Who's In Your Pool?

The Olympics ended on Sunday. It’s nice to get back to a full night’s sleep. The one event from this Olympics that will most likely be talked about for years to come is Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals. Phelps now holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics, and in doing so broke seven world records. Phelps is now among one of the most decorated Olympic athletes of all time.

How did Phelps do this? Well, first of all he got the right people “on the bus”, or in his case “in the pool”. First he had mom. She recognized something special in her son, and she recognized the need for him to have a venue to channel his energy and develop focusing skills. She took him to swimming lessons, and had him join a swim club. There, Phelps met up with two types of coaches. The first taught him how to swim. They provided him with technical know how. The second group of coaches saw Phelps’ natural talent. They taught him how to win. They helped provide him with goals and a plan and a strategy to reach those goals. The final group of people in the pool were Phelps’ team mates who helped him win two gold medals in the relays. With preparation in place, Phelps had created a goal worth believing in and a plan to achieve it. He was able to inspire his team mates to swim beyond themselves and achieve what some had said would be impossible.

Jim Collins author of Good to Great found that companies that achieved greatness first got the right people “on the bus”. (see chapter 3) Your business already has some people “on your bus” or as with Phelps “in your pool”. Your business has a “mom”. That would be you. The one person who recognizes what’s special about your business and what it can become. Your business has the first type of coaches. They were the ones who helped you in the past as teachers to teach you your technical skills. Currently, your business has an attorney to help you’re the legal technical issues of being in business. And, your CPA help you other technical matter by preparing your tax returns. However, who’s in your pool helping you set your goals and design a strategy to achieve those goals? Who’s helping you create a vision that your team members can believe in? Who’s giving you the support you need to inspire your team to achieve what some would say is impossible?

A CPA who is a member of the Principa Alliance can be the coach that helps provide your business with goals and a strategy to achieve them. In addition, these CPAs have the financial knowledge to assist with establishing the budget that aligns with those goals. They also work with you and your team to provide systems to measure and monitor your progress.

Brenda Richter, CPA is a member of the Principa Alliance.

Write It Down

Congratulations to Team USA in winning the Olympic gold medal in women's basketball.

Congratulations to Lisa Leslie for her record fourth Olympic gold medal in women's basketball.

In a post game interview, Ms. Leslie said:

"I always say to all those kids out there, Just write down your goals. You
can do what ever you want to achieve."

The same is true for business. Studies have shown that those with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than those wothout them could ever imagine.

So, write down your goals.

A business needs more than just goal alone. Businesses need a strategy for achieving their goals and a process for measuring and monitoring their progress. Business owners can get a jump start on defining their goals, creating a strategy and establishing a monitoring system by holding a strategic planning session with a Principa CPA.

Brenda Richter, CPA is a member of the Principa Alliance.

Congratulations Michael Phelps.

DID YOU BRING YOUR "A" GAME TODAY?

Friday marked the start of the 29th modern Olympic Games with a spectacular opening ceremony in Beijing. No doubt that over the next couple of weeks blogs around the world will reference the events, stories, victories and defeats of these games. Since I am an avid fan of the Olympics, my blog site will be no different.

One of the first events I sat down to watch was Men’s Beach Volleyball. Gold medal favorites Rogers/Dalhausser of Team USA were matched against bottom seeds Samoilovs/Plavins of Latvia. I would be cheering Team USA on to certain victory. Yet within in the first few points of the first game, I found myself drawn to rooting for the Latvians. There was something about the look in their eyes and the way they played together. And, as the game went on, there was the look on the face of the Latvian coach. Clearly he was satisfied that his team was playing the strategy that they spent countless hours practicing at the Baltic Sea. After two sets, my choice to root for the Latvians proved a good choice as the Latvians advanced from first round play undefeated. The game analysts described the Latvian victory as the biggest upset in Beach Volleyball history.

With results final, Team USA was interviewed as to the reasons for their unexpected loss. Rogers responded by saying that the team played its “D” game when their “B” game was all that was needed. Why would one ever consider bringing their “B” game as suggested by Rogers? Team USA had become complacent. They failed to develop a winning strategy. They failed to develop an attitude to bring their “A” game everyday no matter what the circumstance.

Jim Collins author of Good to Great sums up this with the Phrase: “Good is the enemy of great.” In other words, businesses become satisfied with being good that do not strive to go to the next level and achieve greatness. Does your business have a strategy (“A” game) to succeed? Do you and your team members show up everyday ready to play your “A” game?

Collins’ Good to Great found that businesses that ignited the transformation from “good to great” first got the right people “on the bus”. (see chapter 3) Small businesses find that once they get their team on the bus, that there are still several empty seats. One seat that can often get neglected by small businesses is the CFO. Usually these businesses are too small to require a full time CFO. Such companies now tap into the skills of top accounting and finance professionals through outsourcing arrangements.

A CPA who is a member of the Principa Alliance can help you with outsourced CFO services. In addition, such a CPA can assist you in developing your strategic plan (“A” game) and the fusion of strategy, operations and budgets. Principa CPAs also have a program (Towards Awesome Service) designed to inspire your team to come to work everyday with their “A” game.

Brenda Richter, CPA is a member of the Principa Alliance.

When Was Your Last HSD?

An HSD is a High Satisfaction Day. In business, HSDs are the days when mission, vision and strategy come together. They are the days when business owners and/or team members are high fiving with a sense of accomplishment. They are the days you say to yourself, “This is why I do what I do.”

Things that trigger an HSD include signing up a new customer, the creation of a new innovative product or service, the completion of a major project, or receiving a heartfelt thank-you from a customer. Michelle Golden shares an example of the latter in a recent blog.

My friend, Ron Baker, was introduced to HSDs by the New Level Group in Napa, California. Ron writes about HSDs in his book Measure What Matters, and suggests that companies should log their HSDs on a community calendar. This makes perfect sense, since as the title of the book suggests, we should measure what matters. And don’t HSDs matter?

If you or a business you know would like assistance in creating a strategy and the related budget that will help you and your team achieve more HSDs please contact a Principa CPA.

If you have an HSD that you would like to share with others, please do so by adding a comment to this post.