Be the happy accountant
I’ve concluded over my years in this profession that there are two ways that you can be totally happy at work in an accounting firm:
- It’s just a job and it has no meaning for you. Your happiness in life comes from outside of work and your position as an accountant simply fits in, doing what you need it to do and not clashing with what makes you happy. You can switch off, go home and enjoy.
- It’s much more than just a job, it really matters to you and, crucially, its delivering on your vision and goals. You understand why you come to work and you are fulfilling that core purpose.
Anything in between these two comes with unhealthy doses of stress and frustration.
If you relate to the first scenario then fair play to you, although you’re probably not reading this.
It’s the second route that interests me and certainly the one that I relate to. For the vast majority of the accountants that I’ve met over the years, being an accountant, especially in their own firm, is very much more than just a job and really does matter. The stress and frustration, therefore, comes from not delivering on the vision and goals.
Of course, if you are to deliver on your vision and goals then you first have to be crystal clear on what these are. In this age of ‘advisory’, we hear lots of talk about vision and goals in the context of our clients. If we genuinely believe that our approach to advisory has real value, and will make a real difference to clients (and the answer to both is a very definite YES!) then why are we not totally committed to applying that same thinking and those same tools and strategies to our own firms?
I asked an accountant recently, one who would consider themself and their firm to be ‘leading’, what their vision was. The answer came back “To be the best”.
“What does that mean?” I said.
“To be recognised as the best accountants in the area” came the reply.
That wasn’t a meaningful answer but I pressed on…
“Why?”
You know when you are asked a question by a child that you really can’t elaborate on so you just say “Because, that’s why!”
He couldn’t define his vision or goals to me and presumably had not communicated these to his team or clients either. How can you achieve what you don’t understand?
Here’s a couple of hard questions to face up to:
- If you are not clear on your vision and goals, and cannot communicate them, then how can you ever fulfil them and be happy?
- If you are not applying the same advisory tools and strategies to your own firm that you are seeking to sell to clients then you are not applying your own best practice…or are you mis-selling to your clients?
Defining your vision and goals is the first step towards happiness for you if your role as an accountant means anything to you at all.
Taking your own advice when it comes to advisory tools and strategies is how you achieve that vision and goals. It’s also the most effective way of convincing your clients to go down the advisory route…. “Let me show you what we do”.
Don’t just ‘talk the talk’. ‘Walk the walk’ and put a smile on your face.
Good luck!
