This is something I have been wanting to share for a while now—it’s packed with valuable insights from years of experience and occasional wrong turns, and of course, right ones.
You see, I’m a big believer in collaboration over competition. In fact, we share our trade secrets with 80 other high-performing accounting and financial planning firms across Australia through our partnership with Slipstream Group. Slipstream coaching brings together best-in-class owners of accounting and financial planning businesses to further unlock their potential (not just the businesses, but the individuals).
We were fortunate (or created our own luck) to receive the Rising Star award in 2022 and proud to have been finalists for ‘Firm of the Year’ in 2023.
Here are a few of our trade secrets that I hope all businesses can learn from.
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
Though I’d like to claim this brilliant one-liner, it was coined by management consultant Peter Drucker and has stood the test of time as I still remember this one form my university days many, many moons ago.
But what does it mean?
No matter how great your business strategy is, your plan will fail without a business culture that encourages people to implement it.
How Does Fuse Wealth Execute This?
Quite simply, our core values and behaviours.
These are Fuse Wealth’s fundamental beliefs created by our team that guide our choices and behaviours. As a business owner, director, and leader in our business, these values are a guiding light when times are tough or tough decisions need to be made. I simply refer to these, and the answer lies therein.
Fuse’s Core Values
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Be Impactful
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Be Connected
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Be Excellent
You Make Your Own Luck
In business, some outsiders think, “Geez, they were lucky to get that break… or geez, they were lucky to have that upbringing.” Trust me, luck plays a small part in business. I’m a true believer that you make your own luck; it’s the hard work that creates luck. It’s the behind-the-scenes effort and the 1% efforts that create fortune.
For me, some of the 1% efforts are doing that online webinar to stay abreast of the latest tech or tax ruling, taking that extra meeting, turning up to a breakfast, beer, or lunch, and stepping forward to introduce yourself at a conference. It works, trust me.
We also use an elite performance coach, Brett Robbo, who sharpens our mindset.
My Personal Blueprint
Some of the leaders at Fuse Wealth, including myself, Saul Muscardin, and Lisa Kirk, wanted to take our personal lives to the next level, so we engaged Robbo to guide and structure a program that enabled this. The result was our Personal Blueprint, which uncovered and subsequently underpins “why we do what we do.” It’s a blueprint that I refer to often when I’m erring away from my true north of why I started my own business in the first place.
My Blueprint Includes:
- Personal Philosophy
- To-Be List: Who I want to be and what challenges me (ice baths are high on the list!)
- Top Core Values
- FFA List (Feel Frikken Awesome List): What makes me perform at my absolute best
- Purpose: Why I do what I do
- 3-to-5-Year Vision
- Personal and Business Goals
Daily Non-Negotiables to Help You Thrive
I have this in my bathroom at home, much to my wife Mel’s detest, but it’s a constant reminder of the small things I need to do to perform at my best. Here is a snippet:
- Morning exercise
- Daily reflection
- Learning something new
- Connecting with my team
We have taken the team through several of Robbo’s workshops, and they were blown away by his teachings. Interested in an intro? Let me know.
Structure is Key
Our meeting rhythm plays a large role in executing our strategy. To borrow another key one-liner: “Strategy is nothing without execution.”
How Do We Execute? Consistently.
Getting your meeting rhythm right!
No one likes a world of endless meetings that drag on and accomplish little. This structure, on the other hand, gives rigour and purpose in our team interactions. It turns good businesses into great ones.
Our Meeting Rhythm:
- Daily Huddle (5-10 minutes): Share daily schedules and activities
- Weekly Tactical Meeting (45-60 minutes): Review weekly activities and business metrics
- Monthly Strategic Meeting (2 hours): Discuss, analyse, brainstorm, and decide upon critical issues affecting long-term success
- Quarterly Goal Setting (4-6 hours): 90-day action plans
- Yearly Gold Day (1 day offsite): In July each year, we take a day out of the office and have our coach facilitate what we want to achieve in the next 12 months.
Functionality – Red, Blue, Black
I’m a red, blue, black kind of guy. Sounds like some type of mixed martial arts, but I can’t fight that well. It’s a simple model that I learned over a decade ago, and I still use it religiously in my calendar, time allocation, language with the team, and even whiteboard markers.
What is Red, Blue, Black?
This is a functionality tool that focuses on ensuring that staff are empowered to take decisions and avoid unnecessary reliance on management. It makes sure that the business is not dependent on any one person, in any area.
| Colour | Definition | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Productivity (Infrastructure) | HR, Administration, Legal, Accounting, IT, Compliance, Secretarial support | Non-revenue generating support |
| Blue | Revenue (Sales) | Marketing, Factory, Dealing with customers | Revenue generating |
| Black | Strategy | Positioning, Distribution, Product, etc. | Growth creation |
Percentage Changes
What happens with percentage changes in red, blue, or black?
The below table is a great way to balance your business resources with the expected financial outcomes.
| Colour | Over resource = result | Under resource = result |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Increases costs which hits the P&L and profit | Too little infrastructure to service customers |
| Blue | Too much work without the infrastructure to support it | Not enough cash flow this year |
| Black | Future growth but no cash flow this year | No growth in future years |
Are You Making Your Own Luck?
Collaboration, a strong culture, structured strategies, and a mindset of creating your own luck are key to success. By sharing insights and practices, we hope to inspire other businesses to achieve their true potential. Success isn’t just about having a great plan; it’s about the people and the daily practices that bring that plan to life.
