Category: Featured

The Mindset of a Winner

Can you imagine going to McDonalds and asking for a curry then wait while they shut down the grill so they an make your meal?  I laughed when I hear this question posed by David Maister. In the conversation I’m referring to he added a hugely important point that is not understood by so many practitioners and that is, if you really want to known for something you can’t do a little bit of a lot of things.

This is precisely the same point Seth Godin makes in the video interview below that is appropriately titled the Mindset of a Winner. The interview took place around the time he published his read-in-an-afternoon book called The Dip which is well worth reading.

In the Dip, Godin starts by taking issue with an inspirational Lombardi quote about quitters never winning and winners never quitting. He suggests that winners often quit but what makes the difference is they know when to quit: they just quit (or choose not to do) the right stuff at the right time. He then goes on to give guidance on when to quit and when to persevere. I think this is essential reading for people who have a tendency to FTI.

shutterstock_44027830I wrote a Briefing Paper for our Practice Innovation Workshop participants that draws together Godin’s thoughts with the Hedgehog Concept that Jim Collins talks about in Good To Great – another book worthy of your eyes if you want to build a great firm. If you would like to download a copy of the briefing paper click here.

 

 

 

 

 

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?”

Do you have a purpose?

Ask this question to anyone and you’ll get many different answers ranging from: that’s my business, I don’t really have one, I want to be happy, to be content, to make a difference, to make lots of money, to have fun ….. etc. etc. The point is, it’s a personal thing, it quite like changes over time it may be inward looking or it may be outward or it may be both. Continue reading “Do you have a purpose?”

Why leaders need to worry about digitization

This is a thought-provoking video discussion between two heavyweights from MIT and McKinsey. Even though they’re not directly talking to leaders in the accounting profession their observations and insights give food for thought. Continue reading “Why leaders need to worry about digitization”

Even smart people come to the wrong conclusions … to their cost!

Listen to this and form your own view about what really counts if you want to create something great whether it be a business or a product. You’ll recognize the voices I’m sure.

No Low Clients – An Eavesdropping Video

While I was fiddling around in my office on a Saturday afternoon preparing to create a training video the phone rang. It was from a Principa Insider Member – who therefore holds a Saturday-afternoon-interrupt-Ric pass. She wanted an answer to the question: why should I refuse to do work for a small tax client when I can still make some reasonable money from it?

I did not realize it at the time but the camera was rolling and the entire conversation was caught on video. Nothing of a confidential nature was discussed so I thought I’d share the views I expressed because this is certainly not the first time this question has been put on the table and I doubt that it will be the last.

httpv://youtu.be/KGeUuh0rkbg

 

The Power Of a Word and The Need For Management Innovation

I’ve been working on some pretty amazing initiatives that I know will turn a few heads in the coming months and in the course of doing some research I recently came across something that I thought I’d share. It relates to the incredible advances that are being made in neuroscience due in large part to Continue reading “The Power Of a Word and The Need For Management Innovation”

Your posture may determine your potential

I have just viewed a fascinating TED talk delivered by Amy Cuddy, a professor at the Harvard Business School where she studies non-verbal behavior and how posture can impact the testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain which in turn affect our level of confidence and the way other people perceive us, two factors that play an enormous role in our performance effectiveness.

Continue reading “Your posture may determine your potential”