Realizing the fruits of the merger, by Doug McVadon

"I think I finally got it, McVadon," he said on his typical early morning call to me during what he calls "windshield time." What's that? "Getting it to come out of THEIR mouths, by shutting mine for long enough!"

It had been a long time coming, this moving of Adam's understanding of the concept, which came quickly, into being able to produce the phenomenon in reality. It had sounded simple enough, something like "shut up for longer, don't overwhelm them with your facts and spreadsheets and irrefutable logic, and listen and ask strategic questions based on what you hear."

But nothing was simple in the six-person partner group of the newly-merged accounting firm. Each person was easily threatened and vying to show their value, so their strengths frequently showed up in the extreme, and became their weaknesses. In Adam's case, his ability to synthesize a lot of material into a cogent argument supporting a clearly stated proposal, usually with the dollar amount and fiscal impact already figured out. After all, that's how yours gets to be the FIRST name in the accounting firm listed on the big sign outside Fairview Towers and in the elevator lobby, you get your ducks in a row, and you get them to march in a line on command.

But that strength for organization and persuasion didn't get him what he wanted. As I coached him during the early months of the merger that more than doubled the size of the firm, in people and revenues, it became clear that his style was off-putting; people felt manipulated by his charts and graphs, and became suspicious of his overly-prepared arguments: there was no room to say no.

He called it preparation, they felt it as coercion. He thought of it as planning the conversation, they felt manipulated. He wanted them to be fully informed, they thought they were being railroaded.

We went back to the drawing board, to his listening filter. Get to the point. So intent on getting others to get to the point, that others miss HIS point. And I kept using the phrase, "listen it out of them." Don't convince them with a relentless stream of information. Instead ask them questions that begin with phrases like, "Would you consider...?" and "I wonder if you have thought of..." with some information sprinkled in.

Adam tried it, and the first time it didn't work. As I debriefed him, he admitted he had listened and asked questions to a point, but at the end he had wrapped up his argument by summing up his points and saying he couldn't see how anyone would oppose it. "I just want to get us moving, to get some decisions made!" But there had been reluctance again, and action at the partner level was delayed due to some last-minute concerns. Adam was frustrated. "Why did we even merge if it was going to be like this? Banging my head against the wall!"

You've got to really do it, I said. Really just listen and ask questions.
I know, he said sheepishly, since he could name the dozens of times he took my coaching and it worked.

The breakthrough moment came with the managing partner. Adam wanted so badly to get a decision on how to handle the IT situation going forward, and to get the green light to hire five new staff for the busy tax season. He had come armed with proposals for outsourcing IT, with a financial rationale for each, with supporting data. And he was ready to show the fiscal insanity of waiting any longer to decide to hire new staff, and the difficulty of finding qualified people this late in the year.

But he took the coaching and simply asked, "What do you think the long-term answer is for how we handle IT?" He got the first solid indication that the managing partner is on the same page with him. "This is the last year I'll handle it internally," he vowed.

And do you think we are ready for the busy season?
Miraculously, the managing partner jumped at the bait, saying we need to staff up now!

"I didn't do anything!" he said. But it was like you said, when I get him to say it, it is twice as powerful.

So the distinction Adam got was the Power of Listening, listening FOR something, and the key to enrollment, which is listening for a possibility in the world of another.

Once Adam started listening for what would make outsourcing IT and hiring new staff interesting and compelling and attractive for the managing partner, he could listen for those commitments being realized, and the occurring was really like "listening it out of him" since he said exactly what Adam was hoping he would say, without Adam's having to bring it up or "lobby for it."

As a result of this smoother relationship among the partners in the management team at the accounting firm, they exceeded their first year target for operational savings, which was $350,000. The actual savings exceeded $400,000.

The combined revenues of the two firms on paper was about $4 million, but as a result of increased efficiencies, increased sales, and growth of current client business, the net worth of the firm after its first year as a merged entity is approximately $5 million. They are now ranked 14th among Charlotte-area accounting firms, up from 20th and 22nd for the legacy firms.

Unlike in previous mergers, where employees of one of the legacy firms tend to leave after the first year, staff retention has been close to 100%, and the company has now expanded outside Mecklenburg County for the first time, with a new office in Asheville, its first attempt at becoming a regional firm.