You’ve probably heard that if you drop a frog into a pot of cold water and slowly bring it to the boil the frog will, in the first instance, adapt to the rising temperature but will ultimately succumb to the heat and die. On the other hand, if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water it will immediately jump out and proceed on its merry way. Continue reading “What Frogs and Gross Margins have in common”
Author: Ric Payne
Do accountants really understand what offering a business advisory service means?
Several years ago, as part of a Principa marketing initiative, I conducted a telephone survey of 58 accounting firms in northern Nevada and California who had described themselves in the phone directory and/or their web site as being accountants (CPAs) and business advisers. Continue reading “Do accountants really understand what offering a business advisory service means?”
A Day in the Office With Paul Kennedy: How One FirmTransitioned from Compliance to Advisory
This is the story of how O’Byrne and Kennedy changed their business model from an unremarkable suburban compliance practice with 500 clients to a remarkable niche business advisory firm with 50 clients and in the process dramatically increased profitability, client loyalty, and team member engagement while having a life-changing impact on the clients they work with. Continue reading “A Day in the Office With Paul Kennedy: How One FirmTransitioned from Compliance to Advisory”
Are you doing all you can to help your clients prepare for retirement?
In this note I want to address something I raised in an earlier blog post about an accountant’s responsibility for alerting clients about the need to take financial planning very seriously and to do so from a young age. My interest in this piqued after reading Tony Robbin’s recent book called Unshakeable: Your Guide to Financial Freedom. Continue reading “Are you doing all you can to help your clients prepare for retirement?”
Attitude vs Skills: Which is more important?
This pretty well sums up why Southwest Airlines is the most consistently profitable airline on the planet. Its co-founder the late Herb Kelleher, used to say “We hire for attitude, train for skill.”
Continue reading “Attitude vs Skills: Which is more important?”How to read a book a week
I read a lot of books but that wasn’t always the case. I got interested in reading when I had to at graduate school but what really got me into them was the realization that there is so much you can learn that is incredibly valuable in life and in business and all you need to do Continue reading “How to read a book a week”
More proof that delegation is the key
I was going through some early material from my days as the CEO of Results Accountants’ Systems and came across an Advisor Note written by Colin Dunn, one of our team members in the UK. On reading his note I thought it’s just as relevant today as it was back in 1998 when he wrote it -perhaps even more so. So, with a few edits by me, here it is … Continue reading “More proof that delegation is the key”
Why great ideas get left at the door of CPE conferences
There is great content on the web that deals with questions like how to build a great business, how to be a great business advisor, how to charge what your worth, and any number of other “how to’s” you care to think of. With that in mind and given that most of these are free or low cost relative to their potential payoff it amazes me Continue reading “Why great ideas get left at the door of CPE conferences”
Discounting as a Pricing Strategy: A 100 Year Old Story
I’m inviting you to Boston MA 1891. In that year Edward and Lincoln Filene took over the management of their father’s retail store called Filenes. At the time it was quite a successful business that specialized in women’s fashions and accessories but the two brothers built it into one of the world’s leading retail companies by implementing a non-traditional business model. Continue reading “Discounting as a Pricing Strategy: A 100 Year Old Story”
Managing Working Capital Is Key to Growth and Survival: Hard & Costly Lessons
In this post I want to share a story with you. It arises from a chance conversation with a member who is working with a client who has an inventory management challenge which came on the back of an article another friend of mine sent me about a report on the failure of the Dick Smith retail group in Australia. Continue reading “Managing Working Capital Is Key to Growth and Survival: Hard & Costly Lessons”