Posted by: Ken Moll
Have you heard that phrase before? Anyone who has spent time in or around professional sales might identify with that phrase.
It’s the sales person’s equivalent of a proverbial “hole in one” in golf. It’s as rare as hitting a golf ball off of a tee that goes straight into the hole – as it is for a salesperson to close a deal with a prospect in the first meeting.
In some sales courses, ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
It is an audit objective.
As a former auditor for what’s now PricewaterhouseCoopers, we dealt with audit objectives. These audit objectives were also learned in my Accounting/Auditing classes in business college at California State University, Fullerton.
The audit objectives were also reinforced in the CPA review course. That is, a CPA examination test preparation course I took from Newt Becker my senior year.
Let’s see if I remember … ECVARP was the acronym Newt used. Existence, Completeness, Valuation, Accuracy/Validity, Rights/Obligations, Presentation/Disclosure. But this ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
It’s not a word you hear much anymore. At a quick glance, it looks like the preposition “through.”
And given our society’s propensity for a “point and click” existence, “thorough” is being relegated to the sidelines of business.
But if you want to be successful in life and business, be encouraged to embrace it.
Merriam-Webster defines it as follows:
I was exposed to the ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
The term design-build has been circling around in the construction industry for quite some time.
It refers to a company that will both design and build your dream home.
For purposes of this article, I will use the idea of design-build in a parallel way to refer to your business or organization. Whether you are building a home or a business, it all starts with a dream.
Have you ever looked through a high-end luxury home magazine? The pictures are beautiful. Everything is ...
Continue Reading →
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 ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
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 ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
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 ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
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 ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
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. ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Ken Moll
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 ...
Continue Reading →