Inside Baker Tilly's Growth: 5 Words That Altered History

If you're like me, you enjoy hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of what led to the growth and rise of successful companies.

It's why I love reading books like No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix. I want to know how the sausage is made!

And inside those stories that take place over years or decades, isn't it fun to learn about the singular moments that redefined history?

Recently, I was in a conversation reflecting on my time at Baker Tilly and it hit me—I remember THE moment everything changed.

Five words left my mouth that altered the trajectory of the firm forever.

The moment, that happened in the spring of 2018, was the moment we entered a new chapter of growth and scaling.

Those five words led the firm to grow over $1B in revenue over the next 5 years and successfully complete over 20 M&As.

Today, I want to share that moment, the story and reasoning behind it, and how to apply the lessons to your situation so you might initiate a similar great run for your firm.

The moment everything changed.

It was the spring of 2018.

I was talking on the phone with two colleagues. One, the leader of our public sector practice, and the other, her boss.

We were weighing two potential acquisitions—a $14m firm and a $25m firm respectively. Two firms of considerable size, but not comparable to our size at the time.

Frankly, they were both great opportunities and there wasn't much overlap in terms of what they each offered.

So, I asked the practice leader, "Which one do you want?"

She paused...clearly deliberating on the two options.

Silence on the phone.

I broke the silence, stopping the thought process before it might even happen, "You've got to pick one. We're not doing two."

You have to remember that while completing two acquisitions at a time is more commonplace now, it was relatively unheard of then.

She was still stuck. Thinking... mulling over the choice.

That was the moment. I can remember it quite clearly.

Something clicked and before I could even think about walking the words back into my mouth, five words came out.

"Ok, let's go get both."

Silence.

A different silence. This wasn't deliberation, this was shock. Like, "Did he really just say what I think he said?"

"Wait, what did you say?", I heard back through the phone.

"If you can't decide, go get them both."

"Really?"

"Really."

That was it—the moment we went all in.

Inside the decision.

I became the CEO Elect of Baker Tilly US in 2015.

For the first couple of years, I ran the firm. I had so much to learn, relationships to develop, and new things to understand about the position and how to operate as a CEO.

In 2016 and 2017, we engaged a partner who worked with us to develop a new intentional strategy for the firm.

(Notice we didn't try to do this by ourselves)

Once that strategy was finalized and rolled out early in 2018, things became a lot more clear.

We had a clear vision for the firm we were trying to create and we understood what it was going to take to get there.

It was time to execute.

When it came to evaluating these two acquisitions, both deals made sense. Both were aligned to our strategy and on their own, I would have done each of them.

Then it came down to the question of doing both at the same time...

There were all kinds of reasons not to do it.

• We had never completed two at a time.

• There was risk.

• Could we handle integration?

• What impact would this have on the greater firm?

• My god, what would my CFO think?

At the same time, why not? Just because we've only done one at a time in the past, why can't we take on more?

Were the reasons why not to do it good reasons?

Sure, there was a risk, but it was a calculated risk and we had enough size to get both deals done.

If we were successful, it would have a massive impact on the practice, the leader, my mindset as CEO, and the entire organization.

When I'm deliberating on important decisions, I like to remind myself of the saying: "What got us here won't get us to where we're going."

We had never done two acquisitions at a time...AND that didn't mean we weren't capable.

How would we know if we never tried?

So, that was the moment that flipped the switch to a new way of thinking.

It signaled to others in the organization that we were going to do things differently now.

"Let's go. We're going all in."

Here's what happened next...

As they say, the rest is history.

By January 2019, we took both deals to the finish line and announced the acquisitions.​

That decision had a significant impact.

• It propelled the growth of that practice significantly.

• It gave that practice leader permission to think big and prioritize long-term growth.

• It gave people in the organization confidence and excitement about our future.

• It changed my mindset.

It gave me the confidence, as a relatively new CEO, that we could do this thing.

"Let's keep going."

It led to a period of unprecedented growth in the firm's history.

Within the next couple of years, we would go on to complete as many as five acquisitions at the same time and over 20 total M&As in a matter of 5 years.

The firm's revenue climbed from $475m to $1.5B by 2023.

It all started with that singular moment and those five words:

"Ok, let's go get both."

Takeaways:

Look, there's a lot of lessons we can pull from this story:

• The importance of slowing down (to build an intentional strategy) to speed up results in the long run.

• Focusing on the upside vs the cost when making decisions.

• There's immense value in utilizing an outside third party to provide a new perspective (like we did to build our new strategy).

• The importance of taking calculated risks when trying to achieve differentiated results.

More than anything, I want to remind you that as a leader, one of your most important jobs is to challenge people to do more than they think they can.

You are only one decision, one moment, away from re-writing your firm's history.

How do you want the story to go from here?

The reality is moments like that are simply the beginning.

There are so many moments in the months and years to come that contribute to a firm's ability to remain relevant and sustainable.

During the last 18 months, I’ve partnered with various professional services organizations, helping them enable growth and navigate scaling.

Imagine having an experienced CEO on your team who has been through these situations before.

I'd enjoy the opportunity to be a resource for you and your firm. book a discovery call if you'd like to talk.

With intention,
Alan D Whitman