Two Annoying Phrases

For those of us in the Northeast this has been one hot summer.

To put the last two months in perspective, my monthly invoice from the power company is averaging $20 more than I paid for my first car.

My air conditioner has been running non-stop seemingly from Memorial Day and I’m sure that my situation is not unique to other parts of the country as I scour the national weather reports. This is not exactly what I envisioned after a particularly brutal and unforgiving winter.

But what compounds an already uncomfortable situation and makes my ears screech in that “fingernails on a blackboard” sort of way is when someone remarks, “It’s not so much the heat but rather the humidity.” It may not be everyone’s most annoying phrase, but it certainly merits a place in the discussion.

I immediately want to go to my local gym and take a few well-aimed whacks at the punching bag.

Now in our business, the weather doesn’t usually make an impact – unless of course, we’re talking something on the order of Category 3, but you know what does? Perhaps the second most annoying phrase – “I’ve been thinking about it.”

That’s the oft-repeated bromide I hear when we approach a firm who should have laid the foundation for succession planning years before but procrastinated like a middle-schooler assigned to write a book report.

In college, I once had a short run as a salesman for the now-defunct European Health Spa chain and believe me, I heard that phrase a lot when I sat down with a membership prospect. The person was often grossly overweight and guilty on all counts of physical neglect for decades. Should have been a slam-dunk right?

Wrong.

My supervisor however had a great comeback line to that. She would look the person straight in the eye and say, “I’ve spent 10 years in this business and you know what? Thinking about it never got anyone in shape.”

Over the years I’ve sort of tailored the response to better fit the owner of a CPA firm who has neglected succession planning. But even though the industries are quite different I still get similar stalling tactics.

And perhaps the most frustrating part is even when I confront them with their situation, they treat it like a medical condition that they feel if they ignore it long enough it will take care of itself.

Trust me it won’t – no matter how long you wait or hope that a young CPA will miraculously walk through your doors like a white knight and solve a problem that has been years in the making.

This week’s forecast? Average temperature of 93 and 80 percent humidity. Getting away to a cooler locale? I’ve been thinking about it.

I can’t believe I just said that.