MDBizExpo

Perspectives on Business and the CPA Profession revisits CPA Vision

Awesome! Insightful! Interactive, Collaborative and Engaging were how participants described our special pre-summit session titled Perspectives on Business and the CPA Profession. 

We had Managing Partners; CPAs in Business and Industry, Government & Non-Profits, and our New Young Professionals Network together to discuss the latest trends and issues in the CPA profession with the Chair-elect of the AICPA, Paul Stahlin.

This special session featured our I2A: Insights to Action - Strategic Thinking System which uses large graphic templates to help people engage and "see" their thinking. It is also based on research into the five qualities of extraordinary leaders. This same process was used to facilitate the Major Firms Group (AICPA Top 100 firms) in January and is the basis for the AICPA Leadership Academy training.

Then Paul Stahlin and Tom Hood took the group on a tour of the storymaps that were created during the CPA Vision Project (both Paul and Tom were on the CPA Vision team)

Check out these clips as each group shared their "insights". See what similarities you can spot and the differences?

Here is how this special session went:

1. Paul Stahlin gave the “view from the top” Professional Issues Update (about 1 hour)
   About 80 people were seated in tables of 6 and divided into three groups (Practice, Business, Industry & Government, and Young Professionals)
2. The groups were asked to identify the top trends and issues they thought were most significant (have most impact) – using our large graphic template for environmental scan
3. Then they were asked to record “insights” on a post size template (this would be what stuck out for them, what patterns did they notice)
4. We then had all groups share out their insights – that is what you see with the link below:
   http://www.bizlearning.net/strategicplanning/I2A-Summit2010.cfm
5. Then we Paul Stahlin and I shared the Vision story and showed them the two Vision storymaps (one pre-Enron and one after) Download CPA Vision Storymaps  and then asked them to complete the CPA Vision Worksheet which is summarized here Download Perspectives Workshop Feedback Summary.
6. All of the charts and work from the group are captured in this document Download Maryland CPA Summit - CPA Vision

The CPA Vision project was created in 1997 by the AICPA and featured a collaborative effort with the State CPA Societies to engage CPAs in co-creating a vision for the CPA profession of teh future. It was set for the year 2011 with only one (1) year to go. This session combined the current trends and issues with a look back at the CPA Vision and the participants found it overwhelmingly relevant even today. Check out the special report for in-depth coverage Download CPA Vision Final Report

Here are some more references to the CPA Vision Project :

Post from James Reeves, CPA in Fort Worth, Texas - Back to the Future: Revisiting the CPA Vision Project

Futurist Watts Wacker gives CPA Vision an "A" at the MACPA Centennial in 2001

For information on how you can use I2A: Insight to Action for your next summit (I Like summit a lot better than retreat) or for leadership development, contact Pam Devine (pam@bizlearning.net)

Why you need to come to the Maryland CPA Summit

Maryland Association of CPAs CEO Tom Hood gives his reasons you should attend this year's Maryland CPA Summit.

Check out the agenda here

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What will be your key to success in 2010?

The 2010 edition of the MDBIZEXPO - MACPA Member Summit will be THE event of 2010 to help you survive and thrive in these turbulent times.

Just announced - June 29th will be the date of this year's MACPA's Member Summit (aka MDBIZEXPO) and a new location, the New - BWI Hilton Hotel.

This year will feature the hottest topics and speakers in four tracks:

1. Emerging Issues - XBRL, Sustainability, Healthcare, Financing
2. Leadership/Business Acumen - I2A - Insights to Action, Leading in Turbulent Times and more
3. Updates - the economy, lending, financing, technology
4. Fundamentals - the latest on tax, accounting, auditing, financial planning

Special Pre-Event Options on June 28th:

• 11:30-1 p.m. - MACPA Annual Meeting
• 1:30-5 pm - Managing Partner Summit and special update from Mark Koziel of AICPA PCPS  
• 1:30-5pm   - CFO Summit
• 1:30-5 p.m.   - Ethics, Leadership and the Role of the CPA
• 5:30-8 p.m.   - New CPA Swearing In and Reception

After two very successful years, we are shotting for an even better third year after listening to our attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and partners. You can expect the same leading-edge topics, excellent vendors and sponsors with a more focused (CPA-centric) approach in an exciting, more accessible venue.

Don't miss the New CPA Swearing-in Ceremony - evening of June 28th at the BWI Hilton Hotel

For more information about this and other conferences, visit MACPA's  Conferences Page

See highlghts from last year's EXPO at our Social Media Mash-up (by R2integrated) or on our website

Thank you for making the MDBIZEXPO a social network!

As I reflected on the MDBIZEXPO over the last few days, Matt Goddard's (CEO of R2integrated) words kept coming back to me, "the MDBIZEXPO is a social network!" 

The point is that the most important outcome for us and many we have heard from is the network of relationships, connections, and people that this opportunity made possible. Just read the recaps from some of the many articles, posts and twitter conversations that are captured below and you can get the essence of the event and feel the connections that were made.

Our second point is our tremendous gratitude and thanks to all who contributed to this event. We have always said that business is social and this event put a big exclamation mark on that point. So, our thanks to all of our connections, old and new that came together to make this event possible.

Thanks to our Associate sponsors from the Federal and state government and Maryland non-profit community.  The Association for Corporate Growth; Department of Economic and Business Development; Financial Executives International; Greater Baltimore Tech Council; Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants; Maryland Bankers Association; Maryland State Bar Association (Business Section); Maryland World Class Consortia; National Federation of Independent Business; The Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Thanks to our special media sponsors AccoutingWeb, Bay Street Group, Baltimore Business Journal, Smart CEO magazine, Raintoday.com, and Accountants Media Group

Thank to our premium sponsors CCH, Richard J Princinsky, Harvest Bank of Maryland, Mindjet, & Business Learning Institute and over seventy-five exhibitors who demonstrated their support and courage to help us make a difference in Maryland. Like most events in the current economy, we would have liked to see more foot traffic, but we were very successful with workshop attendance and set a new record at the CPA Swearing-in ceremony.

Thanks to all of our friends, speakers, and thought leaders who took time to attend our event.

Thanks to all of our attendees and MACPA members who came out.

Thanks to the MACPA team that worked tirelessly to make this event a success!

You can still see highlights, photos, videos, twitter messages on our Social Mashup (Smash) site provided by R2i.ntegrated http://mdbizexpo.r2ismash.com/ 

Listen to what other people were saying (and writing about):

• Complete MDBizExpo Live! photo gallery
• More photos from the Expo and here
• A call for health care transparency (Expo coverage from The Daily Record)
• Collaborate. Innovate. Grow. (Expo coverage from Financial Executives International)
• Live from the Maryland Biz Expo(Expo coverage from AccountingWeb)
• Live from the Maryland Biz Expo, Part 2 (Expo coverage from AccountingWeb)
• Institute revamps CITP credential, gives Second Life demo(Expo coverage from WebCPA)
• MACPA Takes CPA meeting to new level with hyper-local business outreach(Expo coverage from Rick Telberg of CPA Trendlines)
• First national Survey Results:How Accountants Use Social Media(Expo coverage by Rick Telberg of CPA Trendlines)
• http://retheauditors.com/2009/06/accountants-and-social-media-dream-panel-mdbizexpo/(Expo coverage by Francine McKenna of re:TheAuditors)
• The New, New Economy  & Regulatory Landscape (Expo coverage from Financial Executives International)
• 2009 Maryland Business & Accounting EXPO(coverage by XBRL Blog Magazine
• MD BIZ Expo: Optimism & Opportunity (coverage by Corridor Inc.)
• Maryland's Associations Join Forces to Combat Recession, Spark Recovery(coverage by BusinessWire)

You can also view the Twitter stream under our hashtag #MDBIZEXPO

Our blog CPA Success  posts about the MDBIZEXPO

Don't miss the photos of MDBIZEXPO in Second Life  

'Insights to Action': Strat planning that works

Let's talk about strategic planning. I'm guessing you either love it or hate it, right?

For those who hate it? Well, we've all been a part of strat planning sessions where we come up with 15 or 20 goals, pat each other on the back, then walk out the door and are hit with that sinking feeling that none of that stuff will ever gonna get done.

And what's more demoralizing than that? It's an awful feeling -- the reality that says, "Here's stuff we should be doing, and we're fairly certain we won't ever do it."

Those who love strategic planning, on the other hand, might very well have sat through a strat planning session that was facilitated by Gretchen Pisano.

Gretchen is a champion of what's known as "graphic facilitation" -- the art of making people's thinking visible to others through shared graphics and artwork.

With the help of MACPA Executive Director Tom Hood, Gretchen has developed what she calls a "strategic thinking system." It's called "Insights to Action," and it does just what its name suggests: Through graphic facilitation, it leads organizations through a strategic planning session that results in specific actions, and it does so via five steps:

1. Sight. This is the usual data-gathering step, but it comes with a problem: "We've become very good at gathering data," Pisano said, "but we gather so much of it that we lose sight of which data are important." That's where the second step comes in.
2. Insight: Here, facilitators help their clients make sense of the data by identifying what is most important right now.
3. Create: Pisano explains this step with a question: "What are some of the possibilities we can create out of some of the insights we have?"
4. Communicate -- in other words, explaining the plan to others in a way they can easily understand.
5. Inspire: "This involves communicating what you're doing in a way that's compelling enough that other people want to get on board and become part of the solution," Pisano said.

What really differentiates "Insights to Action" from other strat planning systems, says Hood, is the fact that "we drive them to priorities. We look at high-leverage opportunities and are constantly trying to focus the organization on what's most important. A lot of strat planning systems come out with 15, 20, 30 priorities that never get done. We try to push them to five, and we find that, typically, those five get action."

I've sat through a number of these sessions, and I'm here to tell you, they're amazing. The way they help build consensus, get everyone moving toward a defined set of goals, then follow through and take action on those goals is invaluable.

I sat down with Gretchen and Tom to have them describe the art of graphic facilitation and explain "Insights to Action" in detail. Listen to what they had to say in this CPA Spotlight podcast.

• Subscribe to our podcast here, or search for "CPA Spotlight" in iTunes.
• This slideshow takes a closer look at "Insight to Action."
• Don't miss the new BLI course "Insights to Actions: Strategic Thinking System," on July 13-14. 

More at the Expo
Pisano will lead a session titled "Insights to Action, Strategic Thinking System," during Day 2 of the Maryland Business and Accounting Expo, slated for June 16-17 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Get complete details and register here.

Think you know your clients? Think again

How many of you think you know what your clients want?

OK, you can all put your hands down, because I have another question: How many of your clients would agree that you know what they want?

We all like to think that we know what our clients want, that we're providing real value that will improve their lives. According to Mike Schultz, though, reality paints a very different picture.

"There's a pretty strong disconnect between how buyers are buying and how (professional service providers) believe they are selling," said Schultz, president of the management consulting firm Wellesley Hills Group and publisher of RainToday.com, a site that provides professional service firms with advice and resources. "I think it all boils down to human nature. We all think we are better than we are."

To prove his point, Schultz pointed to a 2008 survey from Bain & Company. In it, 80 percent of professional service providers said they offer clients a superior experience -- but only 8 percent of clients agreed.

Likewise, Schultz's group has surveyed people who buy professional services and found that:

• 38 percent of them said their professional service provider does not listen to them.
• 30 percent said their provider does not respond in a timely manner.
• 30 percent said their provider does not understand their needs.
• 24 percent said their relationship with the provider has no personal chemistry.
• 22 percent said the provider has not crafted a compelling solution to their needs.

So how do we bridge that gap? According to Schultz, the first step is to do what we say we are going to do. Little things like showing up on time, returning calls and meeting deadlines go a long way toward building trust and enhancing reputations.

That sounds simple enought, but Schultz says there are lots of other ways in which CPAs and other professional service providers can successfully sell their services and build trust and loyalty with clients. Listen to what he has to say in this CPA Spotlight podcast.

• Subscribe to our podcast here, or search for "CPA Spotlight" in iTunes.

Learn more at the Expo
Schultz will present a session titled "How Clients Buy Accounting and Professional Services" during Day 1 of the Maryland Business and Accounting Expo, slated for June 16-17 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Get complete details about the Expo and register here.

Top 3 Leadership Priorities in a Recession

How do you survive a major recession? How do you deal with continuous change?

Answer: Strong leadership and strategic thinking skills. According to a recent study by the IMA, the top 3 leadership priorities needed are:

1. Productivity - doing more with less
2. Motivating the workforce
3. Pursuing growth opportunities

These and many other key leadership skills are being featured at the MDBIZEXPO. Here are a couple of key sessions that provide skills development in these three areas:

Our keynote titled 10% or Die using innovative leadership to thrive in a brutal economy - covers both productivity and pursuing growth opportunities. Jim Swartz, Author of "Seeing David in the Stone" will give you new ways to think about increasing productivity, decreasing costs, and increasing your value offering to customers using techniques from the "deep lean"and innovative leadership fields.

Motivating the workforce is covered in our high energy session titled Leadership at the helm in a storm by BLI favorite instructor, Greg Conderacci, Inspiring Accountability - excellence in management, and Finding the strength to get it done - energy management all provide skills you can apply immediately to help motivate and inspire your team.

As for opportunities, the EXPO is full of sessions designed to help businesses and CPAs, large and small find opportunities in maryland that they can put to use immediately. Working with a broad coalition of Maryland's top business associations and federal and state business development groups we have sessions that teach you "how to" and provide resources and contacts in areas like BRAC, government contracting, international trade, SBA loans, financing, and more. Here is a list of our associate sponsors:

Maryland Chamber of Commerce , Maryland Bankers Association, Greater Baltimore Tech Council, Maryland World Class Consortia, Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, US Small Business Association, National Federation of Independent Business, Association for Corporate Growth, Maryland Bar Association - business section

The EXPO will provide special "Connection Plus" sessions for many of these programs giving you time to interact with the speakers, exhibitors and attendees as we provide facilitated conversations about these key topics at your table. you will gain the perspectives from the community, build new relationships, and have time to think about how these concepts can help you and your business or firm.

And an all-star line up of business sponsors and exhibitors with resources and services you need to survive the recession.

Register now - 2 days, 60 workshops, $250.00 Registration link

See the agenda here

More Articles:

Twelve steps to find & seize opportunities

How to get the right things done an evening with maryland manufacturing

MDBIZEXPO + R2iSMASH = a Social Mash Up

"Economic growth requires more than just knowledge. It requires networking as well as access to suppliers, government agencies, and partners who will help our companies grow and compete beyond our region." - Tom Hood

Business is about people and people are social that is why we have inserted social media throughout the MDBIZEXPO and made networking and connections such priority. (See post Up Your Whuffie Factor)

We see this event as a way to connect people which is why we are really excited about this technology tool. This latest version of R2i SMASH will showcase what the EXPO is really all about - people - connections - the network.

When we heard about this from our friends at GB Tech and the Maryland Chamber, we knew we had to have it for this event, so we went to Matt Goddard at R2i.ntegrated in Baltimore and said that they had to be a sponsor of the EXPO and they said YES!

Matt will be featured in a keynote on Tuesday, June 16th (10:15 a.m. 11:05 a.m.) - as he talks about "The Social Reality- Turning the Social Media Hype Into Real Value for Your Business"

This platform offers us the ability to capture the energy and excitement of the EXPO by showcasing all of the cool people in attendance and connecting those who can't be here with us LIVE. Attendees will be able to send photos, tweets, and text messages (use hashtag #MDBIZEXPO09 and mail live@macpa.org) and we will be conducting live interviews during the two days which will be broadcast through our MDBIZEXPO R2i SMASH site. It will be featured at three viewing stations around the EXPO and live on the website throughout the conference and after. We see this as an way to delver extra value to all of our thought leaders, speakers, and major sponsors who are making the investment in Maryland's future with us.

Check out our link with last year's photos and current twitter stream on our MDBIZEXPO R2i SMASH site now and check back as the conference starts.

R2i recently returned from San Fran where they unveiled the latest version of their social networking mash up technology as the focal point of the Inbound Marketing Summit 2009 Conference. Assigned the aptly named moniker "Smash", short for social mash up, R2i SMASH provides a robust and friendly environment which integrates the popular heavyweight social networking capabilities of Twitter, Flickr, text messaging, mobile video, Ustream, webcasting and multimedia messaging.With R2i SMASH you can quickly setup anything from a simple page with grouped social streams, to a full event conferencing web property, complete with locations, sessions, abstracts and schedules to conduct a full social networking world’s fair online or shared and in person.

R2i SMASH has been used for simple websites used to act as the one-stop takeaway point for single day conferences, to multi-day extravaganzas. It can have a custom user interface for each event, or a set of shared layouts for quick setup for use in any setting.

• Quick setup
• Custom URLS
• Popular social networking feeds
• Twitter tweets by tags and phrases
• Flickr pics by tag and author
• SMS texts from custom email addresses
• SMS pictures with automatic scaling
• Video streams with web capture
• Built in moderation capabilities
• Quick export of all multimedia types for archiving
• Adjustable and skinable layout
• Custom dimension flexibility appropriate for any display requirements like:
o laptops/desktops
o conference booths
o TV and HDTV
o standard and widescreen projectors

R2i SMASH brings you the best features of social networking, in one centrally located package.

Download R2i SMASH

Up your Whuffie Factor at the MDBIZEXPO

or How to use social media to increase your business and boost your career.

"Whuffie is the culmination of your reputation, influence, bridging and bonding capital, current and potential access to ideas, talent and resources, saved-up favors, and accomplishments." from the book, The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt (@missrogue on twitter)

The MDBIZEXPO will feature some of the top social media gurus in business and accounting and plenty of sessions designed to help you harness these new tools for your business and career.

Pictured are a few of the nationally-recognized gurus who stopped by our tweet-up back in February at our MACPA Columbia CPA Center (@chris_jenkins @tomhood @billsheridan, @pinnovation, @retheauditors, @editho @cpatrendlines). There were even more cool people at the tweetup like @robinyasnow @will_burns @jamesuccpa, etc. That conversation led us to integrate and weave social media throughout the EXPO, to help you build your whuffie. In addition we will have plenty more social media gurus helping you build your whuffie at sessions like these:

1. Matt Goddard of R2.Integrated will talk about The Social Reality- Turning the Social Media Hype Into Real Value for Your Business
2. Rick Telberg of CPA Trendlines will feature the results of the first survey of CPAs and uses of Social Media
3. Bill Sheridan will feature a panel of nationally recognized bloggers and social media experts from AccountingWeb, Accounting Technology Magazine, Journal of Accountancy. Daily Record, BBJ, Financial Executives International, re:TheAuditors, MDChamber and more
4. Raintoday.com will offer their free special report titled Social Networking for Professional Services: How to Add Social Media toYour Networking Plan to all attendees
5. All this and over 60 workshops for two days for $250! Register here

Here is how you can help us make the EXPO extra social and build some whuffie

1. RSVP’ing to the MDBIZEXPO LinkedIn event: http://events.linkedin.com/MDBIZEXPO/pub/78303 
    and the  MDBIZEXPO Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=61323852802
2.  Another easy way to let your network know what you’re doing is to update your “What are you doing now” on LinkedIn. Please insert this URL http://www.mdbizexpo.com to help others get easy access to the conference information.
3. In addition, if you will be tweeting about this conference, we’ve set up a Twitter hash tag: #MDBizExpo09. Please refer to the conference when applicable before, during and after the event to create some buzz!
4. Our technology sponsor, R2i.ntegrated, has created a Web site that will mashup our social media content before and during the EXPO. You can view the site with last year’s photos and recent posts here:http://mdbizexpo.r2ismash.com/

MDBIZEXPO sites:
• Official Web site: http://www.mdbizexpo.com
• Blog: http://www.mebizexpoblog.com
• On Twitter: http://twitter.com/mdbizexpo
• Hashtag: #MDBizExpo09

Here are just a few twitterers who will be with is at the EXPO (I Can't wait to see that twitter stream on our MDBIZEXPO R2i SMASH site):

@retheauditors @cpa_trendlines  @accountingweb @Atomorrow @editho @mike_schultz  @cybercpa  @will_burns @mdchamber @jamesuccpa @nadenlean@bbjonline@dubmenow@michaeldeutch @mindjet @r2integrated @G1440 @dubmenow @gretchenpisano @byron_cpa @FRYAN1951
@pmargaritis  @gbtech @SmallBusinessAd @chadmoutray @NFIB @Tbensky
@jackiesauter @JR_Martin @ronaldbaker @davidstephenson @MACPA@billsheridan
@tomhood @kimoneill @jegbrown @hawsmith @pamelacdevine @skipfalatko @dougshaner
@ShancockMACPA @Jfrizzera @amystum

Cool tool for networking - featured at the EXPO

Ever run out of business cards at a meeting or event? This new tool allows you to "send" your card by text, sms, or e-mail.

Every CPA needs to network.In fact, every business professional needs to network and this is a new way to speed up and organize your networking abilities. Our friend, Jeff De Cagna at Principled Innovation turned me onto this too and I was impressed. Check out this short video to really see the potential.

I use the iPhone version (available from the apps store), but there are other versions for blackberry and other smartphones, or just go to their website and setup your mobile card http://www.bibmenow.com

DubMeNow will be featured at the MDBIZEXPO and MACPA will be sending out a link to all of our exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees to connect then up (at their option).

DUB Explained from DubMeNow on Vimeo.