Control the controllables

Do you feel in control today?

You’re not on your own if you don’t.

Running an accounting firm or client portfolio should be a relatively straightforward task according to the text books. Most of the deadlines are known well in advance and are cyclical so It’s simply a case of managing the resources, workflows and clients isn’t it?

We all know it’s just not the simple!

Much of the frustration and stress faced by accountants comes from not feeling in control of resources, workflows and clients. Add to that what is happening in the world today outside of the office walls. Global conflict, economic crisis, political and social instability, AI, social media, genetic engineering, climate change…is it no wonder that a sense of overwhelm and spinning out of control impacts on performance and health.

Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist, coined the phrase “Control the controllable”.  As a survivor of the Holocaust and, specifically, Auschwitz, Frankl knew a thing or two about how to stay in control of one’s headspace. He believed that the meaning of life comes from within and that life is what we make it. In that context, focus on what can be controlled and don’t get distracted by what falls outside of your control.

There is so much to be distracted by on a daily basis and those distractions rob us of vital time and focus. If we can eliminate the uncontrollable from our minds and, instead remain focused on what we can influence then we are much more likely to regain control of our days.

Take the Digital World that we live in as an example. Technology has the power to make dreams come true and bring nightmare scenarios to life. We can lose sleep over things that we have no or very little influence over or we can focus on the aspects that we can control and influence. By controlling the controllable we can make progress. By losing sleep over the uncontrollable, nothing changes but our health for the worse.

So it is when running your accounting firm or client portfolio. By focussing on what you can control you can positively impact your future but by stressing over the uncontrollable, nothing gets better. When you think about it, you may worry about your lack of control but there are many things that you can control that make a huge difference, but only if you commit to focus on them:

·     Which clients to work with and which to reject

·     Which sectors to work with and which to reject

·     What work to prioritise and what to push back

·     What services to offer and what to distance yourself from

·     What pricing makes the work worthwhile and what doesn’t

·     When to offer credit and when not to

·     What deadlines to agree on and what to turn down

·     What training to focus on and what to pass on

·     What skills to develop and what to see as irrelevant

·     What working environment suits you and what doesn’t

·     What working practices suit you and what don’t

·     When to say YES and when to say NO

Each of the above, and more not on the list, are fundamentally controllable by you. Your clients, team members and the rest of the world may agree with your approach or they may not, that is entirely their prerogative but, if you don’t control what is within your power to control then it is no surprise that your working day lacks control.

As you turn your thoughts towards 2025, there is an opportunity to shift your mindset and select the controllable areas that you are going to focus on to change them from ‘controllable’ to ‘controlled’.  Any one of the above is a place to start.



Control the controllable.