Month: June 2020

Posted in BadAssery, My Accountant Voice

My Bad Reputation

Posted on by Pageflipme

STRATEGIC “NOs” MEAN A MORE TRUSTWORTHY “YES”

Everything you say yes to means you have to say no to something else, and vice versa.

It really IS ok to establish healthy boundaries, set realistic expectations, and politely decline opportunities for relationships that seem destined to fail. That is the only way to have availability and resources for good ones! This also applies to client partnerships.

Clients deserve the best service provider for their needs, even when it’s (gasp!!) not us (at least at that time). If I know right away that we are not a good fit, or that I won’t be able to deliver the service and attention they need and deserve, I have no problem with saying so and genuinely wishing them all the best in their search for the next service provider.

I will also have those straightforward discussions to try to salvage a challenging relationship before we have no choice but to break up. Sometimes I am the problem. Sometimes not. The only way to find out is to have that difficult conversation! No one likes them, but they are necessary and are healthy, if done right. They key is to not be so afraid of them that you procrastinate and create some real damage.

My reputation for being a tough and demanding taskmaster comes honestly enough, I admit – and I am not the only one!

It is becoming more common for professionals to understand and better provide more value for the clients who are a good match when they are more strategic about their partnerships. Clients are generally more satisfied, too, because then their pro really is good at what they are really good at!

Here is a great article originally posted on LinkedIn, written by another professional I greatly admire and am learning valuable information from:

https://www.smartvault.com/blog/2017/4-things-hate-rid-toxic-clients/

Someone else was waaaaay ahead of all of us, though……

We DO kind of have to give at least a little damn, she clearly does not

QUESTION: What are some of the criteria you use to evaluate client or service provider relationships? What is something that is not a dealbreaker, but troublesome enough to cause concern or frustration and trigger a discussion?

Posted in BadAssery, Show Up or Shut Up

Hitting Capacity

Posted on by Pageflipme

I enjoy being organized.  You have to be if you are someone like me.

Sounds completely crazy coming from a free spirit, but it’s the truth.

It is the only way you can possibly hope to be productive and effective when you do so many different allthethings. You prioritize.  You streamline.  You systemize processes and not have to re-think any of the tasks that need to be done consistently, every time you do them.

BUT……no matter how well you plan and structure……you will finally hit capacity.

What do you do when that happens? Shut it all down? Run away?

We’ve all been tempted, but this seems extreme to me.

Most of the time, the first response I hear is: “Maybe you are doing too many things.  You should quit some.”

The problem with that for me is that I love being part of something bigger than myself.  There are a lot of those!  I never know right away how much time and energy I will need to devote to a new endeavor, so I just jump in with both feet and as much enthusiasm as I can bring!

Not only that, but I firmly believe that once you have committed to something, and there are people counting on you to show up and do your part…..you don’t just quit because you get tired. Especially when those things are successful!

I also love being the architect of my own life. Ok, who am I kidding here? I also prefer to be the contractor, the foreman, the builder, the interior designer, the stager, the quality inspector……

Sound familiar?

My ‘busy’ is not a euphemism for spinning wheels, we ARE building some pretty successful things with it!

So I prefer to just raise my capacity and keep right on doing them.

There is no way I am the only one who decided they just needed to raise their capacity, too……and if you are one of those people, I would love to hear from YOU!

Did you decide to strengthen your leadership skills, start delegating more, outsource tasks altogether, find better resources?  What can you not run your business or business(es) without?