Nothing is forever … take Kodak for example

In the mid 1970s Steven Sasson, an employee of Kodak, demonstrated a prototype of a device that weighed 8 pounds and needed a suitcase to transport. It was the world’s first digital camera. The photos were stored on a cassette tape, they took 21 seconds to raster and boasted quality of 0.01 megapixels. Continue reading “Nothing is forever … take Kodak for example”

I thought I invented the phrase “sea of sameness” but I didn’t

For years I have been saying to anyone willing to listen, if you you want to create a great firm – one that out-performs the rest of the industry by an order of magnitude (another of my favorite sayings!) – you MUST ESCAPE THE SEA OF SAMENESS. Continue reading “I thought I invented the phrase “sea of sameness” but I didn’t”

An unexpected way to acquire a new client

It never ceases to amaze me how much value accountants can add to their clients (and themselves) if only they are willing to take the time to have a conversation with their clients to better understand their aspirations and the vision they have for their business. This is a classic case in point. I recently recorded an interview with Rachel Ray who, at one time, Continue reading “An unexpected way to acquire a new client”

If You Want to Break From The Pack, Innovation is the Key

As I prepare material for our up-coming Practice Innovation Workshops I’ve been doing a lot of research into the process of creative idea generation (specifically how to teach it and how to implement it) because at the end of the day that’s what ultimately gives business enterprises (and that includes accounting firms and their clients) a competitive edge. Continue reading “If You Want to Break From The Pack, Innovation is the Key”

If not excellence what? If not excellence now, when?

The first business book I picked up and enthusiastically read, because it was inherently readable and extraordinarily interesting, was In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Bob Waterman.  In a real sense it changed my life because it was the catalyst that led to my moving out of academia into the “real” world of public accounting. Continue reading “If not excellence what? If not excellence now, when?”