Leaders don’t guess. They turn insights into action. | Maryland Association of CPAs (MACPA)

09/23/2011 • by Bill Sheridan

Leaders don’t guess. They turn insights into action.

I vote that we ban all economic forecasts and surveys from now until the end of time. Ban 'em like asbestos.

Why? Read 'em and weap. Or laugh.

Got that? The economy stinks. But not really. And we're hiring! Maybe! And optimism abounds! Except for those pessimists over there. And blah, blah, blah.

Here's a prediction you can take the bank: Guessing isn't going to solve any of our problems.

And neither is blaming the other guy, by the way. Want to know how many jobs have been created by political one-upmanship? None. Zero. Zip.

What we need are politicians who are willing to work across party lines to solve the big problems of the day. What we're getting is pure political hatred, and that accomplishes nothing.

Where are our leaders?

I sat in on the MACPA's three-day Leadership Academy recently, and I was blown away by what I saw. A room full of 40 of the profession's best and brightest — young CPAs who want to make a difference, who worked together to draft a vision for the profession going forward. In three days, 40 people from incredibly diverse backgrounds agreed unanimously on six bold initiatives that can reshape the profession.

Three days, one bold vision.

You're telling me Congress can't do the same thing? I'm telling you they need to.

Let's stop guessing and hating, people. Let's start working together.

The MACPA's Tom Hood defines today's leadership as “the ability to gain insights and the aptitude to turn them into action.”

But you can't gain insights from within. The paradox is this: Insights come the outside. In this “new normal” of constant complexity, no one person has all of the answers. “We” are definitely smarter than “me.”

The sooner our elected officials figure that out, the quicker our economy will turn around.

Then, maybe we can start taking those predictions seriously.

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