The Wize Way

Episode 179: “It’s Faster If I Do It” Solves a Moment and Sets Up a Mess

• Wize Mentoring for Accountants and Bookkeepers • Season 2 • Episode 179

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Firm owners don’t realise they’re building a business that depends on them because they never truly delegate. They hand off tasks thinking they’re freeing themselves but without training, clarity, and follow-up, the work boomerangs right back, and the cycle of overwhelm continues.

In this episode, Ed Chan breaks down the difference between delegation and abdication. He explains why doing 100 percent of a task or giving it away with no guidance keeps owners stuck, stressed, and unable to scale. And he shares the 20% Rule he used to reduce his workload, build a high-performing team, and grow a firm that runs without him.

You’ll learn:
✅ Why doing work from start to finish destroys productivity and growth
✅ How abdicating (instead of delegating) creates inconsistency and rework
✅ Why investing time in training is the only path to real freedom
✅ How to balance P&L thinking with “balance sheet thinking” that builds capability
✅ The right way to decide whether to hire an admin, a senior accountant, or a junior

If you’ve ever felt like training takes too long, or worried that delegating will slow things down, this episode will change the way you think about leadership — and the role you’re meant to play in your firm.

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to The Wise Way, the show for accounting and bookkeeping firm owners who want more time, profit, and freedom and a business that can run without them. I'm Brent Ward, your host, and each week we deep dive into the real stories, proven strategies, and battle-tested tools from successful firm owners just like you. Our wise mentors want to share their journey of how they've scaled and systemized their way to freedom so you can too. If you're stuck in the grind or you're ready to scale smarter, this is your blueprint. Let's get into the episode.

SPEAKER_02:

Hi everyone, I am here with Ed Chan. Um, glad to see him again. He just got back from his two-month amazing vacation that he gets to do because he owns his firm, but he basically got to bike around fantastic landscapes in Europe for two months with his wife, with the family, got to see friends. So he's coming back refreshed to talk to us about some of the burning topics that our members have been asking about. So yeah, very excited to dig in with you, Ed. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm well, thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me, Chloe.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, happy to hear that. Thank you. Um, so yeah, some of the questions that we've gathered, as always, come from uh, you know, careers that we have and ideas that our mentors and members have about certain topics. So I'm going to to ask a few and see how how you would tackle them. In a in a flat and shallow team structure, they will wonder what's going on because communication traffic is not streamlined. So they will wonder like, where's this person most of the time when we are all working? Um, yes. And yeah, that's I feel like one of the things that our our members are probably, you know, thinking about how to handle uh if that happens, but hopefully they can get to to fixing, you know, their leadership and their team design.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh I've got an actual good tip uh for someone to help them delegate. Love because there is a difference between abdication and delegation, and uh and most of us abdicate, not delegate. And part of the problem is that it's it's it's all of course to do with our mindset and the way we think. And you know, our thinking, um, because we we've grown up, grown up, you know, out of university and then working from a grinding perspective. We we we got taught how to do the work. Um, so the grinding, minding, and finding. And um, a grinder uh is about getting it done quickly. So, you know, so often you're at the back of your mind, you're saying, well, it's quicker if I just do it. Okay, it's by the time I train someone, I've got to get it done. Okay, so I I call that the the thinking in a PL instead of thinking in in the balance sheet, in investing in your balance sheet, you're thinking in a PL just quick and and efficiently get it done. So it's done quickly, it's efficient, you you make money out of it. That's a PL thinking. But you've got to get the balance right between a PL thinking and a balance sheet thinking, because if you don't invest, and I and you know our clients are accountants, in they all know if they don't invest, they they they advise their clients, you've got to invest. If you don't don't invest, you won't get a dividend, or you won't you won't you know get a benefit later on if you don't invest. So you've got to invest, you've got to get the balance balance right between yes, the PL to make money to get cash flow through the door, but you've got to spend a certain amount of time investing in your team. And and if you get that balance right, then it's both profitable and it's sustainable. But if you don't get that balance right and you're either too far in the PL, you'll just do all the work yourself, and then you won't be able to grow the business. You'll you'll you know the it because it you just can't do everything. There's only so many hours in a day. And um, and so if you get that balance right, if you put some into the PL and some into the balance sheet. Now, to help the audience uh do this, um, I I use the 80-20 rule. And so you know that your um uh the way I look at it is that I never do something from start to finish. That means that I'm doing 100% of it. Uh I I only do the last 20% of it. So I always get somebody else to do 80% of it. So either to do the grinding and then I just check it at the end. All right. Um now, if I do something from start to finish, that's I'm not delegating. Now, a couple of things happen when you do that. One is you're the most expensive person in the organization, so you're doing very low level, sometimes very low-level work at a very high cost to your organization, right? Secondly, is you're not investing in your balance sheet, so you're not educating your staff how to do this. And if you don't educate your staff and train them on how to do it, then you'll do it forever, you know, and then you'll become a prisoner in your own business. Not only will you become a prisoner in your own business, yeah, but you can't you can't get a return on your on the cost because you're the most expensive uh organization uh person in your organization, and you're doing very, very low level work, you know, and that's just not efficient and it's not cost effective. Um, so the way I try to get around it is I make sure that I don't do anything from start to finish. So I get somebody else to do it. Pretty much 99% of what I do, I I delegate it to somebody else to do, and then I check it or I follow up and train, I spend my time training that person on how to do it. And and yes, if you'll focus on the on the excuse me, on the PL, then you're gonna be thinking, oh, you know, this is just a waste of time, you know, it's quick if I just did it. And um, you know, by the time I train that person, then you know, I could have just got it done. So it comes back to the way you think. So you've got to think uh long term, you've got to think invest in a balance sheet and not just work in the PL. So I always use 20%, I only do 20%. If I'm if I'm doing more than the 20%, then I'm not delegating.

SPEAKER_02:

I have a follow-up question uh in regards to this, because I find it very interesting, and I'm sure that someone has probably had this issue before. Uh, because uh you've you've previously um said in what you answered just now that you when someone is doing a task and you want to, you know, just put 20% of that because you want to make sure that the delegation is working. Um what do you do or what's the point to know that probably this person is not skilled for this position because you've trained them enough and they haven't, you know, um given the results that you were expected to? Like what's your uh thermometer in that situation?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh well, you've got to know your staff. So I wouldn't give uh a high-level task to to a graduate or someone without any experience. Yeah, so if I yeah, so you've got to know your team and you've got to know their skill level. And um, and and I take the opportunity to train them. So you've got to before you delegate, you've got to make sure A, the person can do it, B, they're very clear about your instructions, and C, they need training. So if they can't do it, you need to spend the time to train. Um, so when you just throw something at somebody and walk away, that's abdication, right? The outcomes can be inconsistent. They'll come back either pretty good, you'll come back you know, average, or you come back really bad, is because you've just abdicated that. So if if I delegated someone's a task to someone that's not experienced in it, I give them lots of training and then I follow up constantly. So I'm following up and I'm I'm checking on them, making sure that uh you know they're doing that that they're on the right track. Um, now that that's when I was working in the practice. Today I only work on areas of training. So um like like today, I'm training, I'm training the people who's listening to this, to this, um, to this session. Um, so I don't do any tasks that are grinding, it's all educational and it's training. And uh that that brings a lot more um that that's investment, that's investing in my business, in the people that I've I've I've um I'm working with, and in our clients that's investing in them. So when you get to my level, eventually you should be thinking, you know, you you you shouldn't even do be doing the last 20%. So 100% of what you're doing should be just training and uh educating.

SPEAKER_02:

That's amazing. Uh I have a question that it's related to all of this. Um you know, when you have your first staff, there are lots of our members who are, you know, getting their first app, their admin assistant, and they are, you know, jam-packed with work. Um, do they need to put more hours out of their already grinding work that they have to train this new person?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, they have to. And uh, and I know, I know it's like, oh, you know, I just haven't, you know, I've just got so much work to do, and where am I going to find the time to do this? But you have to find that time, you know, whether it's working on a Sunday, but but you find that if you do that, if you find a few hours to do the training, then eventually your workload actually drops. So when I first started, I was working over 100 hours a week. And I was in a position where I was going, well, where am I going to get an hour, another hour to train this person? But I found it, and then I've what I did find was that the more I train them, the more of the work they can take off my plate. And then my workload started to come down. So so it is difficult, um, but it's got to start with your mindset. If you if you don't think the right way, then this will never happen. You'll you'll constantly make excuses. You'll say, I don't have time, you know, where where do I have time from? And you know, by the time I train them, you know, and then they leave. You know, I spend all this time training them, and then they leave, you know. So you'll you'll constantly work make excuses for not doing it, and you won't do it. But you know, you've got to trust me on this one. You know, the more you train the person, the more they can take the workload off of you, and the workload actually comes down, and then and then you can scale from there. Uh, but if you don't and you just stay in your PL and not invest in your balance sheet, all right, you will you will just your workload just grows, goes higher and higher and higher, and and and you can't, and you'll you'll face burnout, you know, and then you end up hating your clients, hating your life, and being very depressed and and and cranky.

SPEAKER_02:

That's what I was ultimately, yes. Yes, and we all want to steer away from that and build a practice that you enjoy and that you love and that you can, you know, withdraw from, but still being a key element in growth. Like that's that's what every firm owner should look up to. Um, I have one one final request for you, Ed, and it's because we love your Friday tips. We love your your tips in general. What's out of all of this this questions I've asked you related to, you know, delegation and and that that shift that firm owners have to make in order to adhere to all of these, because it's uncomfortable for them to, you know, make this this first change. What's one advice you would give to these people who need who are on that on that cusp of you know making that change but not so sure to do so?

SPEAKER_01:

You've you've got to, as I said earlier, you've got to invest, and that investment is uh in people and uh whether initially it's got to be a financial investment, okay, it's because often as accountants you think, well, I can save some money if I do it myself. That's the wrong way to think. Yeah. So you've got to make that investment. And uh yes, it's it's you know, if you see it as an expense, then that's a problem. But if you see it as an investment, then uh then that's easier to deal with it. And and the the question then is, do you do you invest in an admin person first, or do you invest in an experienced accountant, or do you invest in a junior accountant? You know, because if you invest in a junior accountant, it's going to require a lot of your work to uh to train that person. So the answer to that question just depends on the individual circumstances. And uh, you know, everybody's different. So if you were getting a lot of leads and a lot of new works coming through, then you can't afford to hire a junior. You have to hire a senior person to take some of that workload off of you so that you can breathe. You know, you can uh then spend some time on developing policies, um, training, um, that kind of thing. But if you bring in a junior and there's a lot of new work coming through the door, then you're not gonna be a you're not gonna be able to find the time to train that junior. That junior won't be trained and all the work will be done wrong, and then you'll have to fix all that work up, and it's like a it's it's counterproductive, and you end up doing most of the work. Yes, hiring an experienced person will cost you more, but it's going to be a lot more productive. You're going to get a lot more out the door, and they'll give you the breathing space to eventually then hire a junior person when this senior person can train that junior person. So it really depends on where you are in your life cycle. If you're not getting any new work coming through and it's just the existing work that's really, really busy, well, you can't afford to perhaps put on a junior and then find the extra time to train that junior. All right. So it just depends on your circumstances as which one you do first. But of course, you know, you always hire an admin for person first because you know that that's the low-level work that you need to get done. And because your cost to your organization is very high. And if you did low-level admin work, then you're costing your organization a lot of money. Whereas that's the first port that you're going to um to go to, hire an admin person uh to take off you all the low-level admin work and at a cost-effective uh expense to the organization. And uh, and then that frees your time up. But but you know, for a lot of accountants, they're very, very reluctant to uh uh hire because they see it as a cost, uh as an expense and not as an investment. And that's a mistake. So you need to do that. And and the the risk isn't that high because you know you put them on, you know, um three months, and if it doesn't work out, you let them go and and it's only cost you three months. You know, it's not a whole year's salary, it's just the three or two months or three months, and and that's and that's all it's costing you. But it's just the way you think about it. And um you've got to, you've got you won't be able to grow, and you won't uh your your your business will consume you, and um, and that's not good for you, nor for your family, and uh, nor for your business for that matter, nor for your staff, because you're just cranky all the time and nobody wants to work with you.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Um, coming from a very happy person nowadays who I I find it very hard to believe you were a cranky person at any point in your life. I don't see that happening. Um, but yeah, I would take your advice by heart. And I love what you said. That bottom line is invest either money or time. But if you want your business to stay afloat and to go up, you basically have to invest somehow. Um thank you so much, Ed, for your for pouring your thoughts into our conversation today. This was amazing. Um, as always, uh great pleasure having you um, you know, sharing your wisdom and answering burning questions from who listens to us. And um, I would say to everyone to stay tuned. We're going to have even more content, even more wisdom on our episodes. So, yes, thank you so much, Ed. All right.

SPEAKER_01:

No, thank you for having me and uh look forward to the next one.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Wise Way. If today's episode sparked an idea or helped you see things differently, please don't forget to leave us a review. And if you haven't subscribed to the podcast on your favorite platform yet, please go ahead and do that as well. Let's continue the conversation here through YouTube or any other social platforms that you can find us on. And just remember, if you're not a subscriber of our weekly Friday tip newsletter, you can get that to your inbox every week going forward. Whether you're starting out or scaling up, you don't have to do it alone. Let's build a business that works for you the wise way. We'll see you in the next episode.