My hope is everyone respectfully respects our decision to take last week off from blogging. My attempt at weekly humor did not feel appropriate given the other more important events taking place in our world right now.
Having said that, many of you I’ve seen around the neighborhood in the last two weeks have been quick to point out that I finally got a haircut, I’ve shaved almost weekly now for four weeks, and my phone is back to normal. Thank you all for keeping me in check and questioning the timing and accuracy of each weekly post. I’ve even taken to showering for Zoom meetings. Looking like a bum for those calls felt so rebellious and cool at first, but got old really quickly.
It is true; my personal makeover did take place before Edition 2 was posted, but you must all consider the amount of quality control and peer review each blog post goes through to ensure my future with the firm is not in jeopardy. While I do attempt to be as timely as possible with my content, you can imagine the audit that takes place days in advance of each post. Our auditors have earned an esteemed reputation over the years for their diligence. And yes, my wait at Great Clips did exceed one hour!
More profound than my return to cleanliness, however, is my leap into the online shopping world. Formerly a last resort when I was behind on birthday presents or anniversary gifts can now be done rolling out of bed in the morning. Fortunately and unfortunately, PayPal has found a way to make this so easy on me that Chase is beginning to question whether or not I’m even in possession of my debit card.
This all took place last Wednesday night:
- Replacement Oakley lenses on a pair of ten-year-old sunglasses that should be thrown away. There’s a website for that – $30.
- Remember those beat-up black flips flops from last summer? They are getting a lot more use at home now – $21.50.
- My brother-in-law joined the ranks of “over the hill” and desperately needs a new Bengals home jersey. Ordered it right from the couch – $100.
To be honest, memorizing your credit card number, expiration date and that 3-digit code on the back was starting to feel like a rite of passage for working from home. PayPal solved that real quickly. And now that Venmo has made virtual poker a sofa sport in the palm of your hand, I’m also teaching my kids all about Texas hold ‘em.
On the other end of the feedback spectrum is why in the world an accountant would ever imagine being successful trying to build a social media following. Some of you, as do I, contend the future of our industry may well lie in our social media presence – podcasting, Instagram Live, etc. Can that be done? You need a remarkable at best and infamous at worst personality. Does your run-of-the-mill accountant have enough personality to make it happen? (The late Paul Frankel would have owned Instagram Live!)
And here is where I value the culture of GBQ. For years, many of you have had to listen to me proclaim that it is the firm’s personality that sets us apart. Culture is certainly part of it; we are faithful to our core values, but personality goes beyond culture. It’s everyone from the marketing team to the equity partners to the administrative staff, and it spans each office location. Our intentional emphasis is on finding and building the right relationships and not on over-selling and under-delivering, both of which are way too common in our industry. It is the primary reason why I’m even allowed to start a blog with content so distant from my daily work routine that some of my coworkers still aren’t onboard.
To finish, here’s a quick teaser for the week. I’ve managed to challenge all willing and able coworkers with enough personality to contribute to future posts from their very own laundry closet (i.e., home office) ideally in the form of thought leadership. And while some have jokingly thrown their hat in the ring, one coworker just sent a post through the QC department sure enough to hit a home run while also incorporating an industry-specific discussion our SALT department engages in almost weekly. Stay tuned.
