Blueprint for Excellence Retreats

Blueprint for Excellence, July 25-26 in Helena Montana

Why should I attend?

Many firms currently face daunting challenges: the imminent retirement of the Baby Boom generation and the preparation of new firm leaders, how to attract and retain the best and the brightest employees, what to do to help underperformers, how to strengthen accountability at all levels, etc. Blueprint retreats provide firm leaders with proven tools and processes that enable them to respond to these and other challenges.

What will I learn?

Blueprint for Excellence is a proven program that teaches firms how to deal with today’s critical issues and achieve excellence through a process of continuous improvement. The Blueprint program blends training, peer interaction, processes, and tools to produce both immediate and long‐term results for your firm. Here are some of the things you’ll learn at a Blueprint retreat:

how to develop and execute a solid plan to address the biggest issues facing your firm
how to create a firm vision and a strategy that will motivate everyone to give their best effort
how to set meaningful goals, organize tasks, establish and maintain accountability, and track progress toward accomplishing your goals
how to produce an ongoing report card on how well your firm is doing in such key non‐financial business areas as marketing, firm leadership, and firm administration
how to remove complacency, instill a passion for continuous improvement in your employees, and create a high achievement culture in your firm
how to eliminate false starts and slow roads to nowhere by taking a “leave nothing to chance” approach to firm initiatives and projects

How will I be taught?

The retreat combines detailed instruction, interaction with leaders in other CPA firms, and take‐home tools to aid in implementing what you learned at the retreat. To get the most out of the retreat, at least two people from your firm should attend together.

Who is the instructor?

Sam M. Allred, CPA, is the retreat instructor. Sam is Founder and Director of Upstream Academy and a shareholder at Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co., P.C. He has repeatedly been named one of “The Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” by Accounting Today magazine.

Registration is limited.

Retreat Agenda: Day 1

8:00 - 8:30	Welcome & Introductions

8:30 - 10:00	Blueprint for Excellence – Preface
	Key attributes of excellent firms Barriers to excellence that hold your firm back The Law of Change – how to use it to your advantage Understanding the Blueprint Tool

10:00 - 12:00	Elevating Your Firm’s Vision
	What is the value of a firm vision statement? What role does vision play in strategy? What are the specific steps to creating a firm vision? Who should be involved? How should you roll out your firm vision? Ways to keep the spotlight on the vision

12:00 - 1:00	Lunch

1:00 - 3:00	Measuring Your Firm’s Progress
	Understanding the Blueprint evaluation process Customizing the evaluation Measuring your firm’s progress

3:00 - 4:30	Standardizing Every Firm Process
	Understanding the Law of Processes Identifying the processes that make up your firm The difference between strategic and improvement goals The steps to improving a firm process Improving your firm through the use of teams The importance of investment time to improve the firm

4:30 - 5:00	First Day Recap/Assignments
	Recap Blueprint principles and practices Questions, answers, and practical applications Assignments for tomorrow

Retreat Agenda: Day 2

8:00 - 8:30	Review
	Review Blueprint principles and practices Homework assignments

8:30 - 10:00	Using a Strategic Goal Process
	Choosing a firm goal period Understanding how to pace yourself The process of setting and accomplishing firm goals The proper way to involve employees on teams Assigning tasks The wise use of investment time Understanding the Blueprint Tool

10:00 - 12:00	How to Ensure Accountability
	Creating a culture of accountability Teaching the principle of “return and report” Dealing with underperformers Keeping a spotlight on firm progress

12:00 - 1:15	Lunch

1:15 - 3:00	Implementing Blueprint
	Implementing the process within your firm Sharing the vision of excellence with others in the firm Completing the implementation plan worksheet Reviewing the “Oh Wows” A few final comments

More information coming soon!