If you - as a leader of a team, a department, your firm, even - want to build a profoundly successful business, you'll want data at your fingertips. You'll want the data that enables you to make the best decisions and that will enable you to grow the business that you've got in your mind's eye. As well as the data, you'll want to better appreciate how to grow and develop the knowledge, skills and habits of your team so that they bring a client focus in a way that ensures that your clients believe they're in the best hands, that they're working with the best possible firm for them. Data, team, clients - these are the three topics of the discussion I was fortunate enough to have with Dawn Marriott, ex-CEO of Azets. Dawn is currently working with the funder Hg Capital and with the rising stars across the 50 companies in which they invest. Please scroll down this page for contact information for Dawn and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast. |
The Solution:
I think the single biggest thing is to support the development of your people, to make sure you know your people well, and to help them develop the skills they need to be the accountant of the future, the accountant the industry wants them to be and, hopefully, you as managing partners or owners want them to be.
So I think accounting is a technical industry, but above that, it's a people business. So I'm always going to start with a focus on your people.
SHOW NOTES
Connect with Dawn
Connect with Paul
Resources relating to this podcast:
During the podcast, Paul and Dawn discuss KPIs. Dawn believes that, before you decide what to measure, you need to understand the numbers (data) of your firm.
Which data are you measuring?
When you understand your data, you can use it to help you run your firm, develop your people and build solid relationships with your clients.
If you want to know more about the importance of measuring, not just the financial numbers in your firm, but the team and client focused data, please click the button below to read our Business Breakthrough report, Sustainable Success with KPIs.
Over the course of this podcast, Paul and Dawn discuss change and how to successfully manage change in your firm.
Dawn shares the importance of accountants moving from a purely transactional relationship with their clients to an advisory and trusted relationship.
She sees the need for advisory, relationship building and interpersonal skills to be taught in more firms, especially when developing the younger members of the team.
Change is needed - and here are three reasons why change is vital...
1. Your competition get better and better, not worse
2. Your clients demand more over time, not less
3. Technology doesn't retreat - it advances
But change is difficult, and the natural tendency is to stay as you are, preferring the status quo. However, your firm is at risk if you don't embrace change.
If you want to know more about how to implement change successfully in your firm, please click the button below to read our Business Breakthrough report, Successful Change.
