 |
 |
CPA & Consultant for Accounting Firms
Netflix, Nintendo and Apparently I'm Dumb & Old According to Reddit
Happy Frye-Day.
First, I want to wish everyone good luck through their final push of any flow-through entity returns that you have to file by the 15th of this month, and, of course, through the remaining C corp and individual tax filings for the month following.
I hope that you are thinking about ways to plan for your capacity and manage tardy clients in a way that gives you more control and flexibility over your work. Otherwise, let's get into it.
Is accounting nearing our Kodak moment?
I recently took to Reddit to ask a genuine question: Is the accounting profession nearing its Kodak moment? I pointed out the rapid progress in AI tools, noting that while early AI was rough, lightbulbs were too at first.
The internet delivered a swift reality check. One user informed me that it's always the "youngest or dumbest people" who think AI is taking over.
When I clarified that I am 37, they gleefully replied that since I'm not that young, it only leaves one other option. I corrected their grammar with a simple "you're*" and moved on, but that brief exchange illustrated the exact mindset trap I was trying to warn against.
Too many professionals are standing on the tracks, arguing about the speed of the train instead of adapting to the new landscape. The tragedy of legacy companies isn't just that technology outpaced them. It was that they fundamentally misunderstood what business they were in. The historical timelines of these industry titans offer a stark reality check.
| Company | Founded | Status |
| Nintendo | Sep 23, 1889 | Thriving |
| Eastman Kodak | May 23, 1892 | Bankrupt 2012 |
| Blockbuster | Oct 19, 1985 | Bankrupt 2010 |
| Netflix | Aug 29, 1997 | Thriving |
The Delivery Mechanism Trap
Blockbuster built an empire believing their core product was renting out physical plastic cassettes from brightly lit storefronts. When Netflix famously offered to sell itself to Blockbuster in 2000 for $50 million, Blockbuster's CEO dismissed the offer as a joke.
Blockbuster thought they were in the retail video business, when they were actually in the at-home entertainment business.
When the delivery mechanism shifted, Netflix cannibalized its own mail-order cash cow to pioneer streaming, while Blockbuster clung to late-fee revenue models until bankruptcy. Kodak suffered the same fate. They thought they sold plastic film, entirely missing that their actual product was memories.
The Power of Adaptation
Contrast this with Nintendo. Most people don't realize this gaming juggernaut was founded in the late 1800s as a playing card company.
If Nintendo had defined themselves strictly as a paper manufacturer, they would be a historical footnote today.
Nintendo, early Showa era. Public domain, via Japan Playing Card Museum.
Instead, they understood their core product was entertainment and play. As technology evolved from paper to electronic toys to digital consoles, Nintendo continuously adapted their delivery mechanism without ever losing their core identity.
Your Firm's Pivot Point
For accounting practice owners, manual data entry, bank reconciliations, and routine tax prep are our VHS tapes. Tools like Claude, Gemini, and CoPilot are broadband internet.
If our clients can eventually DIY their initial tax prep, our intrinsic value doesn't disappear, provided we understand that we are actually selling financial peace of mind, strategic tax planning, and business advisory.
The winners will be the ones who take advantage of this technological windfall, letting machines handle the heavy lifting while leaning into the guidance that software cannot replicate. We can dig our heels in and call the innovators dumb, or we can evolve.
Taxpros who are not stressed, how?
Speaking of capacity, another thread crossed my feed this week worth a look. Someone asked taxpros who aren't stressed right now how they do it. The replies split about half genuinely good boundaries, half pure gallows humor.
Coming up
- FREE WEBINAR: The 13-Week Playbook Walkthrough. Thu Sep 24, noon Mountain. I'm teaching the whole Playbook live. Foundation pages, the Monday and Friday rhythm, and Q&A. Save your spot
- Speaking: Intuit Connect + Gather by DBA. Both in October. If you're going, say hi.
Luke
Connect on LinkedIn · YouTube · Book time