Take Your Career to the Next Level by ASCPA

ASCPA E-Zine Series

Take Your Career to the Next Level Helpful information for CPAs who want to advance their careers from the Arizona Society of CPAs.

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Contents

Get That Promotion — Shine a Light on Yourself by Maribeth D. Renne, CMF .........................2 Social Media: Exploring Digital Strategies for Business and Career Growth by Eric Majchrzak...........................3 Improve Your Communication, Improve Your Business by Deborah Johnson ............................. 6

Get That Promotion—Shine a Light on Yourself

Overcoming Your Fear of Selling

By Maribeth D. Renne, CMF

by Bart Dunne................................8

Is Being an Introvert Really So Bad? by Heidi Frei, MBA, ABC ..........................9 Don’t Be the Generic Brand Joseph M. Dougherty, III .........................11

Published by The Arizona Society of CPAs Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants 4801 E. Washington St., Suite 225-B Phoenix, Arizona 85034-2021 (602) 252-4144 www.ascpa.com

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Hard work and dedication are admirable.They often set you apart from others. But what happens when everyone works hard and is just as dedicated? Who gets noticed then? Perhaps we can will shed some light on the matter. John and Catherine, both well-regarded, joined a company in the same month and became good friends. Catherine kept her nose to the grindstone – getting into the office early in the morning before the coffee room chatter, staying at her desk to work through lunch, and declining the drink after work with colleagues so she could polish a project to near perfection. John’s been visible in the organization, making sure that he hits the coffee room. He uses those moments to get to know everyone and to listen to them talk about their children’s soccer games. He shares client feedback that he’s received, hears insider news about the organization, and shares expertise and offers assistance to colleagues. John has built relationships with his colleagues at all levels. When John was promoted after just 18 months, Catherine was happy for him but also confused and disappointed. She had worked circles around John. Why wasn’t senior management rewarding her hard work and dedication? Chances are senior management doesn’t know much about Catherine or her work. John understands that working hard and being effective are important, but to be successful you must get out there and talk with others about your abilities and ac-

ASCPA E-Zine Series—Career Success complishments. In addition to getting out and interacting with colleagues, John takes the following steps.

Lists of Accomplishments On his computer, John keeps a document titled “List of Accomplishments.” Each time he accomplishes something, he takes a minute to type a phrase describing it. By the end of the quarter, John has a bulleted list of accomplishments. He then fleshes out each accomplishment to demonstrate the value that his accomplishment brought to the organization. Once John has completed a quarterly list, he gives a copy to his boss explaining that the list is one tool he uses to manage his career that he would like to share. John understands that while employees think that their bosses are aware of everything they’ve accomplished, in reality that is usually not the case. A quarterly list of accomplishments keeps a boss up to date on all the innovative ways you bring value to the organization.

Make the Most of Meetings Love meetings or hate meetings, most of us are asked to attend a lot of them. John uses meetings as opportunities to increase his visibility in the organization. He carefully reviews the agenda prior to the meeting so he can prepare and make certain he has something of value to contribute. He doesn’t want to be seen as someone who “just likes to hear himself talk,” so while he makes sure he has something to say, his comments are brief, impactful, and to-the-point. He arrives early to the meeting so he has a good seat where he can see everyone and everyone can see him. He leaves his laptop and phone back in his office so he can fully engage with his colleagues. John is never the first one to leave the meeting, making it a habit to stick around a bit afterward. He has learned that this is a great time to pick up information that may not be widely shared in a full meeting.

Cross-Functional Committees John keeps his ears open and knows what the high-visibility initiatives are in the organization. He volunteers to be on crossfunctional committees to work on those initiatives. By doing this, he becomes well-known in the larger organization, and by stretching to accomplish new tasks, he demonstrates his abilities in new areas.

Presentation Early in his career, John joined Toastmasters as an inexpensive way to develop his presentation skills in a safe environ-

ment where everyone else was there to do the same thing. Now he takes every opportunity to make presentations within his organization, as well as externally. He knows that, even for those who don’t enjoy presenting, the more you present, the better presenter you become. He also knows that doing presentations increases his visibility and bolsters his image as an expert.

• • • Love meetings or hate meetings, most of us are asked to attend a lot of them. Use meetings as opportunities to increase your visibility in the organization.

Get a Sponsor John asked a senior executive whom he admired to be his sponsor. John’s sponsor helps him get involved in highly visible projects, puts him in front of key decision makers, and talks positively about him with other executives. In conclusion, doing a great job is just not enough. One of the most important things a mentor or coach could do to help Catherine is to identify self-promotion strategies that she can feel comfortable with, and to encourage her to practice those strategies until they become second-nature. Even the most introverted person can discover techniques to showcase their value. Maribeth D. Renne, CMF, has her own leadership and career coach practice and is a senior consultant with The Leader’s Edge/ Leaders by Design. She can be reached at maribeth@maribethdrennecmf.com. Reprinted with permission from the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs Journal.

Social Media: Exploring Digital Strategies for Business and Career Growth by Eric Majchrzak From business development to building your personal professional reputation, using social media successfully depends upon how you structure your efforts and how much you give. Your commit-

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ment to social media should be considered an investment, much like the time and effort you spend developing trusted relationships. You have to give in order to get. Always think about the ways you can offer value to your network.

What Social Media are About Social media are inherently about relationships. Social media platforms provide two-way communication. Like the telephone, these channels are a vehicle to hold conversations. Relationships can be nurtured in person and online; in both cases it’s important to maintain and build those connections. Social media are about trust. To create trust, you need to build social capital, which is the currency of social media. Social capital can be defined as the level, trust and credibility that you have built up among people, the depth and meaning of those relationships, and the level of action a community will take on your behalf. This is an important concept because social media are considered “Trust” mediums. When someone creates a post on Facebook that attracts comments and the original poster doesn’t respond, that’s the equivalent of turning your back on someone in a conversation. That’s breaking trust. If you are looking to embrace social media, there should be no gap between the way people experience you in person and the way they experience you online. If you are engaging and considerate in person, shouldn’t you also be online? Be consistent. Your reputation online is just as important in the digital space. In many ways, the stakes are higher because the social web acts as a megaphone.

Be Careful It can take months and even years to build reputation and trust, but it only takes a minute to ruin it. It’s critical that you use good judgment and common sense when online. Assume everybody sees what you post all the time. Be aware of its pitfalls, be sensitive to others and make sure your posts aren’t just about you or your company. If you have one misstep, it can be magnified – and it can lurk around forever.

Successful Outcomes of Social Media The business case for social media is powerful. Here are some of the more popular outcomes you can accomplish. While this is not an all-inclusive list, it’s a good representation of the major business objectives of social media: Business intelligence/research — Information on your clients, prospects, recruits and employees is now at your fingertips. Much can be gained when you get the back-story on people. If you have a meeting with someone for the first time, you can visit their LinkedIn and Facebook profile and get

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• • • If you are looking to embrace social media, there should be no gap between the way people experience you in person and the way they experience you online.

a better picture of who they are — both as an individual and as a company. Lead generation/sales — There are many ways companies can grow their practice using social media. From the content you post, to promoting certain products, to showing thought leadership, staying active on your channels and trying different things will often trigger a sale. One underutilized tactic is monitoring and searching for sales opportunities through people’s pain points. For example, if you search certain terms like “recommend accounting firms” or “recommend consultant” in LinkedIn groups or Twitter, many queries will come up from people in need. This is a proactive approach to finding new business. Enhancing relationships/networking — Social media is just like having a conversation in person. You have the ability to comment on what others post, you can reach out to people directly and connect. Deep relationships can be developed. Many of the folks I’ve met online are close friends, and in many cases I’ve never met them in person. When you are consistent and have built trust online, good things can happen, including: introductions, business opportunities, invites, referrals and leads. Recruiting — Social media comes in handy when trying to recruit or look for a job because it gives a candidate a peek under the hood of your company. Visiting a organization’s Facebook page will offer a glimpse of company culture. It’s good for candidates and it’s good for companies who are hiring. LinkedIn allows you to sort through passive candidates and those who are more active in the market. Often candidates will have robust profiles that include their skills, passion and community involvement. This transparency streamlines the interview process and gives people more information on how to prepare walking into an in-person meeting. Awareness (expanding your influence/reach) — Social media is a megaphone for your expertise. While publishing an

ASCPA E-Zine Series—Career Success article used to be the main way thought leaders would get their message out to the world, digital channels now allow you to expand your reach and reputation exponentially into different markets at virtually no cost. Building reputation, trust and credibility — Again, consistency in social media and online communication will pay dividends. Posting content your audience finds valuable will demonstrate you are an expert. Consider making introductions, building connections, reposting other people’s updates and sharing other people’s writing. Be a resource and share your knowledge freely.

Develop a Strategy We know social media plays into our success as firms, but how do you develop a strategy? Research -—First, find your constituents online. If you are selling products to engineers, go where the engineers hang out. Do your research and find their communities. They may not be on all the social media channels, but you may find they spend a majority of their time on one or two. Go there and make yourself and your business known. Objectives — Next, figure out your goals and objectives. There are qualitative goals that we all like – number of fans, followers, likes you get on any given post or page. But quantitative goals are more important because they are about the relationships. How much value are you providing? How many doors have you opened? Think about what you’re trying to accomplish online and in your practice. Actions — There are several tactics you can employ to get started on implementing your social media strategy: Publish — Think about the message you want to put out to your audience and start creating content that speaks to this message. Post frequently. Share and Promote –—Start sharing the content of others, promote their news and comment to build trust. Monitor — Observe what conversations people are having. Conduct searches and stay on top of prospects and opportunities. Network — Expand, expand, expand. Ask for friend requests, start following people, ask someone to connect with you, and answer emails in a timely manner. All these activities will broaden your reach. Advertise —There are paid options to get the word out about your business. Depending on what your goals are, you may decide to do some or none. Know what’s available. Devices — To stay relevant, you will have to experiment with social media platforms – choose what works for you. Consider how your information is going to flow. Is your blog going to be the “hub” of your activities or your website? Create a

• • • It can take months and even years to build reputation and trust, but it only takes a minute to ruin it. It’s critical that you use good judgment and common sense when online.

game plan for your content marketing. What devices and platforms will you use? Engage and Measure — Constantly assess if these tactics are helping you reach your goals. LinkedIn and Facebook both have enhanced analytics to allow you to see in real time how many people read or share your post. While it’s difficult to put a metric on a relationship, it’s important to look at the connections you have built and your investment in them.

The personal brand? A quick thought about brands: Social media obviously helps build company brands. When it comes to the individual, however, the idea of a personal brand is an oxymoron. Brands are inheritantly impersonal. Individuals are building their reputation; companies are building their brands. When individuals create a brand, they start acting like a corporation – and are usually not as transparent or genuine.

Social Media = Powerful Tool Whether you’re a firm, business or an individual, social media are a powerful tool that can help you communicate, network and find opportunities to enhance your business growth and career. Stay aware, experiment, but most importantly have fun and be genuine. Eric Majchrzak is a shareholder and chief marketing officer at BeachFleischman. He can be reached atemajchrzak@beachfleischman.com.

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For more than three decades, I’ve had the privilege to work with a broad range of professionals, each of whom knew that saying the right thing in the right way could make the difference between success and failure—often on a grand scale. I’ve prepared business people for interviews with Barbara Walters, the BBC, The New York Times, and a wide variety of local media. I’ve coached executives on how to give powerful and persuasive speeches; and helped nonprofit leaders raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’ve also worked with top attorneys to prepare witnesses for high-stakes trials. In this article, I share some of what I’ve learned and taught over the years, including four skills, which can instantly improve your communication— helping you build stronger, richer and more lucrative relationships with existing or new clients, colleagues, staff and the people in your personal life.

Improve Your Communication, Improve Your Business Four Skills to Help Build Stronger and More Lucrative Relationships by Deborah Johnson Most professionals spend a significant portion of every day communicating with others— in person, on the phone, in emails, or even texts. Whether you’re aware of it or not, every communication is an opportunity to gain momentum or stall, engage your listener or turn them off, and in some cases, to win or lose. That means there’s a lot at stake. If you have even a sliver of doubt about how important communication is to your personal success or to the overall success of your practice or business, here’s a startling statistic from another professional group. Of all the malpractice suits filed against attorneys by their own clients, 90% of the suits were not about the law at all. Clients report that it’s because the attorney didn’t communicate well. This is not surprising! Communication is extremely fragile. Regardless of how educated, intelligent or skilled we are, our face-to-face communications skills can be an Achilles heel.

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The Rule of 93 Fundamentally, human communication is made up of two things: What you say and how you say it. Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, at UCLA says that 93 percent of communication is non-verbal. Yes, 93 percent. He breaks it down like this: 55 percent of the meaning of a message is body language and 38 percent is tone of voice. Do the math. That leaves only seven percent for the actual words that are spoken. What this clearly points out is that as powerful as language is, there is something even more powerful. You. You are constantly sending out non-verbal signals. And everyone around you is constantly picking up on them. Have you ever walked into an office and known immediately that something is wrong? Can you tell by someone’s sarcastic tone of voice they don’t mean what they are saying? The point I want you to take away is that you are 100 percent in control of both what you say and how you say it. Here are four tips to help accomplish this control.

Tip Number One: Identify High-Stakes Situations Every day you run into situations where the stakes are high. The secret is in recognizing them ahead of time so you can engage in a win-win conversation. For example, a client who is upset about a bill presents a perfect opportunity to build rapport and increase your perceived value to them. To heighten your recognition of high-stakes situations, I recommend that every morning you spend two minutes evaluating your day and looking for situations where you want to ensure you have successful conversations. Throughout the day be conscious of how you approach conversations, watching for subtle situations where you don’t want to risk things going south.

ASCPA E-Zine Series—Career Success • • • Seasoned professionals must think back to earlier in their own careers so they can better empathize with what the emerging professionals are thinking, feeling and doing.

Tip Number Two: W.I.I.F.M.? We are all hard-wired to listen to what others say through the filter of “What’s In It For Me?” WIIFM might sound selfish, but it’s not. It’s a fine-tuned survival mechanism. Looking out for ourselves is how the human race survived. And that’s a good thing. Once you’re aware of how people are listening to you, you can easily create more win-win conversations. If you need a client to be more timely getting documents to you, apply the WIIFM principle. An old conversation might have sounded like this, “You need to get your documents to us by the 10th. We are running into problems when they come in late; I have to pay overtime to get them filed.” But that’s about you, not about them. Now, focus on what it’s in for them, like money: “If you can get me your documents by the 10th of each month I can save you $150.”

Tip Number Three: Deep Listening Have you noticed that people are losing the ability to truly listen? I see it around me all the time. It is also one of the most common problems I face when preparing professionals for media interviews or preparing witnesses for trial. If a witness isn’t listening to the question during cross examination, he can look like an idiot to 12 people on the jury. When a person is not listening to a question from Barbara Walters, he can look like an idiot to 12 million people. But, how did it get so bad? Here are a few scary stats: 294 billion emails are sent each day. That’s 2.8 million every second. We are hit with more than 3,000 advertising messages per day, bombarding us from every direction. There’s more to do and less time to do it in. We all feel the crush. Is it any wonder that with this barrage of useless information, spam, intrusions, and irritations that we have given up paying attention? Unfortunately, it is seeping into our professional and personal relationships as well. Ever try to have a conversation with someone who is also texting? Ever need to get some important information to a

client on the phone and you can hear them typing away on their computer? The solution? It’s simple. Practice listening. It might sound odd, but you have to train your mind to pay attention. If you become masterful at listening, it will pay off in innumerable ways. When your clients recognize that you are actively listening to their real concerns, they can relax. It builds trust. It cuts down on misunderstandings or misalignment of goals. It saves money. And research shows that it increases job satisfaction and cuts down on stress. The “art” of listening is about doing just that—listening— not listening to yourself think about what you are going to say. It is not jumping in to solve a problem before you’ve heard what it actually is, but listening to everything the person across from you is saying. Over the years, I’ve discovered that you never know what someone will say when they know you are really listening to them. Why? It goes back to the 93 percent non-verbal communication. You send out lots of non-verbal signals to tell people you’re listening to them. Here’s a fun little trick to help you train your brain. Listen for the last three words the person says. Then try to start your sentence with them. That way you have to listen until the end, pause to make sure it is the end, and then think about what you will say in response.

Tip Number Four: Clarify Your Intent The final tip incorporates the 55/38/7 research. It’s about making sure you are clear in your own mind what your intent is before you begin a conversation. There are three parts. First, be clear about what you want the other person to know. Most professionals are very good at this. Second, be clear about what you want the other person to do. Sometimes we get sloppy and aren’t clear. All the best corporate management experts tell you that the more specific you are, the better your outcome. Rather than saying, “Get me the file as soon as possible,” say, “Get me the file by 5 p.m. today.” If you put dates/times into a request, it is more likely to be completed exactly as requested. The third part is a little more elusive, but tremendously important. Be clear about how you want the other person to feel at the end of the conversation. Actually put words to it. Because if you are not clear about how you want them to feel, it will default to their mood at that particular moment and there is no way for you to know what that is or how your message will be received. An easy example is having a tough conversation with an employee who made a mistake. Do you want her to feel de-

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moralized, worthless, like she always makes mistakes, and is about to get fired? Or, do you want her to feel that she is valuable, that you trust her, and that you are confident that the same mistake will not happen again? By simply setting your intent, you dramatically affect your body posture, your tone of voice, as well as the words you use. By practicing these simple tips every day, you can increase your success rate, improve your relationships and ultimately make your personal and professional life much more rewarding. Deborah Johnson is a six-time Emmy-Award winning writer and producer. She has more than 30 years of experience into what highly diverse “audiences” perceive and how to communicate with them effectively. She can be reached at (602) 216-0049 or Deborah@High-StakesCommunication.com or www.HighStakesCommunication.com.

from referrals”? I would politely suggest that this way of thinking falls short of the true power of sales. How many times have you seen someone ruined by inadequate planning? You are in the finance business. You are responsible for the financial livelihood and the financial security of hardworking Americans. In so many cases, you are the last line of defense in the struggle for a meaningful retirement. So, if you are proud of what you do and if you are a highly effective professional, shouldn’t it be your moral obligation to provide your service to more people? If you are truly elite at what you do, and you have the capacity to handle more customers, I’d like you to consider embarking on your own personal crusade—the crusade to bring your wonderful services to as many people as possible. Before we go further into the concept of sales success through a powerful purpose, let’s talk about the psychology of a sale. There is an initial environment of fear that comes with the initiation of most transactions. The buyer thinks that they will be cheated and the seller fears rejection. Referral-based selling works so well, because it reduces the fears for both the buyer and the seller. However, do we want to limit our opportunities to just people in our network?

The Fears of a Salesperson

Overcoming Your Fear of Selling Developing Sales Confidence Through Using Your “Powerful Purpose” by Bart Dunne Why is it that CPAs are so fearful of the word “sales”? It is a simple word that has so many different connotations to it. Have you ever heard someone say, “I hate the idea of selling. I prefer to let my exceptional work do the talking and let new business come

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I keep up with the news. I watch the local version, CNN, and I check the news on the Internet, and I have never noted any reports of violence against a salesperson doing his or her job. If you agree that it is, at the very least, highly unlikely that the sales process will generate physical pain, then let’s focus on the mental anguish that people can suffer from selling. Fear of rejection is the king of all sales fears, and fear of embarrassment / looking bad is also part of the royal court of fear. If reading this article is worth your time, then read this next part to reflect and come back and read it again: The fear of rejection, the fear of looking bad and all other related fears are solely created internally. These fears are worse than just keeping us from success; they are the root of why we lie. Sales expert Jack Canfield puts it best, “Lying is the product of low self esteem—the belief that you and your abilities are not good enough to get what you want... the false belief that you cannot handle the consequences of people knowing the truth about you—which is simply another way of saying, I am not good enough.”

The Fears of a Buyer It’s a wonder that anything gets sold given all of the opportunities for fear in the sales process. A typical buyer comes to a transaction with their defenses up. Think about something as

ASCPA E-Zine Series—Career Success innocent as shopping at the mall. When you are approached by a salesperson while shopping, how often have you said something like “I’m just browsing” and then, maybe five minutes later, when you are ready to buy, you track them down? As previously mentioned, the big central fear for buyers is the idea of being cheated by a salesperson, and the associated fear of looking bad. A big part of the fears come from our subconscious. The subconscious is our internal defense system; it aggregates all of our experiences and perceptions into areas we fear. Unfortunately, between movies, television, and sleazy stereotypes, it is too easy for our subconscious to be filled with negative sales perceptions.

What is Your Purpose? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What is your biggest source of pride in your professional life? I recommend that every person should have a powerful, compelling purpose that is oriented towards the client/prospect. When you are formulating your purpose, think about the huge advantage people enjoy from professional guidance in financial planning; think about your role in shepherding sacred money to preserve quality of life in the post-earning years.

Using a Powerful Purpose to Overcome Fears of Rejection Fear arises from a lack of confidence, a lack of adequacy, a concern that we aren’t good enough. When I think back at all of the things that I am ashamed of, I think about instances where I put myself first, and where I didn’t think enough about others. Reflect back to the last time that you really helped someone. How did it make you feel? What guided you? Typically, the need to help others is so powerful that it overrides any negative visions in our subconscious. We feel comfortable doing things we wouldn’t ordinarily do in the service of others. It gets better! The more you live your powerful purpose, the kind of purpose geared towards helping others, the more your subconscious gets filled with positive thoughts. You can literally good deed your way to a fear-free sales outlook.

Using a Powerful Purpose to Overcome Buyer Fears of Getting Cheated If you are living a powerful purpose oriented towards helping others, your prospects will notice. They’ll notice your integrity, they’ll notice your positive body language, and they’ll especially notice your resolve. People that have a strong purpose inevitably deal in the brutal truth, which is not just refreshing, but an extremely positive surprise to many prospects. In a non-referral selling environment, a prospect’s wall of defense can be high and strong. It is rare when a single act

can bring that wall down; but, the actions of someone with a strong purpose, geared towards helping others, work to bring defenses down one wall at a time.

Using Your Powerful Purpose to Guide Your Sales Efforts The best salespeople are the Knights of the business world. They are driven by a commitment to honor and duty. They use their purpose as the guide throughout the entire sales process. If a prospect or client presents obstacles —yellow lights (caution) or red lights (danger)—don’t panic or back pedal, simply reference your purpose and ask tough questions. Change is hard. If you aren’t already living a powerful purpose in your business, it could take a good deal of time to adopt this practice; however, the best way to change is to get started. If you want to be cautious, pick low-risk environments to try it out, but please get started. It will change your life! The next time you worry that you might be imposing on someone, please envision what his or her life could be like 20, 30, or more years from now (when it will be time for them to enjoy his or her golden years) and think about the amazing contribution your services can make towards a secure future that eludes so many people today. Bart Dunne was a practicing CPA in California until he moved to Arizona in 1996. Today he is the Head Revolutionary of The Rubicon Revolution. You can contact Bart at Bart@RubiconRevolution.com.

Is Being An Introvert Really So Bad? by Heidi Frei, MBA, ABC When I was in grade school, I remember my parents coming home from parent teacher conferences and saying, “Your teacher said you are so shy and quiet.” I think that is the first time I realized that most people looked at introversion as a bad thing. Throughout my life people have been quick to point out, “You are so quiet.” I would usually respond, “Well, someone has to listen.” It became clear that I would have to make some adjustments to fit into our American culture of extroversion, without losing the benefits of introversion. When I saw the book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain, I knew it was a

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must read. I learned more about the strengths of an introvert and how they can be heard. Many CPAs consider themselves introverts, so I thought I would share some of what I learned. It is also helpful information for extroverts who manage introverts, so they can find ways to use the talents of an introvert more effectively.

Based on these observations, it would be important to examine your own organization to see what types of employees and culture you have. You may even see differences in departments, which may require a different type of leader from department to department.

Creativity

Leadership When you think of top leaders of the past and present, there are some names that come up over and over like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and Herb Kelleher. But do leaders really have to be extroverted and charismatic to be effective? Cain shares a study by Wharton management professor Adam Grant. Grant talked about some of the benefits of introverted leaders, “. . . introverts are uniquely good at leading initiative-takers. Because of their inclination to listen to others and lack of interest in dominating social situations, introverts are more likely to hear and implement suggestions. Having benefited from the talents of their followers, they are then likely to motivate them to be even more proactive.” Grant continued, “Extroverts, on the other hand, can be so intent on putting their own stamp on events that they risk losing others’ good ideas along the way and allowing workers to lapse into passivity. But with their natural ability to inspire, extroverted leaders are better at getting results from more passive workers.”

Many creative individuals are introverts. Cain shares a creativity study from the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research at the University of California, Berkeley. She reports that “the more creative people tended to be socially poised introverts. They were interpersonally skilled but ‘not of an especially sociable or participative temperament.’” Cain shared that new ideas often come to mind when people are working alone and uninterrupted, which is a common situation for introverts. Many of us have heard that brainstorming in groups results in the best ideas. She shared several studies that show this isn’t the case. Some of the barriers to developing good ideas are that some people do not speak up when they have great ideas, sometimes the leader takes the ideas of the most vocal member of the group, and some people are led to believe that the group has come up with the best decision. The studies did identify a type of group brainstorming that was effective, and that is through online collaboration, which allows for some of the “alone” time that is successful for idea generation from individuals and puts everyone at a more even level.

Volunteer Opportunities Make business connections, meet new friends, learn a new skill, all while giving back to your profession and the community. The ASCPA offers a variety of opportunities to get involved. Go here to find out about the many ways you can get involved

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How to Get Results from an Introvert Introverts need down time alone – asking them to interact in an all-day meeting and then attend a social event right after may be too much. Also, working in an environment of cubicles may be too distracting for the introvert. Introverts sometimes have difficulty showing emotion. They feel the emotions but sometimes do not express them clearly because they do not like conflict. Introverts respond more favorably to leaders who speak in a calm manner rather than using a loud, forceful tone to motivate. If you have watched “The Biggest Loser,” think Bob vs. Jillian. Introverts do better in smaller group communications. They prefer one-on-one conversations, so they are more likely to be successful when they don’t have to compete with a large group. If small group communication is not possible, seek out the introverts after meetings to see if they have any additional insights. Introverts like advance notice and an opportunity to review materials before a meeting. They like to limit surprises and analyze carefully.

When You Have to be an Extrovert To fit into the extroverted world, sometimes introverts have to go to uncomfortable places. There are times that you will have to give a presentation, drum up new business or attend a social event. It is almost impossible to be completely introverted. Introverts find it easier to be extroverted when they feel passionate about something. To develop presentation skills, a good way to practice would be to give a presentation about something you enjoy doing. I have found Toastmasters to be an excellent way to practice in a safe, encouraging setting. It will allow you to practice impromptu speaking and prepared speeches. (www.toastmasters.org) Small talk can be one of the most difficult things for introverts to do. Preparation can be the key to success. Going to an event with a list of questions in your head to ask and answers for these questions will help you feel more at ease. One of the most common questions you will be asked is, “What’s new?” Being prepared to talk about your organization’s new service or a trip you just took will help you easily answer this question and start the flow of conversation. According to another researcher in the book, extroverts enjoy talking to introverts. “Extroverts need to know that introverts – who often seem to disdain the superficial – may be only too happy to be tugged along to a more lighthearted place; and introverts, who sometimes feel as if their propensity for problem talk makes it safe for others to get serious.” One of my most trusted colleagues in my field is an extreme extrovert.

People have always thought it was an odd combination, but we have found the introvert-extrovert bond to be strong. Introverts love to listen, so asking a lot of questions and showing genuine interest in the answers will make you a favorite. If you still feel uncomfortable with networking, another tip is to practice by going to events for a favorite charity or other special interest. It will instantly give you something in common with the others to share your passions. Introverts may also be involved in the sales process. After getting over the initial discomfort of making a sales call, which may be difficult for an introvert, the actual sales process is well suited for an introvert. A successful introverted salesperson, Jon Berghoff, said, “I discovered early on that people don’t buy from me because they understand what I’m selling. They buy because they feel understood. I got to the point where I could walk into someone’s house and instead of trying to sell them some knives, I’d ask a hundred questions in a row. I could manage the entire conversation just by asking the right questions.”

Learn More The book includes an interesting history of how extroversion became the ideal, Cain’s theories on how the banking industry collapse was a result of a reliance on extroverts as leaders and strategists, and profiles of some famous introverts. In the end, I think you will see that one type is not better than the other and that both introverts and extroverts have an important part to play in the business world. Heidi Frei, MBA, ABC, is director of marketing & membership at the ASCPA. She can be reached at hfrei@ascpa.com.

Don’t Be the Generic Brand by Joseph M. Dougherty, III Steve Jobs, Mother Teresa, Frank Sinatra, Walt Disney, Martin Luther King Jr., Al Capone. What do all of these people have in common? Not that much except for their fame, right? Some have used their “celebrity” for good, some for bad, and some for entertainment and profit. But when you think of each one of these individuals, a clear and visual picture comes to mind of who they were, what they stood for, and what it is that they did. They had brands. They are brands. Brands are some of the most critical and closely guarded aspects of corporate enterprises. Large global brands, such as

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Coca-Cola and Ford, collectively have spent billions to develop and protect their image. Service companies such as Disney and Four Seasons have immense staff-training budgets to ensure that front-line personnel project a high-quality experience to each and every customer. If successful companies are willing to invest so much time, energy, and capital into their brands, why aren’t we doing the same for ourselves and our careers? We spend years honing and developing a skillset that has a real and quantifiable worth in the marketplace. We then market our services to our “customers,” whether they be our clients or the organizations that we work for. We compete daily for new customers or new assignments and promotions. Personal branding is one of the hottest topics in today’s career management. Your competitors, coworkers, and industry colleagues are likely beginning to focus on theirs. Here are four steps to get you started in creating your own personal brand.

Observe and acknowledge your existing brand

Get online to strengthen and protect your brand Do a Google search on yourself regularly. If you have a common name, add a professional keyword to refine your results. Look for any potentially disparaging or misguiding information. If found, contact the site to see if you can get it removed. The easiest way to begin to build an online brand is to sign up for a LinkedIn account. This free online gathering place of professionals has revolutionized the world of recruiting and talent acquisition. Build, communicate, and protect your brand just as the blue chip companies do. You will quickly find yourself confidently projecting the image that keeps your customers buying what it is that you are selling. Joseph M. Dougherty III is a principal with Career Concepts Inc. in Blue Bell. He can be reached at jmdougherty@cciconsulting.com. Reprinted with permission from the Pennsylvania CPA Journal, a publication of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs.

Ask at least two people that you trust to honestly share how they would describe you to another person. Ask a boss or key coworker for the same, and be sure to clarify that you are looking to make improvements and want to hear more than compliments. Be genuine in your request and thankful to those who give you feedback.

Develop and draft a new brand If you were listening to a conversation where you were being described to another person, what would you want said? Write that down, and be clear, concise, and descriptive. Are you a CPA who specializes in a certain function or industry? Do you want to be known as the specialist with niche expertise or a well-rounded generalist who understands business and operations. Make it right for you and make it memorable.

Communicate your personal brand Regardless of who your target audience may be (customers, coworkers, colleagues), look for opportunities to tell your story. Add it to your e-mail signature and business card, if appropriate. Join a committee or project where you can interact with new people and build awareness of who it is that you are and what it is that you do. Offer to speak at a local networking event. These groups are constantly looking for experts to come in and talk about a new topic. Lastly, write a short article for an industry publication. It is a great way to showcase your areas of interest and to make interesting contacts in the process. Whatever your story, get it out there and tell it to the world.

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