You know, it’s always interesting when people take a survey as an opportunity to spill their innermost thoughts with candor and honesty. That’s exactly what happened when INSIDE Public Accounting interviewed 70 managing partners to get their thoughts on “the frustrations, challenges, joys and rewards of the top job.” Not surprisingly, the published results were definitely heavy on the frustrations, light on the joys.
MPs’ biggest pain in the ass? Partners. “It’s like herding cats, and it’s very difficult to get all partners on the same page because not everybody has the same value proposition and not everyone is motivated by the same metrics,” said one exasperated MP. “Too many of our partners are cruisers. Some of these, though, think they are dynamos and they aren’t,” said another. Burn.
From the article:
Two themes – egos and complacency – immediately emerged from MP responses to this question. Some MPs say partners think their way is the only way. They fail to see the benefit of trying a different approach, close themselves off from other points of view, second-guess decisions (after failing to participate in the discussion), and stay in their comfort zone of client service without committing to professional development, marketing, timely billing and collections.
One MP said two or three partners are so negative “they’re like a cancer.” Some partners think they’re “too busy or too important to follow the rules,” says another.
Damn bro. Cancer. You might as well just kick a guy in the balls and slap his mother’s ass if you’re going to insult him like that.
The criticism continues. According to surveyed MPs, partners are annoying for a multitude of reasons, including but not limited to:
- Self-centered thinking
- Staying at the firm too long, hindering opportunities for younger staff
- Lack of accountability
- Failure to use time wisely
- Hypocritical thinking, such as judging performance of others while not wanting their own to be judged
What’s the takeaway here? I guess that the little guys aren’t the only ones who think partners are the absolute worst.
