How Do I Ensure My Business Succeeds?

No matter how much cash flow a business has, the technical competency of its people, or its technological capability, there is a standard higher than that of quality first and not production.  As a Duluth CPA for decades we help Georgia businesses with their tax and business management issues helping them to benchmark their success while striving towards the future working to improve their market share and business profitability. History is full of examples of countries and businesses’ alike who failed to keep and maintain a vision.  Just as Believers are prone to lose their way less they keep the standard of Christ as their benchmark, so are business’s doomed to a lackluster performance and the calamity of failure should they lose their way.  Each and every company should have its own easy to understand standards and procedures of excellence.  HIS CPA’s motto/vision statement is simple, “Serving Him by serving you…one tax return at a time.”

We are called to do everything as if doing it for the glory of God.  Whether our task is a menial physical task or one of the highest technical competencies, we are charged with making sure we do our absolute best.  Though Christ was perfect and we will never be, we are nonetheless charged with a pursuit of excellence doing each and every step as if God himself were going to review the final product.  Though in our personal lives this is very difficult as we invariably may miscue or misinterpret the wishes, desires and even the whims of another, in our business life we should be able to more accurately define and measure our success towards achieving this lofty goal.

Accountability

The first and foremost influential issue towards quality is acceptance.  If we continue to blame others and not accept responsibility for our own actions, then we will never be able to obtain true quality.  By freely acknowledging that I am my worst enemy, I begin to accept that problems that come my way are usually correctable as I work to become part of the solution.  Avoiding a “poor pitiful me” mentality, I come to learn that I alone are the most responsible towards the final outcome of my work product.  This grants me great power and vision to influence the future by controlling my input and what the customer ultimately sees and buys.

Values bring clarity for when you know what you stand for, you are most apt not to fall.  Values provide a solid well-grounded basis for decision making as well as team building.  Having a clearness of vision makes decision making much easier as your values help make it clear whether items bring you closer to or further away from your goal.  In order to do this, you must first be brutally honest about business decisions and processes doing away with factors that limit your success such as office politics or “protecting your turf”.  It is always harder to critique your own work than that of others, as we are often unable/unwilling to search out for our own faults and failures.  Thus, it is a critical part of our success path to develop steps and procedures that allow us to review our own work as an outsider.  Of great value is to constantly ask yourself the below questions:

  • Is this the best I can do?
  • Is there a better way?
  • Can someone else do it better/faster?
  • Should someone else be doing this?

These questions will help you better evaluate your actions and deeds as you complete either a specific step or the whole of a task. Being better armed with a fair and just acknowledgement of the facts you are best able to be accountable for your own actions and the final work product.  Also knowing how information you provide and products you deliver are to be specifically used will greatly assist and enable you to meet a customers needs.

Never forget the most important axioms of a quality-oriented mindset:

  • A satisfied customer will buy more
  • Happy clients refer others
  • Re-working a problem reduces profits
  • A quality mindset increases market share

Leadership

In varying jobs and positions there are a host of different levels of responsibility.  However, whether you are a CEO or at the lowest level, there are many daily decisions in which you are best suited to make as you see first hand the situation evolve.  Imagine the pandemonium that would occur if a CEO were forced to make decisions on when to order basic office supplies.  Conversely a Pandora’s box would be opened if clerical staff were to reach conclusions about strategic issues such as mergers and acquisitions.

Though it clearly takes a team approach to have an environment of continued business profitability, success is best maintained and achieved when decisions are reached at the lowest, rather than at the highest position possible.  Wise and judicious discernment are critical to this thinking as all staff and management need to be sensitive to what decisions should be reached at which level.  Clear defined responsibilities, chain of command, and reporting guidelines greatly contribute to keeping the routine things routine.

Being the best worker we can be requires a quick and intuitive mind and mandates that all personnel be constantly aware and thinking of solutions to business problems and dilemmas.  True leadership requires us to put on our “thinking hat” and for us to not be merely content with business maladies and calamities.  Stay clear of the mindset that there is any one way of doing things and pass that on to those to whom you directly supervise.

Zero Defects

Power is not a zero sum commodity for the more of it you give away the more of it you have.  By giving people the resources, trust and training you enable them to help you and ultimately the customer the most.  Developing a culture where you expect others to solve problems and treating your staff special are two of the more primary ingredients in obtaining zero defects.

Focusing on quality first and time second will also greatly contribute to delivering to the client an intended result you both desire.  If you place a priority of time over quality then it is akin to speed dial when you dial wrong numbers faster.  Install in all of your staff from the top, a mindset that products and services are like your word; once you deliver them you can never take them back.  Thus a work product once delivered either internally within your firm or to others can never be taken back.

Although personal relationships may be your most important, in business relationships the last product delivery will speak volumes to the customer as to how much you value their business.  Valuing your staff and your clients and frequently telling them so are important to both keep up their morale and to encourage those about you to constantly excel.

Managing Success/Looking Beyond

There are many books and studies detailing successful management strategies and their implementation.  Throughout this study there are a host of different issues that continue to be persistent throughout.  Achieving success requires us to judge others as we measure ourselves.  Though we often will evaluate others by their actions, we are much more apt to critique ourselves by our intentions.

Just as Jesus came to earth, exploring mankind to look at the inside of humanity so should we be careful when tempted to judge an outwardly appearance.  Looking ahead requires us to be honest in behavior and words living out daily the principles we espouse.  We are also called to be a visionary maintaining a forward looking attitude being more apt to perceive changes in the financial and business climate in which we operate.  By sharing our passions with others, we create an aura of excitement as our inspirations spill over and positively affect others.  In addition, maintaining and constantly improving our knowledge and technical competency will greatly lend itself to positive results as our business evolves and grows.  Though God greatly blesses those he loves, we should never forget the parable of the talents as God gives to those who wisely and judicially utilize what they have been given.

Having been trained in the international CPA firm marketplace, I bring a focus geared towards excellence at all levels of your business. By working with a CPA whose ambition matches that of your own you will discover both peace of mind and insightful guidance. Call us today to get started on your long term business success.