The Importance of Mindset: Why Complaining is a Waste of Time

This just in…

Intuit is getting rid of Tags. OMG!!! Panic and disorder have ensued. The accounting community is up in arms. How can they do this? And the timing! They are going away in March of all months!!!!

But they told us 4 months in advance, so unless you are planning on waiting until March to do something about it, this really shouldn’t be an issue.?

They are just trying to force us to upgrade to advanced - those greedy bastards!!

Actually, they literally did the opposite here by offering 1 custom field in products that otherwise included none. So, there goes that complaint!

And they explained that very few people were using them, so there’s that!

I’ve seen people writing and engaging in endless posts and threads about this. And it’s a lot of the same people in multiple places. And I think to myself (not what a wonderful moon), “how much time are they spending on this?!"

I bet if they spent the same time figuring out a solution, they would have it by now and could begin executing a plan to update reporting for all clients who were using tags. I’m guessing there wouldn’t be too many either.

Then you have ChatGPT help you write a message to any clients affected explaining what is happening and what the solution is.

Then you can check off a customer experience box based on how you informed the clients and implemented a solution before they even knew there was an issue.?

Next you can move on to more revenue generating activities.?

What is the solution?

Tags live at the source of a transaction, meaning you cannot split a transaction by Tags. This is likely why they aren’t widely used. You have three choices:

• Locations
• Classes
• Convert to a Custom Field

Locations

Locations also live at the source of a transaction, so that might be the way to go.?

Classes

Classes might represent an improvement over Tags in that they can live at the detail level meaning you can split a transaction by class. By implementing this as the alternative you might get better reporting.

If you are already using classes, then it may be a matter of getting creative. You can have multiple levels of sub-classes. I’ve consulted with companies who needed multiple unrelated dimensions reported using classes. We came up with a system with every needed combination of dimensions in the form of classes. You can sketch this out in a spreadsheet. It’s quick and easy, and it works!

Convert to a custom field

This is probably your best option. Take Intuit up on their offer and use a custom field.?

Complaining doesn’t help anyone! Not you, nor your clients, employees, or vendors. No one’s situation is ever improved by complaining.?

Solutions help everyone

Solutions by contrast help everyone. Clients, employees, and vendors all benefit from you staying focused on solutions.?Then you have an opportunity (if you want) to lead others to the solution (and maybe get paid for it).

It’s a mindset thing. When we are focused on solutions it is like an attraction magnet for all of the things we want around us, and none of the things we don’t.

Flip this script for a minute.?

You just got the news about Tags going away.?

On your left is an accountant who is complaining about all of the reasons why they are so upset, and “here they go again” and so on.

On your right is an accountant who is saying, “OK great, so they are removing tags. I get it. No one is using them. Let’s make a plan for how to handle this. We have four months to execute a plan that shouldn’t take more than 15 - 30 minutes to figure out.?

First, let’s go through our client list and see who is even using them. Next, we’ll decide what we want to do instead. Then we’ll assign the task of updating transactions and then the reporting we need. If we start now and spend 30 - 60 minutes per week on this, we should be done well before the end of March.

Let’s dig in first on how converting to a custom field will work. It may be that this is the easiest thing to do, especially if everything will convert over. In other words, transactions and reports that were using tags will be updated to reflect the same data with a custom field. Let’s research the implications - if we had multiple tags on a transaction will the custom field be a multi-select field that will include all of the options?

One way or another we’ll figure this out, and while we’re at it, let’s see how we can make these reports even better! We’ll probably find that there is a lot that wasn’t even being used, so we can freshen it up and make it more useful in the process.

Whom do you want to hang out with?

The accountant on the left, or the one on the right?

Whom do you think is more fun, interesting, and exciting to be around?

The one who stands still and complains, or the one who wants to discuss ideas for how to move forward?

Mindset is everything.

You can read all kinds of articles about companies that have been really successful across a wide range of industries, and there will always be common thread.

Mindset.

In fact, I just read an article about how the CEO of Build-A-Bear turned things around:

How Sharon Price John Took Build-A-Bear From Imploding Profitability To Record Results

In essence this was about mindset, and the biggest clue is the following:

“You're creating an emotional connection with consumers that's stretchable to a branded intellectual property company that just happens to have vertical retail as one of its revenue streams, which can evolve to be a very different business model,” John said. “Then you start building an infrastructure and bringing in talent that understands that new construct. After we initially returned to profitability, it would have been easy to stay in our lane, especially if the lane generates strong cash flow. But do you want to be good or do you want to be the best you can be? While we can be great vertical retailers, I believed we were capable of being so much bigger than that.”

How about this idea? Use the issue of tags going away as the starting point for a conversation with clients about how you can improve their reports! How’s that for a way to create an emotional connection with your customer? Get an update on what would be really useful information for them right now!

“John understood that her evolved vision of what Build-A-Bear could become was not aligned with how the company had been operating. And to actualize her vision, she needed buy-in from the team; she had to sell them on her plan. Despite the challenging feat before her, John was energized by the task.”

Getting “buy-in" from the team is 100% about mindset. Notice what this also says about her own mindset - she was “energized by the task.” That's the mindset!

As accountants we spend way too much time trying to measure things based on what happened in the past.?

The things that really matter. The things that will have the greatest impact on the future can’t be measured:

Mindset. Motivation. Being energized.?

“John’s approach was a systematic overhaul of the company’s internal organs, starting with transforming the management’s mindset at every level of the business, from product development and value engineering to sourcing, store operations, marketing and more, all while working to harness the untapped power of the brand the team had built.”

Mindset is everything!?

If you want to turn a bad situation into a great one, or you’re stagnant and need some ideas to freshen things up and renew excitement within your organization??

It starts with you, and it centers around mindset.

What do you want to do today?

Complain about things you cannot control, or focus on what you can??

Do you want to work on your mindset?

Or your own reactions and behaviors that result from those reactions?