When I was a young CPA, my first assignment was going on financial statement audits with a seasoned mentor.
I know, it sounds as boring as watching paint dry. You can thank me later for making you feel happier about whatever you’re doing right now!
Anyway, our job was to camp in a company’s conference room for a week, dig through their books and records, and then pronounce every thing clean (or not!) at the end of the audit. This was (is) done so banks and investors can feel confident in the company’s financial reports.
One important day, my mentor (Seth) sat me down and explained something I’ve never forgotten: “You have to stay in control of the data.”
What this boiled down to in accounting was:
- Starting with a list of balance sheet accounts that you made sure never changed, and
- Proving out every one of those accounts so there was no way even one tiny transaction could slip through the cracks.
This became the key point of my accounting career. It has also helped me in many other areas of business and life.
For example, how do you ensure you have:
- Shipped and invoiced every customer order?
- Answered every text, voicemail, email, hand-jotted note, etc?
- Not forgotten your wife’s birthday or a camping trip you promised your sons?
Answer: Stay in control of the data!
How do you do that? How do you set up a system where nothing falls through the cracks?
The specifics are complex, but the underlying concept is simple:
- Have a single “source of truth.” In the communications example, that could be your email inbox, your text inbox, a paper tablet in your pocket, etc.
- Divert everything in your funnel to that source of truth. If the source of truth is your email inbox, divert all communications (that are not yet replied to) to your email inbox.
Important voicemail? Email it to yourself. Need to respond to a text later? Email yourself a reminder. That way you stay in control of your communications and never need to worry that a note on a napkin or a question from seven voicemails ago is falling through the cracks.
