When Others Go Deep Business Partners Go Broad

This article is co-written by James O’Brien and Anders Liu-Lindberg

In any business, you will find specialists and generalists and to win in the marketplace you need both. Typically, the specialists work in the line functions where you’ll find the star salesman, the engineer who will make the production line flow or the customer service agent who knows how to turn an unhappy customer into a happy customer. Generalists, on the other hand, work either in management positions or in support functions. Support functions you say? I thought they were all specialists too! This may be true but not if they have a well-developed sense of Business Acumen which is the topic of James O’Brien’s and my on-going series. In this installment, we explore how using broad scanning can enable people working in support functions to drive value creation through supporting the line functions make better decisions. In fact, when the specialists in the line functions go deep into their functional expertise, business partners go broad to explore multiple options, combine various sources and balance between what needs to change and what needs to stay the same. This makes broad scanning a crucial ability for business partners so let’s explore further what it is all about.

Broad scanners explore opportunity and uncertainty

Someone with the ability to broad scan the business environment is someone that will look for what opportunities are available in any given situation. To explore these opportunities also means to go into uncertain territory and feel excited about doing it. If you’re not excited about uncertain opportunities or perhaps even afraid of them then how can you ever grasp their full potential? Now, Broad Scanning is not some fluffy ability but is quite clearly defined by certain behaviors like...

• ...the feeling of excitement about new opportunities
• ...being comfortable with uncertainty
• ...using inquiry to probe beneath the surface of what others believe is obvious
• ...understanding what needs to change and what needs to stay the same
• ...knowing how to research an opportunity but more importantly also when to advance the agenda

So, let’s try and consider these behaviors for business partners working in support functions. You can’t be someone who says “NO” to everything. You can’t be someone who will only do something if it involves little to no risk. You can’t be someone who’s not willing to try new things. And you can’t be someone who analyzes things to death and never decides what to do next. In fact, this reminds us a lot about the classical stereotype that at least finance professionals have had to fight with for many years.

Kill the stereotype by becoming a broad scanner

Clearly, times have changed and to become a business partner you need to embrace new behaviors and become a broad scanner. In any given scenario, you should always explore multiple options and suggest equally attractive solutions. You must accept that all decisions are made under uncertainty yet you also make sure to research each solution you suggest so that you can properly present the upsides and downsides. You also have a good idea about when it’s time to change things to achieve a different or better result. Yet you don’t suggest to make changes for sake of change itself. If something is working well you help support that those conditions remain the same for continued success like keeping a high investment level in a certain product or asset.

While a business partner might support one specific line function it doesn’t mean (s)he doesn’t look out for the whole business. (S)he can take a strategic perspective on day-to-day decisions and be the link between strategy and execution. In addition, true business partners also consider how competitors might act on different decisions made as well as how the external environment is impacted and will react back to the company. It’s clear that great broad scanners can have a tremendous impact on any business and any line manager would be thrilled to have a broad scanner as their business partner as undoubtedly it will help the manager make better decisions and create more value. That’s after all what both Business Acumen and Business Partnering is all about.

This is the fourth article in the Business Acumen series where James represents the CXOs wanting their teams to better understand how the company makes money and Anders represents the professionals working in support functions needing to increase their Business Acumen. You can find a link to the other articles below.

Do You Know How Your Company Makes Money?

Finance People - Adopt A Growth Mindset Or Die

Do You Have What It Takes To Make Money?

It Takes Purpose And Vision To Follow A Leader

Anders also encourages you to take a tour of his old posts on finance transformation and not least “Introducing The Finance Transformation Nine Box” which is really the starting point for the transformation. Last but not least, you should join the Finance Business Partner Forum where we will continue to discuss this topic.

The CFOs Roadmap To Transforming Finance

How Finance People Can Be More Successful

The New Career Path For Finance Professionals

What Defines A Finance Master?

Financial Analyst vs. Finance Business Partner

You’re A Finance Business Partner, Now What?

How Finance Business Partners Improve Company Performance

There Is A New Kind Of CFO Needed In Town

Anders Liu-Lindberg is the Global Finance PMO for Maersk Transport & Logistics where my main goal is to create a world-class finance function! Formerly I’ve been a Senior Finance Business Partner for Maersk Line Europe Region and is working with the transformation of Finance and business on a daily basis. I have participated in several transformation processes amongst others helping Maersk Drilling to go Beyond Budgeting and transformed a finance team from Bean-counters to Business Partners. I would love the chance to collaborate with you on your own transformation processes to help you stay out of disruption. Don’t be shy! Let’s get in touch and start helping each other.