Posts by Sarah Johnson Dobek
Why You Must Fail Before You Can Grow
While I don’t believe there is a ‘silver bullet’ to growth, I do believe there are certain things that significantly impact growth within an accounting firm. One of those destructive ingredients is failure – and more importantly, the attitude around failure. As an accountant, you are taught to find mistakes and correct them. Detail-oriented, precise…
Read More3 Secrets of High-Growth CPA Firms
When it comes to accounting firm growth, there is a distinct gap between growth rates of the best-performing firms and the rest of the pack. In the 2013 IPA survey, it was reported that the top firms grow at a rate of 7%, compared to a paltry 2.8% for the average accounting firm. How do…
Read MoreHow to Involve Your Young CPAs in Growing Your Firm
It’s no secret that a lot of CPA firms are facing succession of partners now – and will for years to come. As we work with firms to help them grow, one of the most common questions we get is how to involve their young people and what should they be doing? What should your…
Read More4 Key Traits That Will Propel Your Career
We are fortunate to work with a lot of CPA firms. As a result, we hear day in and day out about the many challenges they face. The number one challenge right now for most firms is succession planning. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a firm ask about getting the…
Read MoreHow Do You Show Gratitude to Your Employees?
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Partially because I love to eat, but mostly because it is about celebrating and being thankful for what we have. Each year, I write about some aspect that we can focus on in our businesses and this year, I am choosing to highlight gratitude for your employees. You…
Read MoreWhat’s your Internal Communication Strategy?
If email or handbooks were your response- you aren’t alone. In a recent presentation I co-hosted on “Making Internal Communication a Culture Must-Have” , 99% of the respondents used email and handbooks as a primary tool for communicating internally. While many firm’s are communicating, there is still a big gap. In a recent study by…
Read More12 Resources for Improving Your Internal Communication
Internal communication is an important part of any organization. Along with Dustin Hostetler, Gary Thomson and Mike Sibley, I was proud to deliver a presentation recently on How to Make Internal Communication a Cultural Must-Have. We compiled many suggestions from the session as well as some new ones to share with you. Below are a…
Read MoreHow CPAS can Give and Receive Better Feedback
Feedback is something we often don’t put as much effort into but should. It’s important to the development of your business both in communicating internally with your employees and externally with your clients. The Johari Window, developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, is a model that’s been around since the 1950s. It focuses on…
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