http://hancockecholscpa.com/405/some-signs-of-life-in-this-economy The Most Trusted Tax & Accounting Professional in the Birmingham Area ~ Call (205) 715-0088 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:23:24 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://hancockecholscpa.com/405/some-signs-of-life-in-this-economy/comment-page-1#comment-2 Courtney Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:57:10 +0000 http://hancockecholscpa.com/?p=405#comment-2 A few years ago, I wrote a newspaper column in which I compared the philosophy of Benjamin Frankin to that of Horton (the Who-hearing elephant). While I can't remember the quote from Ben, I do remember the words of Horton which echoed the same resolve: "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one hundred percent." It is imperative that all of us put these words into practice, in whatever we do. We should mean what we say. Our words and advice should not be empty or self-serving. We should say what we mean. We shouldn't speak to impress. Our words should be a direct reflection of our intentions. And we should be faithful and follow through, for our sake and our client's sake, one hundred percent. If you say you will call, call. If you say you will write, write. If you don't intend to do something, don't tell someone to expect it to happen. "Talk to you later" is a committment, not a sign-off. "How are you?" is an invitation, not an empty salutation. In one of Shakespeare's plays, there is a call to kill all the lawyers. Unfortunately, that sentiment resounds to this day. (And I know; I am one.) Lawyers talk too much. This probably has to do with the ancient practice of paying lawyers by the word. The more words, the more money. Now, lawyers just like to talk to hear themselves speak (as do many people) and believe that more and complicated words make them appear smarter that your average bear. But the problem is not so much in the excessive number of words. The problem is in the excessive number of unnecessary words. There will always be complaints that there are too many lawyers, too many accountants, too many (insert profession here). But, again, the problem is not with the profession itself. The problem lies with the volume of professionals a person has to sift through in order to find one who says what she means, means what she says, and follows through as promised. There will always be room for those professionals. And there will always be a need for everyone to put Ben's and Horton's words into practice. Imagine a world where people actually meant what they said, said what they meant, and were faithful to each other, themselves, and God 100%. A few years ago, I wrote a newspaper column in which I compared the philosophy of Benjamin Frankin to that of Horton (the Who-hearing elephant). While I can’t remember the quote from Ben, I do remember the words of Horton which echoed the same resolve: “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent.” It is imperative that all of us put these words into practice, in whatever we do. We should mean what we say. Our words and advice should not be empty or self-serving. We should say what we mean. We shouldn’t speak to impress. Our words should be a direct reflection of our intentions. And we should be faithful and follow through, for our sake and our client’s sake, one hundred percent. If you say you will call, call. If you say you will write, write. If you don’t intend to do something, don’t tell someone to expect it to happen. “Talk to you later” is a committment, not a sign-off. “How are you?” is an invitation, not an empty salutation. In one of Shakespeare’s plays, there is a call to kill all the lawyers. Unfortunately, that sentiment resounds to this day. (And I know; I am one.) Lawyers talk too much. This probably has to do with the ancient practice of paying lawyers by the word. The more words, the more money. Now, lawyers just like to talk to hear themselves speak (as do many people) and believe that more and complicated words make them appear smarter that your average bear. But the problem is not so much in the excessive number of words. The problem is in the excessive number of unnecessary words. There will always be complaints that there are too many lawyers, too many accountants, too many (insert profession here). But, again, the problem is not with the profession itself. The problem lies with the volume of professionals a person has to sift through in order to find one who says what she means, means what she says, and follows through as promised. There will always be room for those professionals. And there will always be a need for everyone to put Ben’s and Horton’s words into practice. Imagine a world where people actually meant what they said, said what they meant, and were faithful to each other, themselves, and God 100%.

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