Posted by Rakesh Shukla on Fri, Sep 26, 2008 @ 12:03 PM
That's my 11-year-old son playing quarterback in his first-ever football game last weekend. This was a pass play -- he confidently called the play in the huddle, made sure his teammates were lined up properly, executed a good snap with his center ... and then things got ugly. What happened next made me acutely aware of the importance of a crucial position in football.
Any guesses what position this is? Here's a hint: this position gets paid the highest salary in pro football, after quarterback.
Running back?
... Nope.
Wide Receiver?
... Nope.
Defensive lineman, linebacker or cornerback?
... Nope, Nope & Nope.
The 2nd highest-paid position in pro football is ... left offensive tackle. Huh??? Yup, the anonymous, 300lb hulk on the left side of the offensive line.
As chronicled in Michael Lewis's superbly entertaining book The Blind Side, over the years, the NFL gradually recognized the immensely important role that offensive left tackles play in defending the quarterback from devastating blind-side hits - and thus protecting the QB from a season or career ending injury.
So what happened to my son? Yup, he suffered a bone-crunching sack from the blind-side. He never saw the hit coming. Thankfully, he didn't get hurt.
If you think about it, a strong AP department with robust internal controls also prevents devasting blind-side hits such as fraud, inaccurate financial statements and delayed period end closes.
In many ways, Accounts Payable Professionals are like football lineman.
Being a lineman in football is a thankless job. If you do a good job of blocking and tackling, you don't get noticed but if you miss a tackle or a miss a block, everyone notices! The quarterback gets sacked, the other team scores, etc.
Similarly, when AP does a good job, nobody notices. But when bills are paid late or incorrectly, finance management gets upset, vendors get angry and line of business managers lose patience.
It took the NFL a while to wake up and recognize the true value of left tackles ... hopefully, upper management will someday appreciate the crucial blocking and tackling that AP executes day-in and day-out and reward AP Professionals accordingly.
-Rakesh Shukla
P.S. The Blind Side is much more than a "sports book." It is an incredible human interest story about a homeless boy named Michael Oher. If you haven't read the book, this interview with the author, Michael Lewis, is definitely worth a look:
Posted by Rakesh Shukla on Fri, Sep 12, 2008 @ 01:37 PM
221 Days, 16 Hours, 23 minutes ... that's how long it has been since the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and I am still crying over that loss. Did they really lose the championship game after going 18-0?
I am still in denial.
Unfortunately, denial is only stage 1 of the "5 Stages of Grief." The "5 Stages of Grief" is process by which people deal with tragedy and grief and was introduced by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book "On Death and Dying."
The stages are:
- Denial: "It can't be happening."
- Anger: "Why me? It's not fair."
- Bargaining: "Just let me live to see my children graduate."
- Depression: "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"
- Acceptance: "It's going to be OK."
These stages can be applied to any form of catastrophic personal loss ... a loved one, job, freedom, a Super Bowl loss ... Tom Brady getting injured for the season ... and even Accounts Payable!
With some help by some great illustrations by Steve Greenberg (http://www.greenberg-art.com/), here is a tongue-in-cheek look at "The 5 Stages of AP Grief":
The 5 Stages of AP Grief
Stage 1: Denial
"There is just no way that there could be anything wrong with the way we process invoices around here. Whatever frustrations business managers, suppliers, auditors and my AP staff say they are experiencing must be bizarre delusions caused by impaired reasoning."
Stage 2: Anger
"I am SOOOO furious! WHO'S TO BLAME? I'm not gonna stand for this!
Why can't those lazy business managers send their invoice approvals in on time!
Why can't those incompetent suppliers send invoices that actually match the POs we send them!
Those @#%*! auditors found another control deficiency! Those pointy-headed, bean-counting suits are just too picky!
Those procurement boneheads are no help in resolving holds"
Why can't my AP work more efficiently with less errors?!"
Stage 3: Bargaining
"If we can just survive this quarterly close, I promise to do away with the manual, paper-intensive processes that are causing such long work hours. If this all goes away, I will simplify and automate our processes ... I PROMISE."
Stage 4: Depression
"This job is so hard and nobody appreciates all the hoops we have to jump through to get a stinkin' bill paid."
Stage 5: Acceptance
"It wasn't supposed to be this way... but I guess this is life. It is what it is. And, hey, if paying a bill was as easy as it sounds, I wouldn't have a job."
Again, thanks to Steve Greenberg for the great illustrations!
Illustrations by Steve Greenberg, Ventura County Star, Calif.
Posted here with artist's permission.
http://www.greenberg-art.com/
-Rakesh Shukla