I don't want to sound morbid...but the saying goes "nothing is certain except death & taxes"...so lets talk about the later...death...and how it can help your receivables. I know...sounds weird doesn't it?
One of the great non fiction books of the last 30 years is Ernest Becker's 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning "The Denial Of Death." The book's premise is that the fear (or denial) of death is our greatest fear, and that feeling is embedded within our subconscious. And, to the that end, our behaviors are greatly influenced by this fear/denial of death. Furthermore, to overcome our apprehensions of death, we seek immortality in the form of building "monuments" to ourselves.
Now....these "monuments" are usually not tangible marble structures to ourselves. But they can take the place of other lasting legacies....or what we think those legacies will do, to make us "immortal," be they professional or personal.
Speaking for myself, I thought of no greater professional legacy then to create lasting systems or teams which can carry on without me. This included revamping entire Accounts Receivable Systems and implementing new Collection Software. And, equally important, it meant re training a team and letting them go ! Allowing them to work fine without me was one of the greatest professional accomplishments for me. But it took a lot of hard work and a talented partner (for the systems implementation) to make it happen. The system is still up and running...10 years later !
Over dramatization on my part ? I don't know.....I tend not to think so.
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