Mike Sylvester: Learn to Say No | The Disruptors

Be blunt. Give your clients the advice they should hear, not what they want to hear. The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrThe talent crunch in accounting isn’t an issue for Mike Sylvester. Last year, 40 accountants applied to work at his firm, SBS CPA Group. He’s had serious inquiries from people at top 50 firms eager to work with him. Further, he just hired someone from a top 10 firm who says the benefits are better and who will make $10,000 more while working 300 fewer hours.  MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Salim Omar: Identify Your Client's $100,000 Problem | Jackie Meyer: Earn More with Fewer Clients | Jack Fleherty: Don't Be a 'Yes' Person | Greg Adams: From Finance to Storytelling | The Disruptors | Jody Padar: Make Radical Changes Now If You Want to Be Relevant in 2030 | Rebecca Driscoll: Amplify Reach By Helping Other Firm Owners | Rory Henry: Create the Return on Relationships | Mike Maksymiw: Be the Leader You Wish You Had | Terrell Turner: Build a Solid Business Showing Up as Yourself | Kelly Mann: Be the Bull in the China Shop | Alicia Katz Pollock: Create A Human-Centric Business | Nancy McClelland: Be the One Your Clients Ask First |Alan Whitman: Stop Accepting the Status Quo | Sean Duncan: Discover Your Own Genius | Ingrid Edstrom: True Wealth Is Not Financial | Caleb Jenkins: Firm Growth Requires Owners to Shift Roles |His not-so-secret secret? He talks “over and over and over” on Twitter about the unique way his firm operates. During busy season, all team members –even the partners – are paid overtime on 60-hour weeks. Then, after April 15, everyone works 32 hours a week and gets 37 three-day weekends in a row. “It's a very popular schedule,” Sylvester said.  His team agrees: he’s had zero turnover in the last four and a half years.