President's Message

A Positive Epidemic

By Michele Day, CPA

Perhaps you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s thought-provoking book, “The Tipping Point.� If not, and you’re interested in being an agent of change, you may want to pick it up. His ideas are fascinating. He discusses a theory that has almost universal applicability to our profession, our practices and our lives.

Per Gladwell, “The Tipping Point is the biography of an idea … that the best way to understand the emergence of [popular] trends, the ebb and flow of crime waves, or for that matter, the transformation of unknown books into best sellers, or the phenomena of word of mouth, or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products [CPA services] … and behaviors spread just like viruses do.�

He goes on to say, supported by many studies, that the process of shifting paradigms—ways of thinking and behavior of groups—happens (counter intuitively) very quickly and that “… little things can make a big difference … [as] human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem. … The name given to that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once is the Tipping Point.�

I can hear you wondering: “So, what does all that have to do with the accounting profession and our chapter?�

It’s no secret that our profession is undergoing great change and challenges. We face incessant changes in tax laws (sometimes it seems nearly daily); the advent of new auditing and international, principles-based accounting standards; and the shifting sands of our own economy wherein we are the trusted and knowledgeable financial advisers. Plus, we must factor in the challenges of building successful practices and careers, including attracting, developing and retaining qualified, enthusiastic staff members and clients. Perhaps one of the largest challenges is keeping our sanity and balance as we try to live lives that make a difference in a world that is spinning as fast as our world is. Gladwell’s ideas are highly applicable to helping us navigate through and improve these unsettled waters.

I recently attended a very inspiring Business and Industry Committee meeting featuring Solomon Darwin, executive director of the Center for Financial Reporting & Management at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. In his discussion about fraud and ethics, Darwin cited some disturbing statistics about the pervasiveness of cheating at higher levels of education and in business, plus the broad spectrum of ethical behaviors across societies. (Remember, these are the diverse societies that are trying to bring accounting standards under one international set of guidelines.)

It was most disturbing, yet inspiring. In thinking about Gladwell’s ideas, I can see great value in utilizing them to make positive changes to address these issues—to “deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own.� I invite you to read the book. Learn about the three roles of people who translate the ideas into a language others can understand and, in turn, facilitate massive and dramatic change given the right context:

• “Mavensâ€� (M): technical geniuses who love to share their knowledge;
• “Connectorsâ€� (C): those who cross-pollinate groups with resources and ideas and bring the world together; and
• “Salesmenâ€� (S): the persuaders (not quite what you might think).

Are you one of these?

Given that it’s September, and we’re just coming off of summer, it can seem like a quiet time around the chapter, but there is a lot of great activity brewing. The committees are coming into full swing, with several already having had successful and well-attended meetings with lots of new faces appearing. Your talented and enthusiastic leadership team is developing diverse and exciting programs for you. Whether by giving you an idea about how to improve your practice (discussion groups, dinner meetings, the Partners’ Forum or the Leadership Training Institute), creating an opportunity for community outreach (financial literacy events) or making a connection with a resource or new client (Sept. 16 - ABC Night), our chapter is setting the stage as a vehicle for positive change.

What more can I say about The Tipping Point … read the book! I’d love to hear your thoughts and to see you “M/C/Ss� in action. Let’s start our own positive epidemics!

See you at ABC Night Sept. 16!

— Michele Day, CPA

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 12:22 pm and is filed under President's Message. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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