Publications

Your Professional Headspace

Achieving career success and personal fulfillment as a professional in practice.

For many professionals, career success does not bring satisfaction. Wealth alone does not bring happiness. Prestige does not bring respect. Why? Many successful professionals are too busy looking after clients to lead fulfilling lives themselves. Life as a practitioner frequently resembles being caught in a washing machine, with little left for self or family at the end of the spin cycle.

Scott Charlton has assisted hundreds of professionals to run better businesses, do more of the work they like to do and live more fulfilled lives. In doing so, he has counseled those who are professionally lost, seeking career change and carrying the firm on their shoulders. With the Your Professional Headspace on your bookshelf you too can enjoy more great days at the office. 
 

Scott I have literally just read your book from cover to cover and wanted to immediately pass on my congratulations to you for such an excellent read.I found myself relating to every chapter as I laid my own personal cameo over each topic. I now have a list of action points and it’s going to be a “Great Day At The Office” from now on. 

Jason Skinner  | Skinner Hamilton Accountants and Business Consultants.

The Complete Guide to Accounting Referrals

Everything you ever wanted to know about working with accountants

Anticipated release date: March 2013

For years the “Holy Grail” for financial advisers, finance brokers, lawyers and other professional service firms has been to obtain a referral arrangement with one or more accounting firms. Many have tried and most have failed at achieving this outcome.

As a former accountant in practice and now coach to financial planning firms, Scott is Australia’s foremost authority on what it takes to secure a working relationship with accounting firms whereby accountant, adviser and the client all benefit.

Filled with illuminating case studies and insider tips on what makes accountants tick, The complete guide to accounting referrals will be essential reading for all financial advisers seeking dynamic growth opportunities.

Scott will also share the elements which contributed to the successful joint venture he developed with a financial planning firm whilst running in his own accounting practice.

 

Perfect Partners

What you absolutely must know for a successful business partnership

Anticipated release date: 2014

Many professional partnerships are managed by committee and operate in a fuzzy world without accountability. Frequently, the practitioners operate within silos, jealously guarding their clients and team members.

Partnership difficulties have the potential to cause a practitioner much angst, notwithstanding the professional satisfaction one may be receiving from interaction with clients. Failure to adequately address these issues early has consequences later. Often these situations can lead to unhelpful confrontations amongst the partners and ultimately result in outcomes which are less than optimal.

In this forthcoming book, Scott will be discussing how to structure a professional services firm which is dynamic and able to thrive in the future. Filled with illuminating case studies and insider tips on what optimising partnership performance, Perfect Partners will be essential reading for all practitioners who are in or currently contemplating partnership with colleagues.

Interested in participating in Scott’s research on professionals partnerships?   Please let Scott know. 

1. The most value that gets added to a professional services firm is when the owner is “In the Zone”. What a shame so little time is invested there.
 
 
2. The more days you as a major revenue earner of the firm invest with clients the more revenue the firm will earn.


3. You can't be in the sweet spot by trying to be all things to all comers. Focus on work you enjoy and are good at.


4. Don't try to be something you're not. For example, if keeping up to date with the latest tax changes is crushingly onerous or incredibly tedious then don’t masquerade as a taxation specialist.





 
5. Get real – do you have genuine management talent or would you be happier and more productive working with clients?



6. Let go. Jot down six tasks/professional responsibilities that you don’t enjoy. Come up with a plan to minimise your involvement with these areas and yet still get the job done. Better yet, find ways to engineer these out of your life. Do this today and repeat at regular intervals.


7. Specialise. Find a service niche which enables you to work more and more in areas that fascinate you. Aim to be the best in the world in this niche. Seek out other experts in this field. Subscribe and contribute to relevant publications focusing on this area.

8. Be passionate. It’s great to be really enthused about a subject. For some, this has proved to be a lifelong cause. Your passion will attract others and sustain you.


9. Articulate. Tell others about your talent. There are lots of great ways to do this - presentations, websites, blogs, articles, newsletters, e-mail, personal referral, business networks etc.


10. Look for opportunities to utilise your skills. Interestingly, the more you focus on developing your professional interests, the more opportunities open up to you in these areas.


11. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Work with others who have complementary talents to your own. This will enable you to focus on what you are good at. 


12. Become more effective. Find ways to get more done in less time. The more you can achieve whilst you are "in the zone", the more discretionary time you will have.


 

13. People who are physically fit create a much better first impression. Prospects become clients, candidates become team members and audiences pay more attention when you exude the Zing! which comes from feeling terrific.


14. Periodically review your career, present role and current level of satisfaction. Are you on track or is action required?


15. Rarely are there winners in deteriorating partnership dissolutions. Cut the best deal possible under the circumstances quickly, gather up every bit of positive energy you can muster and move on. 
 

16. It’s hard to be in the right professional headspace if your personal financial affairs are in a mess.





 
17. No one else has your unique combination of core purpose, skills and experiences. No one else is responsible for what you to choose to do with these. No one else is putting limitations on what you can achieve.

18. It's easier to maintain your current level of fitness than to regain it after a period of inactivity. Aim to do something active every day.

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©Scott Charlton 2011