The Buzz

A Message From Our CEO: The First 30 Days

The First 30 Days

To say my first 30 days has flown by would be an understatement.

Upon some reflection, I can confirm that it very much remains a privilege to be the CEO for CPB Canada. I am eager to serve the interests of each of you (our members) and work collectively to bring success to this organization. To do this, I hope to co-create an environment that fosters trust, collaboration and maximizes the talents of our strong Operational Team and that of the committed and engaged Board of Directors.

So, what have I been up too this past month? Well, quite a lot.

My focus during the first month was threefold:

1. Connect with CPB Canada and its people.
2. Pursue initial engagement of our partners and the industry.
3. Grow my understanding of the organizational context / history.

The first month was always about building connections with the organization and its people. This is how I was going to expedite the learning curve.  Over the past month, I now know we have a great Operational Team who are committed deeply to advancing the goals and priorities of CPB Canada. Secondly, I met individually with each member of the Board of Directors to better understand their background, experience with CPB Canada, and their outlook for the future. I truly enjoyed these conversations and got to understand the diversity of the industry and the Board itself. This engagement has allowed me to establish relationships and better understand the pulse of CPB Canada and its history.

Beyond that, I was able to connect with our key strategic partners, vendors, and a variety of other leaders in the bookkeeping industry. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the very warm greeting at the most recent Talk Tuesday event. Thank you for that and I look forward to connecting with members again through that venue!

What else? Oh yes, we have pursued a range of meetings with government officials that the Team and I have undertaken to broaden public sector understanding of the role that Certified Professional Bookkeepers and CPB Canada play within our economy and the support and value they provide the small business sector. While this is early days and there is much work to do, I am pleased to have us continue this awareness building with key and relevant political and public service staff across the Federal and Provincial governments.

All this engagement to date has been coupled with a great deal of reading. My goal was to learn as much as I could in the first 30 days on the job. Often, this meant late nights reading old meeting minutes, previous reports/surveys, or digging through the policy manual. This "cramming" has (and will continue) helped me get up to speed on the current state of the organization and provided me some clearer insight into the future challenges and opportunities ahead.

In looking ahead, I am eager to both contribute and continue to learn as the CPB Canada Board of Directors embarks on developing its new three-year Strategic Plan. This process will help identify the strategic goals/priorities for the Board of Directors on behalf of the membership and will serve as the road map for staff to deliver value through a series of initiatives moving forward. Stay tuned as this process commences later this month and more information will be made available to shortly.

Suffice it to say, the first 30 days has zipped by in a flash!

I am even more excited and encouraged about the value proposition this organization can provide its members and our ability to grow the influence and brand of CPB Canada and Certified Professional Bookkeepers nationally. With that, I hope to use this platform to continue to keep connected with members and be transparent about the work we do on your behalf.

As someone who loves the power of a good quote. I will leave you with a favourite (I have many) of mine from John Maxwell below.

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”

Cheers,

Rick Johal, CAE