Pride Can Prevent a Fall
Richard Brewin • April 24, 2020
We’re told that pride comes before a fall.
Looking into the origin of this, what the King James version of the Bible actually says is that “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18), a warning that arrogance and complacency will lead to failure.
So what’s the flipside for pride? Surely, creating or doing something that you are proud of is a good thing?
I talk a lot about creating your five star firm. It’s a deliberately subjective term that allows you to measure your success by your own benchmarks rather than those set by others. And one of those benchmarks for achieving your five star firm is in creating something that you are proud of.
If you are going to build a ‘pride’ benchmark into your strategies then you’re going to have to get a bit more specific in order to ensure that the plans you are following will achieve what will make you proud.
What are the things that would make you proud of your firm? Have you ever really thought about this, even listed them down?
It’s likely that there will be short term, medium term and long term objectives.
In the short term it could be things such as making a positive difference to a client, giving a team member an opportunity, getting a great testimonial.
In the medium term it could be consistently delivering on all of the short term goals plus hitting your growth targets, refurbishing your offices, seeing your team qualify.
In the long term it could be consistently delivering on all your short and medium term goals plus hitting your ultimate vision (you’ll need to know what this is of course but that’s another story).
These are just examples but you need to know your version so that you can then say, “Right, how am I going to do this? What’s my plan for making sure that I’m proud of my firm?”.
Business leaders rightly will have plans for the growth of their firms but surely the ultimate plan has to be the one that makes you most proud of your achievements?
Go make yourself proud!
Look at any accounting firm website and there is a fair chance that the word ‘proactive’ will be prominent. Ask some business owners and taxpayers whether they consider their accountant to be proactive. There is commonly a gap between the two, between the intent of the accountant and the expectations of the client.
The tag ‘Trusted Advisor’ gets bandied around a lot. Without trying to be deliberately contentious, I often challenge its use. Undoubtedly, accountants were once the trusted advisor to their clients. When I came into the profession 44 years ago now, the older partners, especially, were seen by their clients as their trusted advisor, their ‘go to’ person on any issues, business, family or personal, that were troubling them. Without the filing deadlines of today, these clients were with their accountant primarily because they valued the relationship rather than the products.
All accountants are the same! We’ve all heard it said. It’s nonsense, of course, but, when you are asked what it is that your firm does that differentiates it from other accounting firms, it can be a challenge to come up with something tangible. Accounting firms tend to offer similar services, that’s what makes them accounting firms. Differentiating from competitors based upon services provided is therefore an issue.