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The Entrepreneur, The Manager and The Technician, Which E-Myth Character Are You?
Just because you’re a great plumber, does it mean you should own a plumbing business?
If you’re a great Lawyer, does it mean you should have your own Law firm? And, yes, you may be a great Accountant, but should you have your own Accounting firm?
These are typical questions posed by Michael Gerber’s thought-provoking book, ‘The E-Myth’.
The heart of the issue is this: are you an Entrepreneur, a Manager, or a Technician?
The Technician
The typical Accountant is a great technician. After all, it’s what we are all trained to do. We’re focused on learning all the technical issues around accounting and tax while we’re training and even after we qualify, many continue on the learning path and take the in-depth tax course, or the CBV course or something else related to what we want to specialize in.
The more competent we become, the more senior we become, as we rise through the ranks at our firm, until, one day, we find ourselves managing others.
The Manager
Now we have become technically competent, we are removed from our role doing the work, and we start managing the work. (In a typical firm, any way.) That often means scheduling workflow, reviewing files prepared by others, managing time budgets, preparing bills and many administrative issues that we have never trained for.
Just because we are good at doing the work does not mean that we will become a good manager.
Being a good manager is a fine balancing act – combining the skills of a worker, a manager of others, a politician, and many other professionals that we have often had little or no preparation for.
The Entrepreneur
If you’re going to be a successful partner in an accounting firm, you’ll need to be an Entrepreneur. Or you should be. The sad truth is that most accounting professionals who become partners are simply NOT entrepreneurs. Some of them aren’t even decent managers. They’re just Technicians who hung around long enough to make it to Partner.
This presents a problem, as the next generation of Partners are coached by the current generation of partners on the ‘Monkey see – Monkey do’ basis, and guess what that produces? Yep, another tranche of untrained Partners who repeat the bad habits and mistakes (but, to be fair, also the good points) of the present level of partners at the firm. For those who are lucky enough to have great mentors, then you should do well, but the majority of us (including myself in my days in public accounting) will think we’re ready, when we’re far from it.
So, how do we break away from this ever-decreasing circle?
Get outside help.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not writing a self-promotion piece here. I would never want to abuse the trust of the editorial team at The Bottom Line. Of course, I offer coaching a training programs, but there are also many other sources of help.
Tony Robbins has some great programs on personal growth and development. Zig Ziglar has some fantastic courses on public speaking. Your local bookstore has a wealth of sales and marketing books that can help arm you will the skills you’ll need to become a great partner and there are thousands of coaches offering one on one help.
If you really do want to make a difference and become a great partner, there’s one more aspect to keep in mind – you’ll need to think like a client.
Take the client’s perspective.
Too few accounting professionals truly think like a client. For example, when was the last time you looked at the work you had done for a specific client and then reviewed the bill and thought to yourself ‘If I were the client, would I pay this price for the service I received? What were the benefits I enjoyed?’
If you can shake off the ‘low self-value/self-esteem’ attitude many accountants have, and objectively review the value you have provided to your client, ask yourself if the client actually appreciates the value you have added to their business for this fee? Does your invoice actually mention the benefits the client has enjoyed? If not, please, take immediate corrective action. Then add 10% to the bill.
I dare you.
Clients will pay for value. Your job is to provide that value and educate your client of the value you have added. When you can do that, then, you’re ready to become a partner! Welcome to the world of the Entrepreneur, my friend.
© 2003-2011,
Steve McIntyre-Smith. All Rights Reserved. |
