The Efficiency Equation ◾ 49
So our biggest competitive threat is not presented to us by our colleagues
next door and their expert tax preparation services. It’s from transactional ser-
vices that are merging vertically and migrating horizontally toward taking not
your $5,000 tax return, but your $20,000 of after-the-fact infrastructure services.
It’s pretty clear that lean engineering of our vertical, specialty-procedure
production systems is only one step in our journey to the new business
leverage that will support equity succession in the future. It’s really only
addressing how we process our $5,000 tax return. There’s a whole lot more
that needs to be done to protect or expand that other $20,000 in revenue.
But again, just as making ou