take gallup’s 12-question leadership test.
after using many different varieties of opinion survey, the gallup organization came to the conclusion a few years ago that the responses to just 12 questions can show why one organization, division, department or any other managerial unit is happier and more profitable than another.
on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “no, or rarely,” and 5 being “yes, mostly,” how would you score?
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by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
when i look through accounting today’s top 100 leaders list and the comments they have made about what they perceive to be the challenges in our profession, many of the answers are the same: change, talent and relevance are a few you’ll see. and they are all right to some extent, but there is a deeper systemic problem that i think could fix quite a few of these in one swipe. i’m not saying it will be easy, but it is a fairly straightforward problem once diagnosed.
the most interesting part is that the smallest firms are getting better at solving this than the larger firms. read more →
plus: the 8 leadership traits driving firms toward destruction and 3 steps to fix the problem.
by august aquila
creating the effective partnership
many accountants could add to this list, but here are some of the surefire signs that a firm has weak leadership driving the firm toward implosion.
one question: for initial buy-in, should you write a check or transfer wip and a/r?
there’s a lot to worry about in any cpa firm merger deal. but in one deal between two small firms, when marc rosenberg, author of cpa firm mergers, interviewed one firm’s partners, he heard seven major issues. they are:
by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
when you are working out of your home and have reached the point where you want to hire someone, you have many options, but one of them may not be having employees come to your home to work. and although i have had employees working out of my home when i was single, it was not an option in 2010 when i was ready to hire an assistant. so i hired a virtual one.
today you might be surprised to know that my employees work from home two days a week each, and i only see them in person once a month. how do we do it? we keep our heads in the clouds. here are five tools that keep us seconds away while we’re miles apart. read more →