The list.
Are you and your cubicle mates using these terms? I hope not.
We’re closed today. If you reach out to me, I won’t see/hear it for a while. Internalize that.
One final note…”scallop” is a great word, but it’s not really a management term. Shucks, times are good for scallop fishermen in Maine. Happy New Year.
If you work at an accounting firm, I’ll bet you’ve heard at least one person resisting change by saying “It’s always been this way.” I would bet a hundred bucks on it!
Marketing marvel Seth Godin mentioned the following line in a recent post. Brilliantly, he stated “The only standard is impermanence.” Something for us all to keep in mind rolling into 2012…..
A recent CPA Practice Advisor poll revealed a surprising answer to the question: “Do you use smartphone or tablet apps designed specifically for tax and accounting professionals?”
By now, I would have guessed the answer to be a fair bit higher than what CPA Practice Advisor found. The slice of respondents who said “yes” was a meager 12.23%. How about you? If you are a “yes,” what apps do you like? Share your thoughts.
According to this ad in The Wall Street Journal, PwC rocks. Frankly, I’m a bit skeptical.
Does your firm rock? Ask your staff. If it doesn’t rock, regardless of your position at the firm (or your company), what can you do to move it in the direction of making it rock?
Now is the ideal time to give this some careful thought.
When you talk about the leaders behind the growth, development and innovation of the Internet, social media and cloud computing, the CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, is included in this dynamic mix. Regardless of where that discussion takes place in the world, Benioff’s name is right there with Jeff Bezos, Meg Whitman, Mark Zuckerberg and other game changers. Without question, they’ve all had their important piece of the puzzle to contribute to what we know as today’s way of business and life in general.
Our own Lisa Benson here at iShade recently connected to Marc Benioff on LinkedIn. As iShade’s Executive Director, she’s out there talking about the social revolution and working with accountants and accounting firms on interacting and engaging more productively and more efficiently.
Salesforce’s recent convention in Japan took discussions of the social revolution to the next level. Being a lifelong diehard Neil Young fan, I was thrilled to see that Benioff again had Neil there to speak (click here for the video). At the end of the short video, Neil also had some great commentary about Japanese society.
Coming up on the new year, we’re all looking at how the continued acceptance, use and creativity of social media and its web brothers can make us all better. Yes, these are merely tools, but we know that when business professionals use these tools for a greater level of connectivity, learning and relationship development, good things happen. We’ve seen it this past year in the accounting profession and we’ll continue to see it as firms large and small use these tools to better serve their clients. Serving clients better…isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?
Long may you run.
Spam is no longer the cause of e-mail overload. Bacon has taken its place. It’s a true battle of the e-meats, that’s for sure. So what is bacon? It’s the messages you signed up for (newsletters, sale offers) but now you don’t want. It’s estimated that bacon makes up roughly 55 percent of unread mail.
Take this time around the holidays to trim your bacon and encourage others to do the same. Of course, your iShade newsletters are far from being bacon! Trim those pesky Eddie Bauer sale e-mails instead. Don’t just delete the bacon, unsubscribe!
Finally, I have to tell you that I once toured the Spam Museum in Minnesota. It took about five minutes.
Every time I find myself saying “low-hanging fruit,” I just want to jab myself in the eye. I use this term too often, which perplexes me, since I find it a bit annoying. Me do something annoying? Shocking, I know.
Sometimes I think we all feel a bit adrift in this swirling sea of business jargon, abbreviations and acronyms. Harvard Business Review blogger Dan Pallotta penned a terrific piece about today’s business language. You don’t even have to “think outside the box” to read it.
I recall someone saying “Let’s talk offline” from when I worked at a bank in the 90’s. The rest of the department kind of looked at each other, shrugging, then we discussed what the hell that meant after he left the room. This was the first time I had heard the phrase; I wish it had been the last.
I love Dan’s last sentence of “I don’t have any idea what you just said to me.” I’ve certainly used that before when talking with tech people. My New Year’s resolution is to use this line a whole lot more, even when I fully understand what the person is saying.
Dan’s point is well made in that simplifying and being clear will increase credibility and productivity. I think that’s something we can all embrace…and no one’s going to have to “run it up a flag pole.” You’ll put your eye out anyway.
Would you like to have your questions about professional liability insurance answered without a sales pitch?
iShade is proud to offer a free online chat on Tuesday, December 20 from 12:00pm – 2:00pm Central. This is not a sales presentation. David Koenen from Lemme Insurance will be fielding questions about the key aspects, nuances and pitfalls of professional liability insurance. No sales pitch—strictly Q&A.
Simply post your question in this discussion topic:
http://www.ishade.com/group/162/thread/2652/view
and David will provide answers.
This session is perfect for Managing Partners, Partners, CEOs, COOs and Firm Administrators.
December 20, 2011
12:00pm – 2:00pm Central
111 West Campbell Street 4th Floor
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847-385-6810
Any questions, please e-mail Rob Nance, rob.nance@ishade.com
I love the dollar coin. Unfortunately, most of America does not love this durable, handsome currency. I’m all for bucking what’s fashionable, especially when it comes to smartphones. So many people now give me the evil and/or curious eye when they see that I use a BlackBerry. They’ll comment with smartass remarks like, “Nance, you know there are such things as iPhones now” or “When you’re done messing with your toy phone, I’ve got some butter that needs to be churned.” All the more reason for me to keep my BlackBerry.
On top of this rebellious streak, I feel like Research In Motion (BlackBerry company) needs some help. In the understatement of the year, RIM’s co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, stated “The last few quarters have been some of the most trying for the company in recent history. We recognize our shareholders may feel we have fallen short.” Fallen short?!? RIM’s share price is down 75% this year! May have fallen short? Yeh, you’ve fallen short.
And what’s with this “co-CEO” business, anyway? Maybe that’s part of the problem.
Do you have questions about professional liability insurance? If you don’t, your managing partner or office administrator just might. iShade is proud to offer a free online chat on Tuesday, December 20 from 12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Central. This is not a sales presentation. David Koenen of Lemme Insurance Group, Inc. will be fielding questions about the key aspects, nuances and pitfalls of professional liability insurance. No sales pitch—strictly Q&A.
E-mail me, Rob Nance, at rob.nance@ishade.com for login details.
