I had the pleasure of reading Patrick Lencioni’s latest book, “Getting Naked, A Business Fable”. I have to admit that I’m a big Lencioni fan, having read “Five Dysfunctions of Team”, “Death by Meeting” and possibly all of his other business fables. They are easy reads that pack a powerful punch. The premise of “Getting Naked” is summed up towards the end of the book with “naked service boils down to the ability of a service provider to be vulnerable – to embrace uncommon levels of humility, selflessness and transparency for the good of the client”.
When I first entered the property tax industry in the mid-1980s, I was struck by all of the “smoke and mirrors” that surrounded the industry. Consultants worked hard to keep clients in the dark as it related to property taxes. I remember being approached by several consultants after speaking at a conference and having them tell me not to give away all the secrets the next time I spoke. It really was no better on the corporate side. Corporate representatives gladly kept a low and mysterious profile within their organizations (their clients). Jurisdictions worked hard to keep corporate taxpayers guessing and make it difficult for them to resolve even simple solutions. I remember paying $1 per page and spending a couple hours just to get copies of my company’s own record card. Unfortunately in 2010 we still see remnants of the “smoke and mirrors” crowd.
The question is why? Are they afraid of losing clients if they’re “too open” and don’t have all the answers? Do they fear the possibility of embarrassment that mistakes might be discovered? Do they resist asking questions and exploring options because they don’t want to be wrong?
A better question would be, “Why not be transparent with your clients?” Property taxes are not mysterious and there is nothing inherently tricky about the property tax business. It is complex and it does take time to understand. There are some in the industry whose skills and experience make them really good at managing property taxes and pursuing property tax opportunities. I would argue it is their skills and experience, not the fact that property taxes are mysterious or that they hold the key to the mystery. I think transparency is a good challenge for me personally as a consultant. It is a good challenge for Advantax, the consulting organization that I manage. It is a good challenge for our industry. It’s time to start getting naked with property taxes.