Running a firm is often referred to as "herding cats." I believe an even better metaphor can be found in our annual May Day celebration: Running a Firm is a lot like running a drumming circle. Yes, a drumming circle, where people sit in a circle and pound out a rhythm. We host an annual "drumming party" on May Day each year to celebrate the end of rainy season and the start of summer planting. As you would expect, a good time is had by all. But even more important, there is a lasting effect that draws people back to the drumming experience again and again. The metaphor for team building is pretty obvious, but the comments from the participants add some insight that I want to share with you.

Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar, is widely known as the "Father of Accounting" for publishing 36 chapters on the double-entry accounting method used by Venetian merchants during the Italian Renaissance. His book, Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita (which translates, "Everything about Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportion"), was written as a textbook for students in Northern Italy at the end of the 15th century. Pacioli's documentation of double-entry accounting and ledgers taught entrepreneurs of the day how to conduct business using timely and accurate financial information, and it established the fundamentals of accounting still practiced today.