Partnership: An Interview With John Cornish

How To Get To The Top Of A Professional Services Firm

About John Cornish

After a varied career in retail, executive search, career management and running several international advisory businesses, John spent the last ten years of his career assessing individuals to work as partners in a Big 4 firm. He has interviewed almost three thousand candidates and helped to appoint over five hundred partners and senior directors. John is a Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development and the Institute of Management Accountants and has a PhD in Applied Economics. He's now enjoying retirement on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.

INTERVIEW

Background To Partnership

What is a partnership??

Partnership has evolved to combine the skills and knowledge of professional individuals such as lawyers and accountants, allowing them to share the risks and rewards of business.

What’s the role of a partner in a modern professional services firm?

Partners act as shareholders,?managers?and deliverers of services. Their role nearly always requires an element of business development as well as providing financial,?technical?and commercial solutions and services.?

Why is it such a great job?

The role can be extremely fulfilling for those individuals who wish to develop their own areas of expertise, as well as allowing them to feel they have a real stake in the?organisation. They also have the opportunity to contribute to the leadership and development of their practices and, for some, the overall strategic direction of the entire firm.

How does being a partner differ from being an employee?

Partners are essentially self-employed rather than employees. This can increase the opportunity for reward, but it also adds an element of risk.

Big 4 partners are all?rewarded from?the profits of the firm. The distribution process varies from firm to firm, but most allocate points, or units, to each partner, forming the basis for their initial investment in the partnership and their share of the distributed profits.

They usually draw a base monthly income and are then paid distributed profits in several tranches based on the firm's performance in the latest completed financial year.

They enjoy some benefits, but most are funded from the profit share.

How much do partners earn?

Big 4 partners earn between ￡450k to well over ￡1 million per annum.

Can you take us through the route from graduate trainee to equity?partner?

Graduates can follow several post-qualification routes to partnership. They move through advisor, manager, senior?manager?and director grades before reaching partner. A realistic time frame for talented and strong-performing candidates is 10-13 years.?

How old was your youngest partner appointee?

The youngest successful candidate was an internal candidate who passed the final assessment centre at twenty-eight. She went on to become a very successful tax partner, won accountant of the year and eventually led a regional practice.

Are some people born to be partners, or are they made over time? Can you simply?choose?to be a Partner through hard work and dedication? ?

Some individuals are born with the ability, personality and attitude to be successful, but not specifically to?be partners. When these individuals apply themselves, they often succeed in their chosen careers. Some will become professional services partners.

There are a range of people who succeed in partnership. Some have more natural attributes than others. All must work effectively to succeed. Professional services?partnership is?a demanding career that demands sacrifice and effort.

Is luck a factor?

Luck can play a part. It's mainly due to the timing of the economic cycle, the demand for specific services, and the market's abundance or shortage of talent.?

What makes a great leader?

Most firms look for three major elements of?leadership:

• Thought Leadership…… the ability to develop the content and processes of their?disciplines,
• Structural Leadership…... success in managing and leading teams of professional advisers,
• Market Leadership…... eminence in their market sector with access,?networks?and reputation at senior level within their industry and its leading clients.?

What are the core competencies required to be a partner?

The competencies for individual partner opportunities will vary, usually driven by the technical specialism of the role. An international tax partner will have different knowledge and experience to a UK-focused forensic accountant. There can also be a difference in the ideal weighting of non-technical competencies from discipline to discipline; for example, a restructuring partner will have more of a requirement for negotiating skills.?

However, important core competencies include:

• Intellectual rigour.
• Willingness and ability to share knowledge.
• The three elements of leadership (above).
• Relationship building skills.
• Diligence and stamina.
• First-class verbal and written communication skills.

Is?sales important? ?What percentage of my time should I spend selling?

Historically, professional services firms were reluctant to use the term “selling“. However, no matter what guise it takes, business development or networking, delivering current and building potential revenue is a key element of a partner's role.

It is impossible to quantify the percentage of time allocated. Some partners can be engaged in a major project for years and spend little time selling. Conversely, partners appointed to build a new practice could spend almost 100% of their time on business development.?

Can I be a partner without being able to sell?? How do I develop my sales skills?

It is now less likely that a partner will be successful if they are unwilling or unable to engage in sales.

Those who need to improve these skills are often supported by an executive coach, although in my experience, it is often more of an attitude rather than a skills issue.?

Do the world’s most successful partners have common traits?

Successful partners require three common traits:

1. A strong set of personal values.
2. World-class domain knowledge.
3. The propensity to accept and manage?change.

Who’s the most impressive partner you’ve ever met?

I have met many impressive candidates, Steve Varley (ex-chairman and managing partner of EY) is a good example.?

Building A Partner Business?And?Personal Case

What sort of revenues do I need to produce to be a partner?

Expected revenues per partner increase with time, but the range for a new inexperienced partner would normally be in the ￡2.5-￡4?Million?per annum.

How should people go about building a partner business case?

Individuals need to be able to produce a portfolio of evidence that demonstrates their suitability.

For external candidates, this will usually take the form of a CV. It must provide an honest and comprehensive but concise account of their academic and career record. It should also highlight their achievements,?experiences?and events in their career most relevant to the role.

For internal candidates, most leading firms now operate talent management programmes that include development monitoring to support their day-to-day performance. These?programmes then?draw together all the evidence in one document, to which individuals can contribute before they attend the appropriate final assessment event.

What should a written business case contain?

• The business case will need to include evidence that there is a strong current and potential market.
• That enough revenues at an acceptable margin can be generated to justify the investment.
• That the talent and resources are available to support the initiative.
• That the competition has not already cornered the market.
• That the services are compatible with the firm's current offering.
• That the business is sustainable.

What's the personal case??

The personal case must demonstrate the individual’s ability to lead or contribute to the initiative (execution of the plan).

How do I build a personal case?

This will include building visibility and brand in the market by demonstrating current or potential access to the key decision-makers in target clients. Evidence and credibility within the selected services and markets. Previous success and experience building and leading a practice.

This will require skills in team building, business development, and an entrepreneurial mindset.

How detailed should my business and personal case be?

The personal business case needs to be comprehensive but not laborious. In some ways, presenting the business case is a simulation of how individuals would perform when presenting to clients. It must be relevant, pithy, and concise and give the listener enough reason to want to hear more.??

What are the pitfalls that should be avoided?

• Never underestimate your audience.
• Too many detailed charts, etc.?
• Presented in a rush.?
• Failure to engage and encourage?interaction

What soft skills do I need to be able to demonstrate?

A collegiate attitude that fosters cooperation with other teams within the firm and, in some cases, a more global/international outlook.?

Partner Interview Process

What does a typical partner interview process look like?

The partner interview process normally consists of several?one-to-one?meetings with potential future partner colleagues. These usually include a?technical?interview, a market interview, and meetings with key individuals who have the closest contact or influence on the role to ensure that the personal chemistry is positive. There will then be a meeting with the head of the function (specialism), an HR assessment followed by a panel, and finally, a meeting with a member of the executive leadership team.

Does psychometric testing have a part to play?

There is normally one psychometric test, sometimes a Wave (or similar) assessment. Other focused assessments can be used if there are specific areas to investigate. (e.g.?doubts about intellectual rigour tested by the “Watson Glaser“ suite of tests.)

Have you ever heard of any weird and wonderful elements to an interview process?? (Graphology, etc)

No weird elements in the interview process, but I have analysed CVs, adding up the number of “I “ and “My’s?“and comparing them to the “We’s” and “Us’s”. Where there is a strong proliferation of “I’s” etc, I ensure that during the HR assessment, they are challenged on their ability to work in a team.???

How should a partner candidate prepare for an interview?

Candidates can prepare in several ways, researching the individual they are meeting and gaining a clear understanding of the purpose of the meeting.

Deciding in advance the information that they should share about their current clients.

Preparing the logistics of travel, time, distractions, etc - these go wrong more often than they should!

Some candidates will over-prepare and "leave their best in the gym, rather than showing it during the game."

What are the most popular partner interview questions?

Most partner interviews will be structured and have clear guidelines on the areas to explore; it will be up to the interviewer's style on how they construct their questions. Usually, a mutual exploration of the hot technical and contemporary market developments?yields?the most enlightening responses.?

What are YOUR favourite questions and why?

I find asking about influential role models in their career to date and following up on the behaviour and qualities they admire gives a good indication of the candidate's preferred style,?values?and behaviours.

What are the most difficult questions to answer?? How would you suggest people answer them?

The sticky questions predominantly occur when discussing the reasons for leaving their current role and the attraction to join the new firm. They must answer these honestly as they are thoroughly checked and vetted.?

What questions should the candidate ask at the end of the interview?

Only ask those questions that are genuine enquiries. Some?candidates ask “poser“ questions that they hope will make them seem clever and informed. Skilled interviewers will easily see through this.

If information is required, it is important that it is sought and provided. Partner recruitment is a mutual process. Candidates have a right to information on the firm and role. Like courtship, both parties must be certain before swapping rings at the altar.?

Is there anything that the candidate should do after each interview?

After the interview, candidates should analyse their performance, particularly understanding where they were uncomfortable or could have provided better responses.?

What are the best and worst interview answers you have heard?

When was the last time you lost your temper???Answer: 30 minutes ago, when your receptionist gave me white coffee when I asked for black!

?Who was the most senior individual you have advised???Answer: Barrack Obama! (the start of a good conversation)

Partner Panel

What is a panel? What does a typical partner panel consist of?

The Partner Panel is the penultimate event in the recruitment process.

It is the presentation and discussion of the candidate’s business and personal case.

There are usually a number of senior partners on the panel, including the service line leader or a member of the firm's executive board and other senior partners who will work closely with the successful candidate and significantly influence their success.?

It gives both parties the opportunity to modify and confirm their mutual understanding of the role, the business plan and the candidate’s confidence in their own suitability.

What are your top tips for making the presentation?

For candidates who make it through to this stage it is usually theirs to lose as most of the assessment processes will have been satisfied.??

Candidates should prepare a concise but comprehensive presentation of their view of the market opportunities and how they can contribute to the firm's growth and development.

They should open enthusiastically and encourage interaction as soon as it is relevant. A common failing is over-elaboration with too many slides. Supporting details and data are best left with the panel as a handout document.

Candidates must be prepared for strong challenges from the panel.

Further Advice

You’ve shared a lot of useful information, but what’s the number one piece of advice you’d give to an aspiring partner?

The strongest advice I would give to candidates is to “be themselves." Of course, everybody has the licence to sell themselves to the best of their ability.??If, however, they are stretching their experience and skills beyond the limits of these experiences, the role is probably not the right one for them!

Is it up to the firm to develop my skills, or should I be spending time on personal and professional development outside work?

Partners must take ownership of their own career development. Firms often provide excellent training packages to keep them up-to-date with technical,?legal?and regulatory issues. Personal development is often provided through individual executive coaching, both positive, to prepare them for new challenges and remedial, to improve some of their softer?skills.

Are there any tips or tricks you can recommend?

I have interviewed many candidates who have attempted various well-known techniques to get through a demanding interview. For example, several have tried aspects of NLP which can be obvious to skilled interviewers. These are more likely to make interviewers suspicious rather than impressed!

Should candidates use an external mentor?

Only involve coaches and mentors to enhance your personal and professional skills; again, do not use them to try to find a formula to get you through the partner process.

How can you sustain a long partner career whilst avoiding burnout?

Setting sensible work-life balance objectives, understanding your personal stamina and stress tolerance and, where relevant, the total support of families is crucial.

Finally, ?what do partners do after retiring their partnerships?

Partners tend to be active, vigorous individuals who will have prepared for retirement and developed interests to help with their need for fulfilment. Some extend their professional careers by developing a portfolio of activities such as non-executive directorships and charity work. Some take their boat and sail around the world. There's a lot of life after partnership!

Rob Thomas is a partner at Cavendish Stuart in London. He is an executive search consultant specialising in the professional services market. Please connect with him on LinkedIn to receive future posts. Your likes and comments are appreciated.