Congratulations Michael Phelps.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, July 25, 2008
In Memorial
Thoughts and prayers are with the Pausch family today.
Randy Pausch, subject of a previous post, passed away today. His Last Lecture video and book can be an inspiration to us all.
Randy Pausch, subject of a previous post, passed away today. His Last Lecture video and book can be an inspiration to us all.
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