This article is the next and last article in the series WDF – A Three Part Series. The First article is Write It Down. The next article is Do Or Delegate.
Throughout this series, I have been sharing from my experiences as a professional auditor for the Big 8 firm, Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers).
If you recall, the last article had me doing ...
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As I reflect back on my personal experience in five different decades, my hope is to impart wisdom from a blazed trail.
If a “blazed trail” is not a familiar term, here’s some history: The term “Blazed trail” reflects back to the days of mountain men, trail guides, etc. These pioneers, when traversing large expanses of unfamiliar wilderness territory, would take their hatchet and “blaze” (e.g., mark) trees. This way, future passers-by could travel with confidence ...
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This article is next in the series that started with WDF – A Three Part Series and Write It Down.
Let’s jump right in.
When I wrote this title, I was reminded of Yoda’s (Steven Spielberg) famous saying: “Do or do not, there is no try.”
You may recall from the prior article that I had a rather tough go of things as a brand new auditor ...
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If you have landed on this article, welcome! The introductory article is titled WDF – A Three Part Series.
In this article, we discuss W. W helps us remember to Write It Down.
I remember my first day of real professional work at the Big 8 accounting firm, Coopers & Lybrand – now PricewaterhouseCoopers (The Big 8 was a term used in the 1980s to reference the world’s 8 largest accounting ...
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I have been blessed with a long and storied career in business. I have found business to be very challenging. And, thank God, I have also found it to be very rewarding.
But, I have also found it to be very lonely at the top. Here’s why: When you are the leader of the organization, sometimes it’s hard to find the right person to talk to.
Let’s say you are a Controller or CFO. An Executive Director. ...
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When it comes to making decisions, it’s important to realize that change is multi-dimensional.
In life and in business, we often come to a crossroad or a decision point. We try to weigh the pros and cons – and then, make the best decision possible. And it is here where we pause for caution, as not every decision has its desired consequence or outcome. Or, rather, the decision itself introduces some other unintended consequences. Change is multi-dimensional.
The ability to ...
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This article could have also been titled A False Sense of Security. But hopefully you’ll understand the title selection in a bit.
When I was a kid, I would enjoy an annual pilgrimage to my parent’s home state – Arkansas. I would enjoy my grandmother’s freshly-boiled sweet corn, french fries, fried okra, and all other types of Southern comfort food. But what I didn’t enjoy so much were grandpa’s fresh shot, squirrel and dumplings. I didn’t like ...
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I am constantly entertaining the tension between two words: simple and easy. At face value, the two words would appear similar. Synonyms.
But they are not.
As we grow in business and life, these words begin to carry more impact. Easy could mean simple. But simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy.
In actuality, these words couldn’t be more different. In fact, they could be antonyms.
Once upon a time, there was a valiant soldier named Naaman. He was the commander of ...
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In the cycle of life, a plateau is called maturity. The cycle of life is this: birth, growth, maturity, decline, and then ….
The business cycle follows this same natural cycle. Start-up, growth, maturity (e.g., a plateau), decline. Left unto itself, your business or organization is likely going to follow that natural progression.
Ask your typical entrepreneur. Start-up is fun. Growth is pretty cool. Plateaus and declines – not so much.
You and your organization are somewhere in the ...
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In life and in business, we often notice the symptoms before the causes. Symptoms are by-products. They are not causes. And though symptoms will make you miserable, they are not causational.
Fever is a sign of infection. Where is the infection? Smoke is a sign of fire. What is on fire? Those are the real questions.
In business, a lack of sales is a sign that something is amiss. The lack of sales is a symptom. The inability of an ...
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