Tributum Newsletter #83

Hello

I’d say welcome back, but it’s been a while and 2026 is in full swing already. As a consultant I have always believed that the right answer only comes after asking the right questions. And my question of the year is not “What on earth are you doing?”, its “What are you doing on earth?”. Same words, totally different meaning. The one questions you about something you already did. The other makes you think about what you should do? So… in 2026, what are you going to do?

As you know I am quite active on LinkedIn and as AI feeds you what you read, I looked at quite a few posts by professionals (accountants, tax consultants and tax preparers, attorneys etc.) from over the world complaining about the same thing – fees and clients pushing for lower and lower fees. Now, I make my living off similar type fees and that’s why it piqued my interest. It remains a question, not in SA but all over. Even now 25 years after starting my career and 7 years after starting my own practice the questions remain. How much to charge? Will the client accept the quote, will they come back? Is it too cheap?

Whether you sell a service or a product, I think it’s about finding the right context for what you deliver. A botte of still water at Spar is cheaper than the same bottle at the garage’s shop which is also cheaper than the same bottle at the golf club which is still cheaper than the same bottle at the airport which is still cheaper than the same bottle on the plane. Context matters.

As example – are you/do you want to be a Lion or an Owl? Remember that lions don’t eat mice. They can, but they don’t. Conversely Owls don’t eat impala or zebra. Even Cheetahs don’t hunt buffalo. All are predators. All are good at what they do and how they do it. One is not better than the other. But their diets differ because of who they are.

And while I don’t want to be flippant and anger my clients, when someone tells me that another professional will charge them less, I always smile and remember that are also clients wiling to pay me more. Know your value, know your context and adjust your diet accordingly.

As my daughters are getting older their music taste also evolves. While Taylor Swift, Benson Boone and Billy Eilish feature quite high on their Spotify lists they also listened to the classics – Queen, U2, ABBA, Bon Jovi etc. So, no surprise when my youngest played Kings of Leon the other day. It was a song titled ‘Waste a Moment’.  Sounds unproductive and like a waste of time. But the line in the song is actually “Take the time to waste a moment. “Let that sink in.

What if that moment is just what you need? What if that moment changes your life, or better still, someone else’s? The quality of life is not measured in the number of breaths we take, but the number of moments that take our breath away. So, plan 2026 to have those moments. Take the time to waste a moment. You’ve earned it. You owe it to yourself.

But the number of breaths is also important, so until next month, keep breathing.