For anyone who had the fortune of knowing Stu Sobel at Tax Media Network, you will appreciate how I met him. Here was a man I had never met before that convinced me via phone to fly him to San Diego, CA, pay for his transportation and hotel, and spend a few days in the office with me. He was the consummate negotiator and the first stranger ever to negotiate with me to pick up his travel bills to spend two days sitting at my side at my desk.
When Stu stepped in the room to negotiate – you better watch out! 🙂 Stu was born a negotiator so you could never give him the right number the first time because he would still argue to negotiate with you for the sake of negotiating it. It was the negotiation more than anything else that thrilled Stu; so if you were close to Stu, you most likely have your own story about his negotiation skills and we would love to hear them, too!
When Stu called me this year to tell me he was sick and had less than 6 months to live, it was his way of saying goodbye to a friend. I was fortunate he brought me into his inner circle to discuss such life and death matters. The conversation broke my heart but I kept calm and did not let him know, although in reality he did. He had a way of making others feel special including when he was talking about his last days on earth. However, I know that Stu’s soul and energy will be here long after his passing this week. What an incredible man who shared his life journey educating everyone who wanted to listen; Stu touched so many people’s lives and hearts during his journey here on earth. Stu Sobel accepted his imminent passing with great courage and grace and this is another of the many lessons he taught me and certainly others who were fortunate to know him!
I was mesmerized listening to Stu’s stories working for the IRS more than 40 years ago and writing the tax code for the U.S. government. He wrote portions of the United States Tax Code and was an expert on non-profits, amongst other tax topics too numerous to mention. You could just sit there (though it is not easy for me to sit) and listen to these most incredible tax stories and journeys of the past with the old IRS guard. You can hear these stories in his educational videos still available at Tax Media Network. If I may share this one thought, and I do not know if it is still available, but he has an entire catalogue of his educational video he produced for sale. He was working with me on finding a buyer for the entire video catalogue of his life’s work educating others in an easy and informative down to earth style. His videos are an extraordinary body of work by a brilliant man who knew the IRS code in and out. I told Stu I would get the word out and will still do so after his passing. Stu has a way of making people accountable even when he is not around – he does know I am 100% reliable, too!
Stu was a sweetheart who talked endlessly about his wife, his children and grandchildren who he adored. He lived to care for his family which is a sign of a great man. His family was the jewel of his life. His family was fortunate to have such an outstanding man at their side; we know their hearts are broken by his passing as ours our, too. With his passing, I want to send him off with my favorite Native Indian Prayer and ask you to leave your comments or stories about Stu Sobel here. Your experiences with Stu Sobel and commentary are most appreciated.
Kat Jennings, TaxConnections CEO 858.999.0053
Native American Prayer
I give you this one thought to keep-
I am with you still, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush-
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone-
I am with you still – in each new dawn.
-Unknown
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTARY ON STU SOBEL BELOW
Kat Jennings, TaxConnections, CEO and Founder and Advisory Team provides three areas of services: 1) Internationally recognized, retained executive search services for multinational corporations, public accounting firms, and law firms; 2) Introductions of sellers to buyers of small and medium size accounting firms; and 3) Provide brand building and education services that support and prepare accounting firm owners to buy/sell an accounting practice. We focus on educating the journey to sell a practice and how to increase firm revenue prior to any sale. Our program ensures you start years prior to a sale by learning what is expected of you during the selling process, and introducing firm Partners to cross selling opportunities that are easy to implement and reduce your workload at the same time. We introduce you to value added connections to smartly grow revenue in your accounting practice.
Kat Jennings has been retained by organizations worldwide to locate tax professionals with highly specialized tax knowledge and expertise. She has a thorough understanding of the tax business community, with a proven record of stellar performances matching professionals with organizations. Bringing two parties together to work successfully is the art of understanding personalities, cultural fit, expectations by both parties, flexible or inflexible work environments, understanding what drives and motivates each party, and revolves around the personality and ethics of each executive team.
Kat is a widely recognized expert in high level, tax executive search, as well as connecting buyers and sellers of accounting firms. TaxConnections provides and educates small to medium size accounting firms owners and Partners how to prepare and sell their firms so they can build a succession plan for their retirement. With larger firms seeking to acquire smaller accounting practices, there is a real need to help firm owners prepare to be acquired. Most firm owners are unaware they are not ready to sell when they decide to retire. TaxConnections educates firm owners’ what they need to do years in advance of selling an accounting firm practice.
Senior tax executives expect the utmost privacy when being introduced to multinational organizations about a new tax opportunity under consideration. Having said that, companies searching for a new head of tax expecting tax executive candidates to submit their resume through a resume portal, will never see a full slate of outstanding tax executives available due to a candidates’ desire for greater privacy. This is why privacy focused Uber Tax Recruiters consistently outperform in-house recruiters on tax executive searches.
We offer our clients a Performance Retainer Agreement arrangement so their HR department can still recruit and compete with the tax candidates we present on Head of Tax searches. The client pays us a partial fee upfront, and if they find a candidate they deem better than we introduce to them, we forfeit the final fee. Most of the time, they love and prefer our private introductions to tax executive candidates better than what they source through their own resume portals.
When we represent selling/buying small to medium-sized firms, firm owners/partners also demand greater privacy when considering the sale of their practice. TaxConnections provides a safe place to discuss their business needs, elevate their practices’ online reputation, and increase revenue through new streams of business development by outsourcing work and partnering with other firms. Over three decades, we have worked tirelessly to build relationships between firm owners most organizations rarely have access to in the world of tax. There are numerous possibilities you may never have considered previously to bolster the value of your practice and service offerings.
As a globally recognized consultant to multinational organizations, accounting firms, and law firms searching for tax expertise, Kat has been retained by public accounting firms, law firms, and corporations worldwide including Apple Computer, AC Neilson, Accenture, Agilent Technologies, Allergan, Alza, American Express, American Media, Aon, Baker & McKenzie, Barclays Bank, Bechtel, Cargill, Carl Zieuss Vision, Century Aluminum, Chevron, Clorox, Citigroup, Commercials Metals, Constellation Energy, Countrywide, Del Monte, Deloitte Touche, DFS, DLA Piper, E&J Gallo Winery, Electronic Arts, Ernst &Young, Fox Entertainment, Fremont Investments, General Electric,General Motors, Herbalife, Hewlett Packard, Hyatt, Intel, Jones Lang LaSalle, Kimco Realty, KLA Tencor, Koch Industries, KPMG, Levi Strauss, Liberty Mutual, LKQ, Loews, Logitech, Lucas Film, Maersk, McKesson, Nalco, Newell Rubbermaid, Nissan, Oracle, Orbitax, Pacific Gas & Electric, PwC, QAD, SAIC, SanDisk, Sanmina, Sempra Energy, SONY, Synopsys, Ticketmaster, Trimble Navigation, Toyota, Univar, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, Vertex, Yahoo, Xilinx, and many more not listed here.
Contact Kat at 858,999.0053 Office/858.232.4415 Cell or kat@taxconnections.com to request a private consultation regarding the sale of your practice, adding top talent to your organization, or merging your practice with another firm owner with a book of business. The possibilities are endless; if you have a dream of a new vision for your professional life; we will scout opportunities throughout the market to make it happen.
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