What It Actually Takes to Have a Good Q4
By Frank Gramlich, CPA | Xavier Financial Services
One thing I have never had to question about myself is whether I will show up. The accountability has always been there. The execution sometimes can be a different story. I am far from perfect. When I miss a day or get derailed by a fire drill, it used to take me a day or two to get back on track. The recovery itself became a problem on top of the original disruption.
What I have learned, slowly and through repetition, is that the response to a derailment matters as much as the thing that caused it. Sometimes you just have to flush it. Set a hard stop, force yourself onto the next item, and keep active work from piling up behind a problem you can no longer control. When I am scheduling, I try to build in realistic time estimates precisely because fire drills are going to happen. Planning for them requires discipline and accountability to myself.
The Business Owner Is Both the Asset and the Risk
Running a practice like XFS means wearing a lot of hats, but two matter more than the rest: rainmaker and technician. I enjoy selling accounting services, and my strongest professional skill is delivering them. Fulfillment is not always what I want to do most on a given day, and that honest tension is something every business owner in client service lives with. If I do not do the accounting work, it does not get done. If I do not sell, the pipeline stalls. There is no backup version of me to absorb a distracted week.
That is what makes the business owner - YOU - the biggest asset and the biggest single point of risk in any service practice. Consistency at the owner level is not optional, discipline is the key.
What a Deliberate August Looks Like
This summer has been busy. That is well documented in these pages. My typical August has been organized around two things: the September 15th extension deadline and tax planning season. The extension clients need to be re-engaged now, and I am already making those calls this week. The quiet tap on the shoulder in late July is what keeps September from becoming a scramble.
Tax planning is XFS's other pillar. Preparation for tax planning season needs to begin in August. This year I have added layers of procedure to make the process more impactful and consistent across clients. The advice remains custom, as it always will, but the process and presentation have become more homogenous. This should create a better experience and faster more efficient execution.
What Consistency Actually Requires
Consistency is showing up on the days when it would be easier not to. It is building a schedule that accounts for fire drills rather than pretending they will not happen. It is making the call, logging the follow-up, and finishing the return even when something else is competing for your attention.
December 31st does not sneak up on people who are paying attention in August. It arrives on schedule for everyone, but the firms that are ready started getting ready before the pressure began.
Next month, we look at what to do when something actually is broken, and how to fix it without burning down the house.
Kids are getting ready to go back to school. Training camp is here. That means football is right around the corner!!! If you need me on a Saturday this fall, I'll be tailgating! Go Owls! … and of course, Go Birds!
