Carpe diem: how UK business leaders can seize this moment to grow

With Covid-19 restrictions lifting in the UK, thanks in no small part to the success of the vaccination programme, I made my way to a TV studio last week to take part in a live broadcast discussing the challenges facing British businesses today and the opportunities for growth. 

Having recently moved back to Britain to lead Accenture’s UK and Ireland (UKI) business after three years living and working in the USA, I’ve observed that we have a very different societal view about what’s important, which plays out in how each nation is tackling carbon emissions. In the US it will be down to private enterprise and technology. In the UK, businesses and technology will have a huge part to play, but the Government and wider society will also be involved in solving the challenge.  And here, customers are increasingly holding organisations to account around their sustainability action, inclusion and diversity practice and ethics.

UKI business leaders are quite rightly focusing on emerging from the Covid crisis to get back to growth quickly. But building back better means achieving profit in equal balance with delivering your societal purpose. Think of it as ying and yang. It requires a shift in how you currently frame and measure value, taking it beyond shareholder value to encompass your people, your customers, your partners – all your stakeholders - holistically.  It’s not easy, but I’ve been buoyed by recent conversations with chief executives in recent weeks and see a genuine appetite to do things differently now. 

For Accenture UKI, we’ve already started on our journey to becoming a 360-degree value business. Post-Brexit we’re investing in the UK, with several acquisitions announced since the start of the year. Importantly for the regional ‘levelling up’ the UK needs, not all our investments are in the south east. Last year we established Cloud First– an entirely new business model based on cloud technologies – putting our money where our mouth is as we support our clients through their own transformation journeys. And at the start of Covid we experienced new ways of collaborating through our involvement in the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium. This saw very different businesses working together under pressure and at pace. We went from sourcing parts and creating a new production line to getting working ventilators into hospitals to save lives in just weeks. What really stands out for me is the power of moving from a series of transactional relationships to truly collaborative partnership working.

Thankfully in the UK the immediate demand shock of Covid is over.  The massive shifts in revenue lines, employee roles and operating models that have occurred over the last 12 months have settled down. Those organisations which pivoted quickly to continue to serve their customers have thrived, and we’ve seen a raft of new product offers, services and experiences come into the market as a result. The front-runners going forward will be those who double down on their technology investments. And while digital transformation is nothing new, the speed of becoming digitally native has accelerated hard. 

Investing in the right technology isn’t enough though. You also need to invest in your people. With an element of data, technology and security built into every job role, everyone in your organisation needs a level of digital fluency.  And softer skills will remain just as critical to business success going forward. We now have a new level of intimacy with our people and our customers. We have been privileged to see into people’s homes, with pets and children making appearances on video meetings, and there’s a renewed understanding of the pressures of balancing work and home-life. Leading with empathy is vital. Nurturing a growth mindset is also important – we’ve all had to unlearn the old and embrace the here and now. Take this forward in 2021. Expand your curiosity and continue to learn by listening to your people and your customers about what they want, need, and expect from the business.

As the broadcast wrapped, I was left with a feeling of optimism for the future. There seems to be an inherent desire for confidence deep in our psyche. People want to go out again, to socialise and have fantastic experiences, to travel and spend money. The opportunity is there for the taking for businesses who are ready for it! And as the UK gets back to basic economic growth, let’s grow responsibly and ethically, with regard for our local communities and the planet we share.

You can review the ‘Tomorrow, Today’ broadcast here.