"The more cheerleaders you have, the more referrals you get, the better clients you get. [High-performers] will tell you [that], however many hours you work, you have to have time allocated to moving customers to clients [and clients] to cheerleaders, and they will say that's their most valuable time you can have," he said.
Koltin added that top performers also tend to be active listeners and can read people well, have a positive energy that just draws people to them, are able to accept criticism and incorporate it into their work, and, conversely, can give constructive criticism without rubbing people the wrong way. Finally, he said, they take risks.
Koltin said that every year he gives a talk to a group of retired accounting leaders in Florida. One time, he asked what they would do differently if they could do their careers all over again, and they almost all said that they would have taken more risks. Koltin said that leaders aren't content to just go along to get along; instead, they leave the comfortable path and takes calculated risks with their careers.
"Are you a risk-taker, willing to take risks with your professional career? Because maybe now you've got a sure thing, but there's a leadership opportunity and you're balancing the safe path with the uncertain path. Where do you go? I would tell you, most leaders say they wish their people would take more risks, to jump for that opportunity," he said.