Success Doesnât Have to Mean Satisfaction
Iâm a content person but rarely satisfied. Iâm not Confucius, far from it, so this statement is not meant to be as deeply philosophical as it may seem.
Iâm content in my faith, family, my position in life, my profession, my personal pursuits, my clients, and other big things in life. But that doesnât mean Iâm satisfied.
Take golf, for example. Iâm content playing golf. Statistically, my handicap is in the top 5% of all U.S. players, and Iâm a member of an incredible golf club. My golf partners are fantastic and put up with me most weekends. And I have more golf âtoysâ than one person should.Â
But satisfaction rarely, if ever, enters my mind when golf is involved. Oh sure, there are some short-term satisfactions, but golf has this way of making you unsatisfied very quickly. One lousy round â or even one bad hole - and itâs time to hit the internet for a new swing tip. I enjoy using Trackman and other technology to find new ways to generate clubhead speed, adjust spin rates, etc. In 2022 I was able to connect with a short game âguruâ and add a newer approach to this part of my game. I was content with my game but not satisfied with it. I wanted to get better.
How can I be both content and lack satisfaction? Well, we can find contentment but still possess a strong desire to improve. We can be proud of what we have built while being unsatisfied with where we are today. That doesnât mean what you have done isnât good enough; it just means that things have changed, and firms need to continue to grow and strive for more â or different â successes.
I do a lot of Partner Retreats. Itâs one of the most enjoyable areas of my practice. It energizes me to be with firms and help them look to their future. Despite the challenges of the last few years, the accounting profession has enjoyed some remarkable success.
Two dimensions I often see in firms:
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Let me be clear, I donât view satisfaction as being negative IF we donât let satisfaction be a preventive roadblock to improvement.
As I was planning a recent retreat, a leader expressed to me: âGo easy on pressing us to think about changes; I donât want them to think our past success will make us unsuccessful in the future.â
I understand what he was saying. Itâs easy, especially with consultants like me in the room, to examine your firm so closely that we make our past successes not seem all that great. However, if we rest on our success, we risk future lack of success. Change is not indicative of not being proud of what weâve already done. It just means we must keep on going forward.
Finding a balance is critical. While acknowledging our history, culture, financial results, people, structure, etc., can be rewarding and celebratory, it shouldnât paralyze us from strongly considering what lies ahead for the future.
Itâs important to ask ourselves these questions:
I could go on and on with these questions, but think about your firm. If youâve not asked these questions in a while, why not? Letâs find a way to prepare for the future, not by minimizing our past but by focusing on the future. We can be content with the firm weâve built, but I donât believe we can afford to be satisfied.Â
If youâre ready to ask these questions and head toward the future of your firm, letâs talk!