Watching revitalized sports franchises fight their way back to championship caliber (examples, Red Sox 2004 and Cubs 2016) reminds me of some of the most enjoyable work experiences I have had in my life. Those experiences centered on working in groups or on teams that were striving to achieve a common goal where the individual success was always second to the success of the team or organization. The focus on a common goal and approach is so critical to the success in team sports that you can almost feel the personal commitment each of the players have to support other members of the team even when it impacts their own personal ability to be the “star” on a world stage. The trust that exists between each of the group members is so strong that no one would ever question that a team member would not deliver what they had committed to do.

But then I asked myself why is it that so many teams and workgroups lose that ability to function as a high performing group? I then thought about teams that I had participated in that went from high performing to ones that stopped working together and could no longer trust the other team members to the point where it froze the ability and potential of that team. What was the one event or a number of small issues that changed the dynamics of those teams from high performing to not trusting others to accomplish the team goals?

As trust broke down between the members, the commitment to the team took a backseat to the success of the individual. There must have been an event or behavior change that caused the team to lose the high level of commitment to the team. Then it hit me that it had to be LIPOTAGE!

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Most of the time, we don’t get to choose who we work with every day. But our coworkers’ and our relationships are crucial to our day-to-day work. Not only can poor workplace relationships be real personal downers, they can also hinder productivity and bring down office morale.

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You might already have an answer to the first question in the article title.

Believe in yourself.

So, the follow-up question is how do you come to believe in yourself?
By preparing to perform a task or role. That is what builds the confidence in our ability to be successful. We suspect you agree.

Ok, how can you plan the preparation and execute the plan to ensure you feel prepared?

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When most finance professionals hear the term “13 week cash forecast,” they view it as a burden—one more task to appease an overbearing lender. Most finance professionals do not get nearly as excited about building it as they do about building a projection model for an acquisition or investment. It doesn’t help that companies generally tend not to focus on their liquidity needs until they are forced to do so. Therefore, people often only prioritize the weekly cash forecasts in distressed situations, when it is too late to take corrective actions. And even still, the analysis is often hastily executed and inaccurate.

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In today’s challenging economy, there is more pressure than ever on small to mid-size firms from their banks, their CPAs, investors and the SEC (if they are public) to produce accurate and timely financial reports. In many firms this task, painful and slow if not automated, falls on the shoulders of the firm’s Accounting Team, usually the Controller.

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