One Managing Partner’s Dedication to Core Values

Source: CPA Practice Management Forum

Alan Sobel, managing member of Sobel & Co. in Livingston, New Jersey, believes his job, among other things, is to be the “moral compass” for the firm. He believes that values such as integrity, trustworthiness, ethics, compassion, and honesty are more than subjects for lip service. They guide everyday professional lives. He says, “I assume responsibility for making this happen and for reminding my firm what we are really all about and what our values are.” The firm’s core values include quality, caring, outstanding service, diversity, responsibility, passion, learning, and growth.

Sobel & Co. has incorporated its core values in its mission statement. Staff and partners are asked to recognize specific circumstances in which the core values were (or were not) effectively exhibited.
Here are some practices Sobel uses to motivate its people to internalize these values:

• Staff members are nominated by their peers for the “True Professional Award,” bestowed three times a year. The award is given to those professionals who have exceeded their responsibilities in client service, helping others in the firm, community service, or individual achievements.
• Every month the firm’s internal newsletter identifies someone who has demonstrated devotion to core values.
• A contest was held to adopt a logo that symbolizes the firm’s core values. The logo has been placed on mouse pads, wallet-size laminated cards with the mission statement, and tattoos (washable of course).
• Special observances of core values are celebrated, such as:
  • Withdrawing from an engagement when the firm is uncomfortable with a client’s tax aggressiveness. (Ethics and trustworthiness)
  • Mentoring in an informal way. (Caring)
  • Using benchmarks to help clients with difficult decisions. (Outstanding service)
  • Allowing flexibility for staff with special burdens at home. (Diversity)
  • Volunteering to head internal task forces or community programs. (Responsibility)
  • Recognizing individual achievements such as passing the CPA exam. (Passion)
  • Pursuing assignments that stretch for new heights. (Growth and learning)

Core values will not be internalized by the firm if the managing partner does not believe in and continually communicate them.

From CPA Practice Management Forum, CCH Incorporated, 800-449-8114, January 2007, p. 5. For the complete article, click here.