Hi ,

As 2024 is well underway, how would rate your Finance team's influence?

A+? If so, stop reading, go celebrate!

If not, what's the secret to changing your team’s culture?

15-minutes a week.

That’s all you need.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s another thing you might not believe. I can squat 130KG as a 93KG accountant.

And it’s all thanks to a key piece of advice a powerlifting buddy of mine gave me.

It changed my life, and it’ll change your team.

Start small. Be patient

For me, I started with a 60KG squat. Nothing special.

Next week, I added 2.5 kg, squatting 62.5, still nothing to boast about.

Week 3, add 2.5 KG.

Week 4, add 2.5 KG.

I could have added more weight faster, but I chose to be patient.

I worked on perfecting my lifting technique and building a strong foundation. My strategy was just to add 2.5KG every week.

Three months later, I was at 90Kg, my body weight.

Six months later, I was at 120KG.

I eventually reached a 130KG squat. Much to my surprise (and my wife’s).

15 minute meeting

Why should you ring fence the first 15-minutes of your team meetings every week? Just like weightlifting, slow but steady progress is the key to culture change.

All you need are two things:

1. The right strategy.
2. Go slow to build a foundation.

We’re all told to go quickly.

Move faster.

Go hard.

But like my old boss said,

The long road is often the short way home

It doesn’t matter if you’re lifting weights or building a culture.

If you move too fast, the plan fails early.

So, how do you implement this right now?

Prepare a strategy that contains Finance activities to add value to the business.

The 15-minute weekly workout is at every team meeting.

One person picks an activity and opens with how they added value that week. What worked well, and what could be improved. Then the team discusses.

Each week a different person.

Each week a different activity from your strategy.

The repetition builds the Finance team's muscle.

The foundation of its culture.

This is how you add value.

This is your culture.

15 mins a week.

You'll see progress; it might be slow at first.

But suddenly, like I surprised myself with a 130 kg squat, you'll be surprised at the overwhelming interest from other departments wanting Finance’s take on major decisions.

Until next time.

Alan

PS