108 The Dangers of Listening to CPAs for Wisdom

Guidance and wisdom in the accounting industry tend to be provided by accountants and CPAs.

There's a notable absence of expertise and wisdom from thought leaders outside the accounting industry.

In order for any profession to advance, it needs to have conventional thinking be challenged. And the best people to challenge conventional thinking are those who have never been taught to believe conventional thinking in the first place.

Why do we cling to our views so tenaciously after they're formed? Psychologists attribute this to at least two phenomena: self-affirmation and cultural cognition. Both of these concepts suggest that we cling to our views because the walls of our opinions are like battlements that keep the good guys on the inside safe from the enemy on the outside - all those dopes with different opinions.

The problem is that when you have these walls set up, you don't allow in new information that would actually be good for you. Knowing this makes it extra important to be in about listening to people outside the profession, and to welcome them as observers and commentators so that you on the inside the profession can benefit from fresh thinking.

The danger in listening only to accountants for wisdom is that regardless of what they're thinking about, they're still thinking about it in accountant type ways. So whether they're thinking about numbers or thinking about concepts, their way of thinking reverts to reporting on what has happened in the past, rather than what can be created in the future.

Instead, think beyond the perspectives that the industry typically shares with you. 

I want you listening to voices outside the accounting space so that you can rise above the din of the same-same, and expose yourself to completely different viewpoints and ways of thinking.

And if you're looking for inspiration for some other fresh thinking and voices, here are some of my favorites: 

• Seth Godin https://seths.blog/
• Jonathan Stark https://jonathanstark.com/
• Elizabeth Gilbert https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/

 

When you listen to leading voices outside the accounting profession, you're exposed to fresh perspectives. And when you apply fresh perspectives to your work, you advance your business. And when you advance your business, your clients get more value. And when the value you provide to your clients increases, your rates increase. And when your rates increase, you don't have to work as much. And that is how you get your time back. 

Now, I want to hear from you. What fresh perspectives have recently shifted your business? 

 

Episode mentioned:

106 Better Pricing Strategies for Accountants: Stop Billing by the Hour, with Jonathan Stark

https://shethinksbigcoaching.com/106

 

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