Thomas J. Watson started the “Think” slogan in 1911 while still at National Cash Register. He brought the slogan with him to IBM, and it became a trademark in 1914. He also stated, “The trouble with every one of us is that we don’t think enough.” IBM has continued to use the trademark with ThinkPads, ThinkCentre and its main conference called Think.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I, along with a handful other CPAs, were privileged to work with IBM on some of their programs for the accounting and legal professions. I have always been inspired by the “Think” slogan and trademark, even enough to do some research as to what Watson was really thinking. (By the way, it was much more difficult to research at that time than today.)
What I learned was even more inspirational: “By ‘Think’ I mean take everything into consideration. I refuse to make the sign more specific. If a man sees ‘Think,’ he’ll find out what I mean. We’re not interested in a logic course.” Simple, direct and meaningful.
Over my career I have thought about this often and how it applies to the accounting profession, small businesses and specifically public accounting firms. In fact, at Boomer Consulting we use the slogan “Think — Plan — Grow.” Regular readers may have seen this at the end of articles or blogs. Now that you understand some of the inspiration, let me simply explain the order of the words and my thinking.
Over the years, growth has always been a major part of the visioning and strategic planning sessions. As soon as the word “growth” is written on the whiteboard or captured in a PowerPoint, someone immediately says, “Profitable growth; I don’t just want growth.” In fact, most will give you numerous reasons why they don’t want to grow 10X.
The next statement from another participant is, “Should we consider a merger?” My response is, “Are you thinking about merging up or merging in another firm?” This often is the start of the thinking process for many firms. Do you want to merge up or invest in your future so you can attract other businesses for M&A?
This has led me to the conclusion that most CPAs spend their time thinking about client problems and very little on their own firm. In fact, many technical partners don’t understand the economic engine of today’s CPA firm. Fortunately, as most firms grow, firms increase their leadership and management capabilities and capacity. At least they should, if they plan on sustained success and remaining relevant (future-ready).
In my opinion, many want to grow, without the required time for planning and thinking. In other words, they reverse the order and focus of “Think — plan — grow” to “Grow — maybe think — maybe plan.” They also tend to think incrementally, rather than exponentially. They often compete for resources rather than market share. No fault of their own, as that is how we were all trained.
This also is the point where technical debt becomes important. Technical debt is what an organization must pay tomorrow for the shortcuts they took to maximize current profits. Good examples are technology and talent development. Deferred compensation programs often impact decisions, with older partners trying to maximize earnings and thinking they can avoid technical debt with a potential merger. The market is well aware of this thinking.
Think different
Here is the power of exponential thinking: It allows us to vision and provides answers to questions or situations without committing to a solution. In thinking exponentially, you also realize that to get to the next level you have to think exponentially and not think about how you got to the current level. Current-level thinking will not allow you to even grow incrementally without making significant changes.
Most of us were also trained with a scarcity mentality and some with a fixed mindset. Some good examples are costs versus investment, rugged individuals versus unique-ability teams and profession versus markets and networks. Accounting firms have access to robust markets and networks, yet many firms are still thinking compliance, rather than advisory and consulting.
Exponential thinking and a growth mindset will free you from the past and allow you to explore your potential. We find 10X questions are the best way to start. Naturally, most people think about revenue and profits. I encourage you to start by thinking about your strategic client and employee experiences since staffing is an issue.
Questions like:
- How can we provide 10X value to our strategic clients?
- How can we standardize and automate processes to reduce cycle time by 10X?
- How can we improve the client experience by 10X?
- How could we improve remote working by 10X?
- How can we improve onboarding by 10X?
- How can we improve our training and learning programs for our strategic employees by 10X?
- Who can do these things, and do they have the time?
The last question may be the most important, as “who” is more important than “how” in any business that wants to grow. The trap in an accounting firm, or any business, is the “whos” are already maxed out on time, and if the initiative is important enough, you need immediate and full-time focus.
The good news is that the “who” is probably not a CPA in your firm. You don’t have to use your CPA technical skills to solve the problem.
The new skills required on your team today are technology, data analytics, project management, marketing and sales. Hiring, training and managing these people is different than managing a compliance workforce.
This is where existing mindsets and even regulators often hold firms back or require new business entities and even ownership to achieve their exponential growth goals.
Firms create value by thinking about “next” rather than “best” practices. Best practices are about what was working and next practices are what will get you to the next level by adding more value. Value is created through leadership, relationships and creativity.
An important takeaway: Your vision and strategic plan for the next three years probably won’t be for a 10X company, but it could be. Even if you only grow incrementally at 7% to 10% a year, you should think differently in order to sustain success and remain future-ready.
The above questions are relevant regardless of your rate of growth. Think — plan — grow!
