The world outside the office….

When I started my own business back in 2006 one of the first things I was told was that I needed to get out and network. Who me? A meek and mild accountant who barely ever ventured out of the office in corporate life (unless it was to visit another office)? Go out into the wide world and actually talk to…. strangers?

Networking is one of those things that can provoke extreme reactions. It is the old school tie at work. It is a vision of a loud gregarious sales person (it is always a sales person and no I don’t have anything against them). It is schmoozing and glad-handing your way through numerous breakfasts, lunches and evening receptions.  

Of course it does not have to be like this and indeed frequently isn’t. At its best it is the building of a string of relationships with people that you may otherwise not come into contact with, sharing ideas and opportunities and genuinely attempting to help move business life forward, even if you do not directly benefit from it.

I think that one of the reasons networking often gets a bad press it that many of the articles on the subject imply that it is primarily for the benefit of the individual. Little seems to be made of how organisations that have skilled networkers within their ranks benefit beyond the commercial returns that result.

I have developed valuable business contacts through networking. But I have also used it as an important tool for self-development. It has increased my business and technical knowledge. It has enabled me to view the business world in a much more rounded way that I would ever have been able to do as a corporate accountant. As regular readers may recall through networking I have even taken part in a competition to race to the top of the Jungfrau in Switzerland.

The business insights that I have gained through networking are valued by my clients and should I go back into corporate life would make me a much better employee than I was when I left.

Sadly too many companies out there just don’t get it. One only has to look at the social media policies industry to realise that it is seen in terms of what it should not be rather than what it can be. We are led to believe that a careless remark on Facebook can cause untold reputational damage to a business. Excessive executive remuneration policies on the other hand…..  

Too many organisations are losing out by expecting their staff to keep their noses to the grindstone for every hour they are at work. Letting them out into the outside world to develop their networks can help them think in a different way and pay real dividends. Yes there is a risk but, as any accountant will tell you, you rarely get returns without one.

Follow the money…..

Happy new year to you all! Many writers tend to start their first blog of the year by offering predictions for the coming year but I am going to resist that temptation, not least because 2012 is shaping up to be the most unpredictable year ever!

With the New Year only a few days old we have already had a raft of positive and negative statistics  lending themselves to both optimistic and pessimistic interpretations. Based on this I think it is safe to say that "Old Dogg’s Alamanac" will not be making an appearance in 2012.

Finance Directors as a breed like to know where we and our businesses stand at any one time so this uncertainty does not sit easily with us. Nonetheless, like many of the companies we work with, we have had to change our way of thinking and carrying out scenario planning with copious “what if” analyses is now as regular a part of the FD routine as monthly management accounts and weekly cash flows.

However life and business goes on and there remains a need to find and develop profitable opportunities. We can’t continually keep saying “no” or “wait”. But how do you get them? Moreover how do you evaluate them?

My mind goes back to my days as a naïve young accountant in industry and when I was introduced to a newly appointed business development director. Keen to learn about life beyond the finance function I asked him how he would go about getting new work in. I expected him to say he carefully researched what projects were happening and where, and then worked out which ones he thought the business had the best chance of getting. However his response was short and to the point. “I’ll just follow the money”, he said.

Follow the money. Simple yet obvious. Find out who actually has money to spend and what they intend to spend it on. Then you can focus on what you can do to help them spend it. If you are dealing with a business credit checking, common sense, industry gossip and the past histories of any individuals help. If you are dealing with consumers it’s a question of need to haves and nice to haves.

By following this money trail you can ensure that you don’t waste time on things that clearly are not going to work financially, especially in this climate. People can talk about projects and products that they are working on till the cows come home but unless there is money in the background somewhere there is little point in you as a business chasing them.

When I first asked that question I thought I knew how money worked. And I guess in terms of debits and credits and P&Ls and Balance Sheets I did. But good finance people realise that it works in many other ways as well, and understanding these and working them into our financial management processes is just as important as all those technical skills that we and our clients and employers take for granted.

We wish you…..

Wandering around the shops on Saturday morning it didn’t feel like a last Saturday before Christmas. Then of course I realised that next Saturday was Christmas Eve, and that this weekend was merely the busiest day at our airports for people looking to escape the UK, something that implies that for many the Christmas break has already started.

This year we do have quite a long run up to Christmas which may be just as well (especially for our hard pressed retailers). However that also increases the time available for contemplation, either as to what strategy is right for our businesses in the year ahead, or achieving the targets that we may have already set ourselves for 2012.

At Orchard Growth Partners we have always tried to have a little fun during December by offering business tips with a seasonal theme. We originally called it our advent calendar, inviting people to open up a new tip every day on our website. Last year we decided to use that great Christmas tradition pantomime as the basis for our tips (who do you think we cast as the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood?).

This year we have based our tips around our own top ten of classic Christmas pop hits. These songs have enabled us to pass on information on topics such as the loneliness of leadership, the importance of cultural awareness, the opportunities available through being a green business, and the idea behind one of the world’s best known pension funds.

I hope you have all had time to have a little fun this Christmas. We certainly need it after the barrage of economic gloom that hit us in the second half 2011. However many entrepreneurs and business owners are a breed apart displaying a degree of optimism that is often infectious.

Those of us who work with such people, particularly as their Finance Directors, view this approach with a strange mixture of hope and experience. Experience tells us that not everybody will succeed, but deep down we hope that everybody does.

In spite of everything there is much to look forward to in 2012 and well run businesses with great people who know their market and customers and keep tight control of their finances will find opportunities to develop and prosper.

For those you who celebrate Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas, for those of you who don’t I hope you enjoy the festive season in your own particular way. Above all, here is to working together to make 2012 a year that confounds the gloom merchants and typifies the indomitable spirit that is Enterprise Britain.

Christmas Crackers…..

A heartwarming story? A young lad got onto a bus but could only offer a £10 note for his £2.40 fare. As the bus driver did not have enough change he would not allow the lad onto the bus. Fortunately one of the passengers was prepared to dip into her own pocket and stump up the fare, thus allowing said lad to travel on the bus after all.

I think this is a nice story that restores faith in human nature. It is good to know that there are people prepared to help out because they believe it is the right thing to do rather than because there is some benefit for them in doing so. Yet we live in a cynical world and I guess many of you out there will be saying that the youth was probably indulging in a spot of subtle fare dodging by offering a £10 note that he knew could not be changed, therefore hoping to get a free ride.

What of course you should be saying is how incompetent the bus company involved is and how contemptible their treatment of their customer was. I can just about understand a £50 note being a problem as regards change. A £10 note surely should not be. I firmly believe that in such circumstances bus companies should be compelled to take passengers. They should not be allowed to bar passengers because of their own failure to carry sufficient change.

No doubt the bus company will say that it is impractical or dangerous to the driver to carry too much change on a bus. Maybe but I am sure that with the security and other technology that is now available it is not an insoluble problem.

Actually what they will probably say is that the passenger should bring the correct fare with them when looking to travel on their buses. Of course, it’s the customer’s fault, stupid! It always is when you are dealing with big businesses with little competition and absolutely no common sense.

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Another heartwarming story then. Last Saturday I had to take a relative to a walk-in centre at our local hospital so that their swollen ankle could be looked at. The centre was moderately busy when we arrived yet following two consultations and an x-ray, we were out of the hospital in 45 minutes flat.

We like to moan about the NHS. It is probably wasteful and overstaffed in places. There are too many highly paid and highly pensioned bureaucrats who have no idea how to manage resources effectively. However at its best it delivers a wonderful service with efficiency and care, something that is worth remembering. 

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Just over a week to go. Panicking yet? Just checking….

Not just for Christmas…..

I read at the weekend that post office workers have been given guidance as to whether they should accept tips this Christmas. The excuse given for this is compliance with the Bribery Act although one can’t help but think once again that the HR department have spent too much time attending employment law update courses.

Add this to the news that over half of SMEs are planning to cancel or downsize their Christmas parties and it seems that many employers are doing their best to ensure that their workers have anything but a merry Christmas.

Christmas is a time of year that regularly taxes Finance Directors. Being expected to act like Scrooge throughout the year means that when we actually reach the season of goodwill the words “Bah Humbug” naturally trip off of our tongues. Christmas parties, staff tips and company gifts often provoke heated discussions that leave us tearing our hair our and desperate to get on with more value added activities like keeping the business afloat.

Actually I am fully in favour of Christmas parties (although on cost grounds I may occasionally advance the argument that they should be held at a time other than Christmas) although probably for negative reasons rather than positive ones. The impact on staff morale of not having one far outweighs the cost savings.

I am of course aware of all the HR issues that surround such events such as unacceptable behaviour and inclusivity, but I believe that if a business has proper codes as to how employees should conduct themselves at Christmas, or indeed any other time, it should be possible to ensure that the benefits outweigh any risks.

I am less in favour of corporate gifts. Active discussions take place as to which customers (always customers never suppliers – funny that) should receive Christmas gifts, what form they should take, how much should they cost, who should give them etc. etc. If the only consequence of the Bribery Act is that we can finally dispense with this annual ritual it will almost be justification for introducing it in the first place.

In this case I don’t think I am being Scrooge like in my dislike of forced Christmas bonhomie. In the same way that I believe that everyday should be Mother’s Day, customer (and supplier) care should be an ongoing daily process. Good business relationships are not just for Christmas you know.