Inspired Ideas

In this Inspired Ideas episode, Tamera Loerzel sits down with Tracy White, Chief Human Resources Officer at Clark Nuber, a regular local and national “Best Places to Work.” Tracy shares her vision and practical strategies for evolving her firm’s talent management, recruitment and retention programs during this year of uncertainty.  Join Tamera and Tracy as they discuss the various shifts Clark Nuber has made during the pandemic related to re-opening, technology, onboarding, learning and development and adjusting to the current flex/blended environment, too.

In this episode, Jennifer Wilson and Renee Moelders sit down for the first time to discuss the findings of our 2020 Anytime, Anywhere Work™ (ATAWW) Survey, where we studied the remote and flexible work practices of accounting firms in the profession today. Join us to explore major findings on firm perspectives related to office space, remote service delivery, technology enablers, internships and more.

In this episode, Jennifer Wilson sits down with long-time friend and fellow leader, Jim Blake. Jim is the Chief Operating Officer of Mazars and has been a member of the firm’s Executive Board for 12 years. He has over 30 years of experience providing attest, tax and advisory services primarily to privately-owned businesses and private equity firms in the manufacturing and distribution sector. In his role as COO, Jim has works hard to practice vulnerability and transparency as a leader, sharing his goals, passions and struggles with others, so that they will share theirs with him.

Listen in to learn how Jim began his vulnerability journey, why he feels this quality is important for leaders to possess, how this quality prepared and supported him as a leader during the pandemic, and his advice on how to encourage vulnerability in senior leaders. Hear his views on the importance of structure when integrating transparency into your role as a leader.

Episode 9 of our Inspired Ideas Podcast series features a discussion between Jennifer Wilson, ConvergenceCoaching Partner and Co-Founder, and Amy Vetter. Amy is a CPA, Yogi, Technologist, Keynote Speaker and CEO of The B3 Method® Institute.

In this episode, Jen and Amy explore the theme of generosity in leadership. Together they explore why generosity matters in leadership and what generous attributes look like in practice. They talk about what it means to be selfless and the importance of ditching a one-size-fits-all approach with your people; each of whom bring unique strengths, talents and challenges to the table. Jen and Amy talk about the unfortunate examples of selfish leadership, too. Listen in to join their chat about how transparency, vulnerability, gratitude, rapport-building, providing feedback, empowering your people and other key ideas lead to a culture of generosity.

Episode 8 of our Inspired Ideas Podcast series features a discussion between Brianna Johnson, ConvergenceCoaching consultant, and Aaron Ackerman, Partner at HoganTaylor, and a graduate of our Transformational Leadership Program™ (TLP).

In this episode, Brianna and Aaron explore the original goals and progression of what started as Aaron’s TLP project - weaving business development into his firm’s cultural fabric and helping all employees learn how they can play a part. They also discuss HoganTaylor’s consulting practice and how the firm is creating growth by providing value-added services for clients. Listen in for ideas about making the shift toward more advisory services and getting your people involved in the rainmaking game.

In this episode, Brianna interviews Alisha Jernack, Senior Manager at Mazars USA LLP and graduate of our Transformational Leadership Program™ (TLP)about her personal business development strategy.

After TLP, Alisha completed our Rainmaker Development Program® (RDP) and has made business development a regular part of her daily work and professional goals. In this episode, she shares how her rainmaking efforts began and provides ideas for others hoping to get more involved in developing business for their firms. She also speaks to the importance of choosing strategic activities that align with your service line or industry focus. Tune into this discussion to discover how you can create your own personal marketing and business development strategy that leads to more revenue generation for your practice and firm. And, be sure to read the show notes for this one, where Alisha shares how she’s been developing her brand and increasing her visibility during the COVID-19 crisis.

In this episode, Renee interviews Justin Hayes, Director at KSM, about his firm’s remote audit approach. This session is a don’t-miss as your firm approaches your audits remotely during this crisis and after the crisis passes, too.

KSM had been using remote audits primarily with out-of-town audit engagements at the time we talked and then COVID-19 happened. KSM’s experience with remote auditing made for a quick pivot to completely remote auditing during this crisis. Listen to some of Justin’s critical tips and tricks for running a successful remote audit, hear how his firm creates buy-in with their clients and how Justin has developed buy-in for remote service delivery from fellow audit leaders. After this crisis, there may be a strong pull to go back to the “old normal” in firms – but instead, we can continue to continue to conduct a higher percentage of each audit remotely.