What I'm Paying Attention To (July 2025)
It's summertime, I'm spending as much time as I can on the boat, and, as always, I'm keeping my eye on lots of interesting things happening around the CPA profession and outside of it.
As I've talked about, part of being a great leader is paying attention to what's happening now and keeping an eye on what's around the corner.
So here are a few things I'm paying attention to right now and things that are worth keeping an eye on.
What I'm focused on right now
I've got two books that I'm enjoying reading:
Civil Warrior: The Raw, Gritty Truth About Anxiety, Depression, and Workplace Burnout by Kristy Short. Given my focus on people development, I’m curious about its lessons. Kristy is my writing partner for my upcoming book, so I'm enjoying reading her latest publication.
Disrupt Disruption: How to Decode the Future, Disrupt Your Industry, and Transform Your Business by Pascal Finette - I had read this book a couple of years ago and returned to it for a refresher
In my advisory business, I'm coaching a few CEOs and leadership teams. One of my big focuses right now is on personal development—how are leaders developing themselves to take the organization to where it needs to go? Because organizations tend to fall short in this category.
So, rather than wait, how can leaders take their development into their own hands?
I'm writing a book
The other thing I'm focused on is writing my book.
At its core, it's a book about how to think differently to create differentiated results—it's about BREAKING THE MOLD™. It will detail behind-the-scenes stories, principles, and lessons of the strategy & transformation that led to our meteoric growth at Baker Tilly.
It will be published this fall. Stay tuned.
A great example of BREAK THE MOLD™ thinking
BREAK THE MOLD™ is about approaching things in an entirely new way. It's about being willing to challenge traditional operating models and design new solutions from scratch. It's about proving that "the way we've always done things" is actually the best way... because what if it's not?
This recent article in the Financial Times hit the mark. There's lots of talk about changes needed in the CPA profession to bring new ideas and attract people to the profession.
This article speaks to the same thing in law firms.
The revenue generator that most firms will ignore
A big splash in the CPA profession
The M&A market continues to stay active, and as someone who's completed 20+ successful mergers and acquisitions, it's interesting to see the moves that firms are making in hopes of staying relevant and sustainable.
I've always approached M&A opportunities with this mindset: bigger isn't better; better is better.
Making a move simply for the sake of adding more revenue to the bottom line doesn't signify sustainable long-term growth. Just because a firm got bigger doesn't mean it actually got better.
The Baker Tilly x Moss Adams merger was the big splash in June. The resulting firm is clearly bigger in size, but is it a better firm?
I broke down a few key aspects of the deal and shared my thoughts on what to keep an eye on in my recent article on CPA Trendlines.
Lastly, I’m working with a few progressive leaders to secure funding for another BREAK THE MOLD™ platform scaling. A differentiated thesis, so stay tuned.
Got an article, news story, book, or podcast you think I (and other leaders in professional services) should be listening to? Send it to me in a reply to this email.
That's it for this week. See you next time.
With intention,
Alan D Whitman
Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you and your organization:
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