We’ve got royalty on the show today, as our guests are none other than Ron Baker and Ed Kless, co-hosts of the influential podcast Soul of the Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy.   They are two of the deepest thinkers I’ve ever met, and they’ll challenge YOU to think deeper about, too (they’re a bit fanatical about that, in fact, which is one of the things I love about them).   Before we dig into the meat of the show, let’s learn a little bit more about these two:   Ron started his career as a CPA in 1984 with KPMG before going on to found the VeraSage Institute, which is a leading think tank dedicated to educating professionals. He is also THE leading evangelist for value pricing and killing the time sheet.   Ed is Senior Director of Partner Development and Strategy at Sage and a Senior Fellow at the VeraSage Institute.   So, all of that is just lip service to the fact that these guys are guys you need to listen to. They know their stuff and they’re not afraid to tell you about what YOU need to know about where this profession is going – and what you need to be doing to stay ahead.   In This Conversation We Cover: Why the billable hour is on its way out (and why the time sheet needs to watch its back) The argument against cost accounting How we can start thinking about moving this profession forward Why Ron thinks the profession should lose its regulated monopoly Changing & innovating our business model What the future of the profession looks like to Ron & Ed

The Robots Aren’t All Bad   There was a report from PwC out of the U.K. about A.I. and automation, but don’t worry – this isn’t the same old story about robots coming to steal our jobs.   Actually, it’s a much more positive perspective on the impact of automation: “AI will create as many jobs as it displaces by boosting economic growth.”   In the PwC report, it says artificial intelligence is set to create 7.2 million jobs over the next 20 years, slightly more than the 7 million jobs predicted to be lost to automation over the same time span.   That’s right – A.I. will create MORE jobs than it will destroy over the next 20 years, but we don’t often hear that side of narrative.   Now, there is a caveat: Some professions will benefit more than others from that level of job creation. Health care, for example, will benefit significantly. On the other hand, manufacturing will be on the losing end of that spectrum.   But what about the accounting and finance profession? PwC lumps it into a category called “Financial and Insurance Activities,” and that will be on the losing end as well. According to PwC, we’re going to see an 18 percent increase in job creation and a 25 percent decrease in job displacement. So we’ve got some work to do.   The important takeaway, however, is that technology is as much a job creator as it is a job destroyer, and we don’t often stop and think about that.   Nor do we often stop and think about the fact that if we take the time to learn a few new vital skills, we might have the opportunity to seamlessly move into some of these new jobs that technology will be creating.   We don’t have to fade into irrelevance – We can learn our way into some future-proofed careers!   Resources: Listen: Soul of the Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy Learn more at http://verasage.com/ (VeraSage.com) Connect with Ed: EdKless.com | LinkedIn Connect with Ron: LinkedIn Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy by George Gilder The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters by Peter Block Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time by Jeffrey Pfeffer The Firm of the Future: A Guide for Accountants, Lawyers, and Other Professional Services by Paul Dunn and Ronald J. Baker