As we work with our clients on business strategy, we see a consistent trend: young star performers at the partner, senior manager and director levels who are not being used to their highest potential. The forum for these observations is work-stream meetings where we get to see practice leaders present their business areas and then talk about potential growth plans. Among the presenters, we always see two or three gems who are succeeding in niche service areas and who have great potential to do so much more.
Our role in these meetings is to challenge all presenters to think beyond incremental growth, expanding the scope of their visions to game-changing possibilities. These young stars always say the same thing: “we can do so much more if you give us the resources.” So, let’s give them the resources, moving beyond adding a person or two a year. Let’s think about turning a $1.5M practice into a $10M practice over just a few years. And let’s do it. This is one of the biggest missed strategic opportunities for mid-size accounting & advisory firms.
I speak from experience. Decades ago, I joined a large accounting firm as a 32-year-old senior manager in a tax specialty. The firm empowered me to think big, quickly. I made partner two-and-a-half years later, building a Washington practice, then a national practice and finally a global practice over the next decade. We became preeminent in our field, ultimately becoming a world class multi-disciplinary human resources advisory business. All because the firm’s managing partner trusted his gut and gave me a chance — challenging me to think real big.
