SERVICES
The advisory services Greg has deep experience in are listed and explained in this section. Though comfortable with most all matters relating to acquiring, growing, building, leading and managing practices and accounting firms, Greg feels most comfortable providing facilitation, advisory and coaching services around the subject matters contained here-in that best leverage his many, diverse years of hands-on experience.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
Because of Greg’s many years of experience practicing, building and leading practices and firms, Greg feels very comfortable providing key-note presentations on challenges, issues and/or concerns facing firms not only today, but into the future. His engaging and thought-provoking presentation style is most appreciated by those attending and can be customized to just about any timeframe and/or objective possible.
BUILDING & INTEGRATING NON-TRADITIONAL &
TRADITIONAL SERVICES
SERVICES MENU
BUILDING & INTEGRATING NON-TRADITIONAL & TRADITIONAL SERVICES
BUSINESS ADVISORY SKILLS COACHING & TEACHING
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE/COACHING
METRICS, DASHBOARDS & COMMUNICATIONS INTEGRATION
PARTNER TEAM ASSESSMENTS & ALIGNMENT
GOVERNANCE SYSTEM EVOLUTION AND ALIGNMENT
OPERATION ASSESSMENTS & ALIGNMENTS
CAREER PATHING, COMPETENCY BUILDING & COACHING
ACQUISITION & INTEGRATION ASSISTANCE
This service is Greg’s baby… and the one he has most passion for from being one of the first in our profession to jump in and figure it out nearly thirty years ago! As most all firm’s today are experiencing, building and integrating the non-traditional services of Strategy, Information, Operations and People is not easy, and, because of this, is why Greg strongly believes we… as a profession… are so far behind in delivering value to clients today. Greg’s “Pyramid of Success” recently created is a simple visual of all of the “things” within an accounting firm that need to be strong if a firm wishes to build and sustain a successful non-traditional services practice.
When Greg performs this service, he quickly assesses how well aligned the most foundational factors contained in his Pyramid of Success are within a firm. Once assessed, he then works with firm leadership and reaches consensus on a course of action to begin building new services. This course will include taking the most practical approach for building early success, and then leveraging that success to build more and gain momentum. Ultimately, if a firm wishes to experience sustained long-term success in this non-traditional services area, the firm will need to build the strength in each area Greg has identified in his unique Pyramid of Success model. So, as one can see, there are numerous ways a firm can work with Greg and begin building and ultimately sustaining long-term success within the non-traditional service areas of Strategy, Information, Operations and People.
BY CATEGORY
BUILDING & INTEGRATING NON-TRADITIONAL SERVICES
ASSESSMENTS & ALIGNMENT OF SUPPORTING SYSTEMS
BUSINESS ADVISORY SKILLS TEACHING & COACHING
One of the easiest ways to begin delivering more valued services to clients is to simply begin having more of the “right conversations” with them. The inability of so many in our profession of not having the “right conversations” with clients is probably the most fundamental significant concern of managing partners today. The “right conversations” are proactive interactive problem-solving discussions with leaders and/or owners of any organization today. With Greg’s significant amount of experience building and integrating non-traditional services, Greg has developed unique techniques that help both accountants and non-accountants become better proactive problem solvers capable of having these “right conversations.” And having more “right conversations” simply leads to the need for building more integrated non-traditional services within firms today.
RETREAT FACILITATION
This is one of Greg’s most fulfilling services offered as he is allowed to spend time with individuals and collective groups within firms. This closer understanding of individual and collective thought processes, cultures and philosophies within firms helps significantly in Greg’s ability to provide meaningful thoughts and possible follow-up assistance. And because of Greg’s deep hands-on experience, firm participants quickly gain confidence in what he has to say and therefore, ability to facilitate.
Greg can approach and prep for these retreats in a number of different ways. One approach is to design, administer and summarize a pre-retreat questionnaire that confidentially gather’s the participant’s individual and collective perspectives on matters to be discussed at the retreat. The summarized responses then act as a launching point for facilitated discussions on strategic matters when this process is used to kick-off a strategic mapping engagement. Another retreat preparation approach is to agree on facilitation subject matters without more than basic general preparation. Either way, at the conclusion of any retreat, Greg issues a summary report covering the process performed, matters discussed, conclusions reached and, if necessary, matters to follow-up on.
STRATEGY MAPPING
This is essentially strategic planning, however, Greg’s facilitation approach and methods result in the creation of a visual “map.” The “map” allows the planning process to be more understandable and efficient with follow-up actionable items for easier implementation. This process starts with administering a pre-planning questionnaire (see Retreat Facilitating Service above) with responses confidentially summarized before the first of two to possibly three planning sessions. Greg then facilitates the “Strategy Map” building process by helping the planning participants reach consensus on:
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Where they are today
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Where they want to be in the future
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How they agree to get there (strategies drilled down to actionable steps), and Goals, metrics and
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dashboards that are essential for implementation focus.
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE/COACHING
Because of Greg’s many years of putting plans into action, he offers guidance and coaching on what it takes to maintain focus on “moving the needle” and getting things done. This includes scheduled “check-ins” and/or practice group session participation so clients actually experience how to lead those responsible for getting things done. When used with Greg’s Strategy Map and Action Plan Worksheet templates completed during his unique Strategy Mapping process, his interactive guidance and coaching has been recognized by clients as unique and invaluable.
METRICS, DASHBOARDS &
COMMUNICATIONS INTEGRATION
Over the past decade, the uniqueness, speed of change as well as competitiveness of most firm practices has made many of the traditional accounting firm leadership and management metrics and dashboards untimely and ineffective. As a result, much time and effort of firms today is being expended in redefining, retooling and realigning accounting metrics and dashboards from which manage by. It is critical today to be measuring both effort and performance with properly aligned lead and lad indicators. Greg can perform this advisory service separately as a free-standing project or integrated with the strategy mapping and implementation services. Greg has significant experience developing and identifying lead and lag metrics integrated into dashboards that are essential in effecting change and sustaining desired performance in accounting firms today.
LEADERSHIP COACHING/TEACHING
Also because of Greg’s almost thirty years of hands on experience in either practice or managing partner leadership positions, he is uniquely positioned to provide hands-on coaching and/or teaching to those in similar or same positions. This service is also often included when performing Strategy Implementation Guidance/Coaching as part of follow-up services when helping firms build and implement Strategy Maps. This service can also be offered as a free-standing service for those that desire to simply build a more effective practice or become stronger practice leaders or managing partners.
PARTNER TEAM ASSESSMENTS & ALIGNMENT
Today, more than ever, successful firms must have individual partners and managers work well together in teams of people with quite different qualities, characteristics and skillsets. Yet for decades, firms have pretty much recruited, trained and built talent to fit into one-size box. For the most part, this is because firms have historically asked their people to pretty much all grow up and do the same things the same way. As a result, most partners and managers struggle to succeed as probably less than fifteen percent of them can really grow to become what the one-dimensional training model is built for. Like trying to recruit and train every college football player to become a great quarterback. Makes no sense. The team needs multiple types of players with multiple talents to fill many different positions. So as one can see, the one-dimensional training model we so often use in our profession needs to change!
Over the years, Greg has worked with his human resource leaders to establish multiple career path models for people to best fit into, and by accentuating their strengths, making it easier for the person to remain engaged and contribute to their team. This service is one that is of strong value today to firms that wish to truly improve the level of engagement of their people and build much stronger multidimensional teams to best serve clients.
A dimension of this service can also quickly assess a firm’s current and soon-to-be partner group. This assessment begins with identifying a partner’s strengths and struggles as they relate to positions needed to be filled within a firm’s leadership and ownership group. Greg then works with firm leadership to reach consensus as to what position each partner and partner-to-best aligns with by focusing on how to accentuate their strengths. And then finally, how to establish future partner career paths, needed coaching and training focus as well as goals and metrics to coach and train to.
GOVERNANCE SYSTEM EVOLUTION AND ALIGNMENT
As firms grow and change over time, it is essential for leaders to continually ask themselves whether or not the firm’s governance system in best aligned with what they are trying to accomplish as a firm. For the most part, when firms begin to expand geographically and build practice teams in a manner where team members work from different offices, it is time to make more significant adjustments to their governance system. When this stage of evolution occurs, many of the client facing as well as support staff become members of three teams…. their office team, their service line team and finally, their industry team. The number of teams a person is on is not too difficult to understand, however, when all three teams need to work together each and every day, the difficulty escalates.
Again, from Greg’s unique years of experience, he has learned what works and does not work as firms venture through this stage of evolution. And once again, this service can be offered as a part of another service, or it can be handled as a one-off single standing project. Either way, those that Greg has helped have really appreciated his insight which has made life a lot easier.
OPERATION ASSESSMENTS & ALIGNMENTS
In order for a firm’s vision, goals and strategies to be realized, it is essential that all parts of a firm’s operations be efficient, effective and in alignment with what is trying to be accomplished. Most often, they are not. Therefore, with Greg’s deep understanding of all corners of an accounting firm’s operations, he has significant experience assessing all areas and taking action to bring things into alignment. These operation alignment assessments can also be free-standing projects or part of the work performed when assisting firms with the implementation of their Strategy Map.
CAREER PATHING, COMPETENCY BUILDING & COACHING
The ability to properly engage with any organization’s entire ownership group and workforce is a critical ingredient of success today. And for accounting firms, it is flat-out essential! Over Greg’s career, those both working with him and within the profession have witnessed his thought leadership and tireless efforts to commit the necessary time and financial resources to building strong internal human resource support teams and systems needed in firms today.
Greg was fortunate to bring on board in the two firms he’s lead two “game changing” qualified human resource leaders that successfully changed the mindsets and behaviors of the people in the firms they worked within. By working with these two highly qualified professionals, Greg has implemented some industry-first HR support policies, procedures and systems that worked. One being in the area of Career Pathing which is essentially how leaders work with people to accentuate their desires and strengths as they grow both professionally and personally. The other being how firms no longer need to perform the “ever-painful” annual performance reviews, which studies have shown are dreaded by all and of little real value to both the person and the organization they work for. This is accomplished by simply teaching leaders how to slow-down and engage in caring yet crucial coaching conversations throughout the year. Much less time-consuming and much more valuable for all! Greg helps firms learn how to implement this game-changing mentality and simple processes within firms requesting this service.
Another human resource support process Greg worked with others to develop and implement is a process where people understand and focus on the five or six “core competencies” an organization believes are critical for all to excel at as they grow throughout their career. Like the core competencies of speed, strength and agility that athletes continually work on in order to enhance their performance on their field of sport. Just like athletes, accountants must continually work on strengthening the fundamental competencies within their craft that allows them to continually learn, grow and perform better. Greg can advise, coach and teach firms how to develop and implement this concept.
ACQUISITION & INTEGRATION ASSISTANCE
As most everyone in the public accounting profession today knows, practice or firm acquisitions are part of everyday life. And, as most managing partners also know, the ability to successfully identify, solicit, assess, acquire and on-board a practice or firm is very difficult. Once again, Greg’s many years of experience provides him with a significant amount of knowledge in this area. Not only when acquiring traditional practices or firms, but also when acquiring non-traditional advisory firms in the area of Information Technology, Operations and Human Resources… Greg’s unique area of expertise. Greg has developed tools over the years that help firms understand what is most important when working on acquisitions so that as firms work with Greg, they also become more self-sufficient in the future.
SUCCESSION MAPPING
Over the past ten years or so, ownership and leadership succession quickly rose to one of the top issues facing nearly every firm in the country. Firm leaders have learned the hard way that if not constantly focused on succession… and not just with people nearing retirement… they are exposing their firm to significant business continuity risk. Today, firms must work hard at continually building a team that allows the entire firm to collectively keep learning and growing. Because if not, Greg and most all other managing partner have heard too many excuses as to why partners are working at levels below where they should be. How many times have they heard this one… “we just do not have the people to get the work done that is on our plate today.”
Over the years, Greg has developed a unique way to create what is called a “succession map” that is constantly being reviewed and updated by firm and practice leaders. This “map” is a confidential visual for leaders to work with that makes it easier for all involved to reach consensus as to where the firm’s business continuity is or is-not at risk. And, if at risk, what to do about it. This again has proven to be a very useful tool and approach that those who have used it believe has helped in managing succession.