CPA Practice Advisor - 31

THE MILLENNIAL ADVISOR
FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION:

GARRETT WAGNER, CPA

CEO/Founder, C3 Evolution Group
garrett.wagner@cpapracticeadvisor.com

We are the frog, sitting in the
boiling pot. As 2020 draws to a close,
far too many are unaware how hot
the water has become. Like most
of us, you may not have sensed the
water's boiling point as we try to
stay on top of a constantly changing
set of challenges and difficulties.
For those who haven't heard
this horrid tale before, the story
goes like this. The frog gets placed
in a pot of cold water that slowly
comes to a boil. Since the water
warms over time, before the frog
realizes its fate, that is the end of
the day for our friend the frog. This
fable illustrates the dangers of living

LEAPFROG 2020
INTO 2021

NEVER BEFORE HAS the fable of the boiling frog been more relevant than today.
in the moment-a common failure
when either too much good or too
much bad takes place around us. It
is hard to both go through life each
day and notice the small or large
incremental changes that each day
brings.
Whatever your age or experience,
we are all in the same pot, as it were.
For the millennial generation, this
is not the first global event you have
witnessed of its kind. For the older
crowd, we may have lived through
wars, prior epidemics on smaller
scales, economic downturns-but
nothing quite like 2020.

THE BOILING POINT

REACHING DRY GROUND

The first step as we enter this
final quarter of 2020 is to stop and
recognize where you are today. You,
your co-workers, and especially all
your clients, are each feeling many
of these same feelings. What differs
may be our abilities to articulate
them-and to appreciate that we
are at a boiling point.
It is okay for you to admit this
has been a truly raucous year. Before
you can scramble out of the pot, your
first step is admitting that this isn't
a wading pool or a hot tub. This year
is a pot of boiling water. We all need
to get out ASAP!
The next step is to share this bit
of news with those around you. Hold
a video conference on the topic of
the fable of the frog. Use a funny
analogy to let your clients own up
to how they feel about the stress and
frustrations they see around them in
their people, their customers-and
themselves.
Show your value by sharing
your own truths about what we
all know to be quite real. If you're
worried about having this kind of
semi-personal conversation with
clients, one that isn't related to a tax
return, take comfort in the fact that
everyone is in the same pot right
now. Let that shared experience
and shared frustration ease your
discomfort. The important thing
is that we are all experiencing the
same high degrees of adversity,
which will make talking about it
even easier.

After awareness and self-reflection,
we move into the vital step of planning ahead. Let's look forward to
what we can do and what we can
control in 2021.
The best way to avoid another
boiling point is to barrel into 2021
with a plan of what you want to
accomplish. Take a couple of days
as you wrap up 2020 and think about
what goals and objectives deserve
your focus and attention in the new
year. With a clear direction, you will
avoid being pushed or pulled into
another pot of water-temperatures
unknown-and take control of your
own path.
2020 may possibly go down as
one of the most challenging years in
the accounting landscape and world.
Hope is not a strategy as we move
toward 2021.
The fable of the boiling frog tells
us to be aware of complacency when
times are both too good-and too
horrible to think we have choices.
We have choices right now. We
can choose to climb out of 2020 and
regain control of each and every
variable within our grasp. Chart
your own path to success in 2021
by involving others in the process.
Invite co-workers and clients into
the conversation. Collectively, there
is strength in numbers with more
of you and your colleagues acting
as a new network of sensors and
indicators in the year ahead.
Don't let 2021 sneak up on you.
The time is now. ■

DECEMBER 2020 ■

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