february2021 - 8

FROM THE TRENCHES

Client Experience for the Future
LATELY, I HAVE had plenty of time to think, plan, and prepare for new growth. The past year
has provided a unique opportunity to study, learn, and discover new products, concepts,
and ways to serve others better. I cannot think of a time I have learned more except for
my best college year. Besides the intense client service provided during the pandemic,
delivering hundreds of CPE courses virtually, and designing new products, I was able to
spend more time reviewing products and providing guidance than I had in 20 years.
When Editor Gail Perry asked if
I would consider producing product
summaries and reviews in a podcast
format with associate Brian Tankersley, I was thrilled to share my past,
current, and future experience with
you. You will see separately in the
publication coverage about this new
venture. I hope you will follow along
and benefit from the preparation,
insight, and humor of our discussions.
Without exception, client service
has been my mission for a long time.
In the 1980s, I developed the personal
mission statement: " To help as many
people as possible to use technology
in a way that benefits them most. "
This mission has served me well.
The attitudes of " what goes around,
comes around " and a philosophy of
abundance have supported my positive view of life. At the same time,
growing the pie results in a bigger pie
with enough for all. To me, a bigger
pie has meant it is easy to help
people, although I must
quietly smile when
they grab more
for themselves

FEBRUARY 2021 ■

without paying it forward. Those of
you who know me already understand that I am not a fan of power
or greed, and I am a fan of always
doing the right thing. Self-interest is
too inward-looking, whereas helping
others has provided great rewards.
As we continue the third decade of
the 21st century of the third millennium, you must be asking, " Why this
philosophy? " in a technical column.
Although none of us knows the
future, I believe we now have the
opportunity to create it, as I noted
in my November 2020 column. While
2020 provided an intense period of
retrospect and learning for me, I am
now ready to share what I have
learned and how you can
use the knowledge

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

to help yourself and to help your
clients. I realized that I enjoy attending conferences to meet new people,
renew and maintain old relationships,
and learn new ideas that I can apply
in everyday life. That's why I like
shows like the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES), AICPA ENGAGE, Scaling
New Heights, software publisher
conferences (too many to name!),
or producing our K2 conferences
throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Unfortunately, it may be a little while
longer before face-to-face meetings
become routine again.

RANDY JOHNSTON

EVP & Partner
K2 Enterprises &
CEO of Network Management Group, Inc.
randy.johnston@cpapracticeadvisor.com
@RPJohnston

NAVIGATE A NEW
WORLD
This year is the 500th anniversary of
Magellan's circumnavigation journey. We need to navigate the new
world ourselves by leveraging collaboration and creating outstanding
client experiences. I only recently
recognized that all the technology
I have been developing or assisting
developers create uses technology to do things most easily and

https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/21160839 http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

february2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of february2021