the partnership

the 3 traits shared by 150 top managing partners

by

what successful managing partners do

by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
how to engage partners in the future

the problem is that in the majority of cpa firms there is no clarity around what being a managing partner actually entails and, specifically, what managing partners should do to create and sustain their partners’ commitment to actively participating in delivering the firm’s future.

our research involving in-depth interviews with 150 managing partners at the world’s leading firms identified that the truly successful managing partners share three key activities: read more →

the 14 rules for what being a partner means

by

aquila how to engage partners in the firms future clip square cvrplus: 4 keys to tie pay to performance.

by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
how to engage partners in the future

partners are the culture in a professional service firm – what they believe, what they reward, what they do and how they do it determines what and how things get done. partners are the owners – they, and they alone, are responsible for the firm’s vision and its implementation.

being a leader means each partner must: read more →

fixing the partner entitlement mentality

by

nine reasonable entitlements and 15 misconceptions, bad ideas and outright abuses.

it’s a privilege to be a partner in a cpa firm. not an entitlement. too many partnerships seem to operate as if they had it the other way around. and, in most cases, those partnerships don’t usually make the best cpa firms. marc rosenberg has seen his share of dysfunctional firms. they are no better nor no worse than the people who run them. get these 24 points of partner roles and responsibilities correct and your firm could find a renewal in spirit and in growth.

read more →

seven reasons why it’s time to start holding the partners accountable

by

especially in these trying times, partners must show leadership by accepting the consequences of their actions — or their inaction.

aquila

accountability is the essence of your success, according to management consultant august aquila, ceo of aquila global advisors.

aquila is co-creator of the firm growth and succession program, creating the effective partnership, which includes the research-based guides how to engage partners in the firm’s future, and leadership at its strongest.

“i don’t think that the average partner takes accountability seriously,” aquila says. “if they did, they would take their individual goals more seriously and not let their fellow partners down.” read more →

the four keys to creating a firm vision that unites and mobilizes

by

and the eight ways to give core values real business value.

by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
how to engage partners in the firm’s future

when we talk about having a compelling vision, we don’t just mean the simple, well-crafted statement you find in a lot of firms.

for a vision to be compelling, for it to persuade the partners that they want to play an active part in making it a reality, a vision must have four elements: read more →

thresholds and core competencies for a new partner

by

what it takes to make partner: the 27-point checklist the best firms follow.

marc rosenberg, author of how to bring in new partners, cites at least six areas that partnerships at the nation’s best firms habitually evaluate before naming a new partner, including: nine intangibles, four financial and legal considerations, five practice development issues, three production and client management metrics, two technical proficiencies, three supervisory skills and one very important administrative credo. read more →

deciding between equity or non-equity partners

by

five reasons for one, eight for the other. and they’re not all created equal.

after studying some 700 firms, marc rosenberg has some fairly hard-and-fast rules about how to bring in new partners. here, he delivers five reasons to lean toward deciding on bringing in traditional equity partners and eight reasons for making them non-equity partners. all things being equal, they aren’t.

read more →