Tax preparers, Pulp Fiction, and L&D

“If my answers frighten you, then you should cease asking scary questions.”
- Samuel L. Jackson in the 1994 movie “Pulp Fiction”

The U.S. tax system isn’t broken; it’s outdated by design. And fixing it isn’t about making filing easier: It’s about eliminating the need to file at all.

The radical idea: Adopt “return-free” taxes - like many other countries - where the government calculates what you owe (or are owed) and sends you a pre-filled return to approve.

• Countries like Sweden and Japan already do this. Most citizens simply confirm their taxes in minutes - or do nothing at all.

• The U.S. could do the same. The Internal Revenue Service already has much of the data.

Why doesn’t the U.S. do this? The reason is organizational and human behavior: Entire industries - from tax prep companies to compliance consultants - are built around complexity, job security, and personal interests.

• It’s in the best interest of the companies and people in these industries NOT to change. Or is it?

The scary question: Are L&D professionals - including myself - like tax preparers? If we are, our days are numbered.

• This site lists 751 job areas and calculates the risk of AI replacing someone’s position. Number 1 is computer programmers. Training and Development Managers are ranked 41, 120 spots above Tax Preparers, who are ranked 161. 

Is the glass half full or half empty? For many, these numbers are a threat. For others, this is an opportunity.

• While there is a seismic change happening in the L&D space, it seems like a fair assumption that companies will still need to recruit, develop, and retain top talent.

The Netflix-Blockbuster example: Blockbuster declined an offer to buy Netflix for $50 million in 2000.

• Ten years later, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy; Netflix had revenue of $45 billion last year. The 2020 documentary “The Last Blockbuster” is on Netflix. The irony.

The lesson: People still watch movies at home. HOW they get their shows and the data associated with them was the opportunity.

• Assuming companies will still need to recruit, develop, and retain top talent, HOW they do that is the opportunity for L&D.

Our approach: We are going back to the basics to help Wronski Associates and our clients build a new,exciting future.

• We are hosting an upcoming early-career workshop at the LDP Connect conference in Atlanta in May. 

• Design thinking, challenging assumptions, creating a culture of innovative thinking, change management, and process design are all on our agenda.

It’s time to use fundamental and proven tools to rethink EVERYTHING.

The bottom line: Don’t optimize the way you do things. Challenge its current existence. That’s where real transformation begins.

• Is asking if what we do is needed a scary question? Yes. 

What’s scarier is not having to do my taxes.

• Not because the US went “return-free,” but because I missed the single biggest opportunity ever presented to L&D professionals and no income.