Comments on: Steve Pipe's take on the best and worst http://www.accmanpro.com/2008/04/30/steve-pipes-take-on-the-best-and-worst/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:01:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Phil Hodgen http://www.accmanpro.com/2008/04/30/steve-pipes-take-on-the-best-and-worst/comment-page-1/#comment-4756 Phil Hodgen Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:10:40 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=3029#comment-4756 I like the fact that Steve sees low fees as an "effect" of doing business poorly, not the "cause" of why business at a professional firm might be done wrong. It took me a long time to understand cause and effect in business. And I keep having to relearn this weekly, it seems. Oh, well. But I'm with you on this topic. Systems don't solves the problem. Look at your last two sentences of your post. THAT is the sum total of what really works--get out of your chair and go talk to someone. Be humble, shut your mouth, listen, say "Thank you." Astonishing things happen. This relates back to a post you did a few days ago. It's all about getting things done, not about the latest coolest software. I'm busily looking for every edge (software and otherwise) I can find. Now I'm wondering whether this is a mug's game. Still king in my world? A paper tickler file set up the way David Allen suggests. I personally think that systems and technology and software in the billing arena are God's way of invoking the Ghost of Charles Darwin in the business world. If you're running a business and working on billing software then you're trying everything you can do to avoid actually, y'know, talking to people. Business = Soylent Green = people. Ultimately a human being writes the check, authorizes the wire transfer, or hands you a Visa card. Always a human. ALWAYS. That's where the action is. And if you're not where the action is, well, you're wondering what's for dinner. I abandoned hourly billing because the software was getting in the way of getting work out the door. Billing time doesn't work. Interesting to see Ed Kless comment here. I am taking much of my learning cues from verasage.com though the site does suffer (sorry Ed) from a bit too much hyperventilation and hyperbole. Dragnet. Just the facts, please, and less self-congratulation. But thanks Verasage for pushing me over the edge to use non-hourly methods. Once I abandoned the quaint notion that i should do non-hourly billing "right" (whatever THAT is) I was a free man. I am beginning to take exception to the need for edge technologies. Go talk to clients if you want to generate best practices? Pay me flat fee of $100x and I'll do your work? Where's the AJAX in that? :-) I'm glad I found your blog. It has helped (and continues to help) me with my (small) enterprise IT. Many thanks, Dennis. I like the fact that Steve sees low fees as an "effect" of doing business poorly, not the "cause" of why business at a professional firm might be done wrong. It took me a long time to understand cause and effect in business. And I keep having to relearn this weekly, it seems. Oh, well.

But I'm with you on this topic. Systems don't solves the problem. Look at your last two sentences of your post. THAT is the sum total of what really works–get out of your chair and go talk to someone. Be humble, shut your mouth, listen, say "Thank you." Astonishing things happen.

This relates back to a post you did a few days ago. It's all about getting things done, not about the latest coolest software. I'm busily looking for every edge (software and otherwise) I can find. Now I'm wondering whether this is a mug's game. Still king in my world? A paper tickler file set up the way David Allen suggests.

I personally think that systems and technology and software in the billing arena are God's way of invoking the Ghost of Charles Darwin in the business world. If you're running a business and working on billing software then you're trying everything you can do to avoid actually, y'know, talking to people. Business = Soylent Green = people. Ultimately a human being writes the check, authorizes the wire transfer, or hands you a Visa card. Always a human. ALWAYS. That's where the action is. And if you're not where the action is, well, you're wondering what's for dinner.

I abandoned hourly billing because the software was getting in the way of getting work out the door. Billing time doesn't work.

Interesting to see Ed Kless comment here. I am taking much of my learning cues from verasage.com though the site does suffer (sorry Ed) from a bit too much hyperventilation and hyperbole. Dragnet. Just the facts, please, and less self-congratulation. But thanks Verasage for pushing me over the edge to use non-hourly methods. Once I abandoned the quaint notion that i should do non-hourly billing "right" (whatever THAT is) I was a free man.

I am beginning to take exception to the need for edge technologies. Go talk to clients if you want to generate best practices? Pay me flat fee of $100x and I'll do your work? Where's the AJAX in that? :-)

I'm glad I found your blog. It has helped (and continues to help) me with my (small) enterprise IT. Many thanks, Dennis.

]]> By: Ed Kless http://www.accmanpro.com/2008/04/30/steve-pipes-take-on-the-best-and-worst/comment-page-1/#comment-4755 Ed Kless Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:14:30 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=3029#comment-4755 Timesheets will be the death of those professional organizations who do not see that billing by the hour is destined for the ash heap of history. We at the VeraSage Institute have declared victory based on this --> <a href="http://davidmaister.com/blog/594/Pricing-Consulting-Services" rel="nofollow">http://davidmaister.com/blog/594/Pricing-Consulti...</a> Enjoy! Timesheets will be the death of those professional organizations who do not see that billing by the hour is destined for the ash heap of history. We at the VeraSage Institute have declared victory based on this –> http://davidmaister.com/blog/594/Pricing-Consulti…

Enjoy!

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