Share The Knowledge

One of the most important things we can do to help our organizations, associates, employees, and any one else we care about is to share what we know with them.  After all, that is what teaching is.  At R&A we have recently taken this to a new level.  Just this month, our efforts in an international collaboration with other CPA firms went "live".

R&A is a member of an international organization that teaches CPA firms how to provide consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses.  This group provides us with phenomenal training and "best practice" tools and techniques to deliver these services.  With Ran One's

assistance, a group of about 12 CPA firms from across the globe launched a new website to assist business all around the world during the horrific economic crisis.  Please visit the site at http://www.economicrecoveryresourcecenter.com.  The information on this site is as valuable as you can find any where.

Keep the American dream alive, stay focused and use the resources around.  We are all in the same boat, and we all need each other to make it through to better days!

Victor Puchi, CPA

Managing Shareholder

R&A CPAs

www.RandAcpas.com

Favorites

Why does it seem like everytime you get a group of new students you end up with a favorite?Does this damage your ability to teach everyone else fairly? For one thing, we are humans with feelings and so I believe its a bit natural to be "pulled" or to "pull" that special one a little closer to us. I also think we want to have a success story, so we look for that one student that is just soaking it up and try to make sure they succeed.
That may be all fine and dandy but our purpose should be to teach all of them. I was reading Tony Dungy's book and in one of the chapters he quotes his father, his greatest teacher, as saying "all students deserve an A". To me this means that every student deserves your attention and you should try to find a way to help them succeed.
It's too easy to get frustrated with those that don't "get it" right away. I have a new crew in my office as I write this and some are faster than others but I'm determined to give them all a fair shake and challenge myself to be the teacher that actually taught them something and made a difference in their lives.
As a teacher and mentor, every student should be your favorite! I guarantee you each and everyone one of them is special and they deserve the attention.

The Basics

Well how many times have you been frustrated after having spent so much time teaching someone something only to find out that they "just don't get it"?



I know we've all heard that not everyone learns the same way and that maybe we need to change the delivery and various similar hints. There are two components to this I would like to discuss that I believe are key to anyone's success as a teacher.



First and most important, in my book, is we must learn to listen! Don't just listen for the question but listen to learn about the person and how their brain works. We give hints about ourselves by the way we speak, the words we use and the way we try to explain things. We can even learn by watching the way someone doesn't ask questions or get involved in discussions. Learning, and hence teaching, is just as much about trust as it is about knowledge. You need to make your audience trust you in order for them to really want to listen and learn from you. Get to know them and let them get to know you....priceless.



The other component to this is making sure you don't get frustrated when the message doesn't seem to be reaching the audience. There could be numerous reasons why, some of which I just mentioned. I was reading a book on how to trade options in the stock market by Wade Cook (yes I've made some dumb decisions too) some 10 years ago and he quoted someone but I can't remember who or what the name of this book is. Anyway, the quote has remained very fresh in my mind and I find it holding true time after time after time. So here it goes, "when the student is ready, the teacher shall appear".



Look, we are in our leadership positions because we have talent and don't forget that you have done something good in order to get to where you are...don't take that away from yourself. If the person(s) you are trying to teach don't want to learn they won't, so don't beat yourself up.



Be proud, be productive, you are the reason this country is so successful!

Clear Message

Well that sure was a long break....I recommend not catching the flu if you want to be productive....ouch!

So right after I  posted my first blog "Teach to Win" I started getting comments about the real ability to teach someone how to win.  It didn't take long for me to realize that I hadn't been clear enough in my original message.

I'm not sure if you can teach someone how to win and that isn't what I intended to communicate. My message is that if you teach people what you know then they get ahead (win) and you fulfill what I believe is each and everyone of our obligations to society (educating).  So when you teach someone you fulfill that obligation and that is winning in life, hence the title "Teach to Win".

You see, I believe that everyone has something of value to teach someone else but we never know when or what that might be.  Those of us that can look at our lives and feel like we've done "OK" and have a sense of accomplishment probably have actually achieved quite a bit.  Whether you have graduated top of your class, reached middle management, raised a family, become a politician or started and run your own business you have experienced many things and struggled through things that thousands of others that follow that path will undoubtedly struggle with and experience too.  Why not share your struggles and experiences with them so that they need not struggle as hard?  Isn't that what you wished would have happened to you?  Maybe it did happen to you, so return the favor!  If so, then you too believe in Teach to Win and I thank you and so does your fellow man.

I hope my message is clear now.  I want to share my experiences as a business owner, a husband, a father and a student.

Please give me your thoughts and share your wealth of knowledge with us all.