The concept of the “ideal team” is not new. Most large companies have “line management” or “direct line reporting” and each manager can only handle around 5 team members.
SAP, the software company, for example, often have 3 key people working on a client. For example a “BDM” (business development manager) or “Sales Person”, next, a “project manager” or “implementation coordinator “ and finally a “technician” or “product specialist”. Different industries have different names or variations on the team design.
Essentially you need:
- Finders
- Minders
- Grinders
Each has different skills but is complementary to the team. At a basic level, a finder is someone with very high interpersonal skills. That’s your BDM (Senior Client Manager). They are the ones who can speak the customers’ language and have great communication skills.
A minder is your project manager. They coordinate resources and technical teams (grinders) to get the job done.
A grinder is a technical person who has great technical skills but does not have communication skills.
In an Accounting or Bookkeeping firm, it is the same. Someone needs to manage the client. That needs to be the Senior Client Manager (SCM). A Team Leader then works with the SCM and coordinates the technical team to get the job done. If you set up this ideal team, using the right people and putting them in the right seats, it creates Synergy 1+1=5.
Dr. Stephen Covey (author of 7 Habits of Highly Successful People) called this the highest form of Maturity on his Maturity Continuum. He called it “Interdependence” in contrast to dependence and independence.
Another point to note is, that with technology, systems, policies and procedures, team members can be anywhere in the world, it’s a Win/Win for all.
Team design and architecture are fundamental to our Wize philosophy.
That is the fundamental reason to have people with different skills working as a team to service the customer, whether that’s SAP or an Accounting firm or a Bookkeeping firm.
As “Bookkeeping firm owners” or “Accounting firm owners” we need to learn that “all accountants” or “all bookkeepers” don’t fall into 1 category.
Jim Collins wrote a book called “Good to Great”. It’s worth a read. It’s a detailed study of the greatest firms ever and the leaders of them. I think this video sums up the problem and solution of firms scaling and growing but hitting the barriers to growth. Jim repeatedly states the same philosophy:
- first who?
- first who?
- first who?
Get your “people strategy” right first, then take on the world. As Dr Stephen Covey mentions, this is where the magic is!?