redesigning the future of financial services: aes international
TRANSCRIPT
CULTURE CODE. Challenging the status quo.
Redesigning the future of financial services
“ “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it Simon Sinek
We aspire to have an organisation which:
AES challenges the status quo.
....teaches like Wiki
...is loved like Google
...provides service like Federer
performance
excellent
In other words...
CULTURE HAPPENS.
Whether planned or not all, organisations have a culture.
CULTURE HAPPENS.
We want a culture people LOVE.
Let’s make an organisation that the world ACTUALLY NEEDS.
One that does the right thing and genuinely makes the world a better place.
NOW A FACT...
Financial services is changing.
EmpireThen
NOW A FACT...
Financial services is changing.
JediNow
But - many companies and people operate as if they’re frozen in time.
But - many companies and people operate as if they’re frozen in time.
They operate as if money is what matters most... often to the point of unconstrained GREED.
Banking
crisis
Bank fines
IFA scandals
Fund collapses LIBOR
fixing
FX and AML issues
Mis - selling
sagas
Purpose matters more than PAY CHEQUES
In the long term this approach equals
(as do the people we work with)...
Purpose matters more than PAY CHEQUES
In the long term this approach equals
BIGGER pay cheques.
(as do the people we work with)...
Don’t trust us on this? Look at:
(and that’s just the V’s)
WE DARE TO BE DIFFERENT.
We challenge the status quo in every part of what we do
Our goal is to prove that doing the right thing produces much better results in the medium and long term
We are therefore radically transparent which can make a lot of people uncomfortable, as they:
We are therefore radically transparent which can make a lot of people uncomfortable, as they:
Either don’t want us to tell others the truth (dinosaur advisers).
We are therefore radically transparent which can make a lot of people uncomfortable, as they:
Either don’t want us to tell others the truth (dinosaur advisers).
Aren’t used to being told it (clients).
This document is part manifesto and part employee handbook.
It’s part who we are and part who we aspire to become*
*ie. we aren’t there yet and need to work hard to get there...
Values are what we value.
These behaviours and skills are valued and rewarded.
KNOWLEDGEINTEGRITYTEA
MW
ORK
Ours are:
WE transform an outdated financial services INDUSTRY that manufactures and SELLS expensive, toxic products and investments into a PROFESSION. This is summed up in our tag line of:
WE transform an outdated financial services INDUSTRY that manufactures and SELLS expensive, toxic products and investments into a PROFESSION. This is summed up in our tag line of:
POSITIVE CHANGE
The Japanese called this
KAIZEN
Our Head of Investment calls this ‘MARGINAL GAINS’
(He’s a keen cyclist)
Our Head of Investment calls this ‘MARGINAL GAINS’
(He’s a keen cyclist)
That’s not him
treat others as they would want to be treated themselves
We believe people helping people with money must be
PROFESSIONAL and the hallmark of a
professional is that they
“ “
We believe people helping people with money must be
PROFESSIONAL and the hallmark of a
professional is that they
Simple!
treat others as they would want to be treated themselves“ “
This is known as
THE GOLDEN RULEor the
ETHIC OF RECIPROCITY and dates back to the Babylonion Code of Hammurabi in 1754BC
Think doctor, teacher and maybe even lawyer...!
...and sometimes dysfunctional.
Balancing the dual personality of mission & results
is challenging.
But it’s also partly what makes us
DIFFERENT.
- we strive to provide clients with:
Soto be clear
- we strive to provide clients with:
the BEST information
Soto be clear
- we strive to provide clients with:
the BEST informationthe BEST prices
Soto be clear
- we strive to provide clients with:
the BEST informationthe BEST pricesthe BEST service
Soto be clear
- we strive to provide clients with:
the BEST informationthe BEST pricesthe BEST servicethe BEST advice
Soto be clear
We also solve complex problems about things like cash flow forecasting lending, tax, insurance and investment that are very difficult/risky to
‘Do It Yourself’
OBSESS OVER CLIENTS NOT COMPETITORS
WE
OBSESS OVER CLIENTS NOT COMPETITORS
WE
Does
‘the best price’ mean giving more away free?
Does
‘the best price’ mean giving more away free?
NO!
To delight clients in the long-term,
we have to survive in the short-term.
Because...
(
Bankrupt companies don’t delight their clients.
We are results driven.
Results mattermore than the hours we workmore than where we produce them more than how popular people are
OUR PROFESSIONALS MUST GET RESULTS.
Does hitting our results and revenue goals support our long-term mission?
YES!Having delighted clients requires having clients.
YES!Having delighted clients requires having clients.
(funny how that works)
We are radically transparent...
INTERNALLYEXTERNALLY&
WE SHARE EVERYTHING
WE SHARE EVERYTHING
Today success is gained by sharing knowledge
not hoarding it.
The intent behind our transparency is to support
SMARTER BEHAVIOUR & BETTER DECISIONS
The intent behind our transparency is to support
SMARTER BEHAVIOUR & BETTER DECISIONS
(for clients and ourselves)
WE TRUST OURSELVES- and resist complexity at every level.
Instead of getting authorisation to bring in more policies and procedures we have a 3-word policy on just about everything:
USE GOOD JUDGEMENT.
WHAT IS GOOD JUDGEMENT?
A crib sheet for this is a little bit likeUNIT CORP GOD COUNTRY
in ‘A Few Good Men’
THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS:
THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS:
CLIENT
THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS:
CLIENT
ORGANISATION
THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS:
CLIENT
ORGANISATION
SELF
Don’t prioritise your personal interests at the expense of the organisation. Be a team player, not a politican...
ORGANISATION
SELF
Don’t prioritise your personal interests at the expense of the organisation. Be a team player, not a politican...don’t fritter away the organisation’s resources (this includes time)!
ORGANISATION
SELF
There it is
There it isThe ‘i’ in TEAM
There it isThe ‘i’ in TEAM
Hidden in the ‘A’ hole.
Don’t prioritise the organisation’s interests at the expense of the client.Working for clients’ interests is in all of our long-term interests.
CLIENT
ORGANISATION
We are unreasonably picky about our people.So
There are 5 attributes that we value, and comprise ‘the rare responsible person’.
#1 HUMBLE
{ }When things go well, humble people tend to share the credit.
When things go poorly, they tend to shoulder the responsibility.
No one likes dealing with ARROGANT, SELFISH PEOPLE.
(self-aware and respectful)
#2 EFFECTIVE
Effective people act like leaders and are predisposed to action. They just do things. Have a sense of ownership.
This begins with little things such as cleaning the kitchen area and turning off lights, and leads on to bigger things.{ }
#3 ADAPTABLE
Curious and constantly self-improving.
Life-long learner.{ }
#4 REMARKABLE
Has a super-power that makes them stand out in some way.
Remarkably smart. Remarkably creative. Remarkably resourceful.
REMARK•ABLE = Worthy.... of being remarked upon.{ }
#5 TRANSPARENT
Open and honest with others and with themselves.{ }
#5 TRANSPARENT
Open and honest with others and with themselves.{ }Short and
sweet!
HUMBLEEFFECTIVEADAPTABLEREMARKABLETRANSPARENTWe like people with heart.
We took this from HUBSPOT because we completely agree with them.
Compromising on culture is risking our futures.
SKILLS and EXPERIENCE matter...
Compromising on culture is risking our futures.
SKILLS and EXPERIENCE matter... ...but congruency to our culture matters more.
Does this mean we only accept those that match our values perfectly?
Does this mean we only accept those that match our values perfectly?
NO!
Does this mean we only accept those that match our values perfectly?
Confucius has good advice here...
NO!
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
We’re a TEAM,not a family. We hire, develop and cut smartly because we want to have real stars in every position.
Sometimes we make hiring mistakes.
We need to react quicker to these.
1%We invest in CHAMPIONING our people. This means we are in the top of all Investors
in People firms and do a lot of things to help our people.
BUT...people need to be responsible for their own career growth and not solely rely on ‘corporation’ planning.
How do we increase our value as individuals?
BUT...Ongoing
learning
people need to be responsible for their own career growth and not solely rely on ‘corporation’ planning.
How do we increase our value as individuals?
BUT...Big
challenges
people need to be responsible for their own career growth and not solely rely on ‘corporation’ planning.
How do we increase our value as individuals?
BUT...Broad
exposure
people need to be responsible for their own career growth and not solely rely on ‘corporation’ planning.
How do we increase our value as individuals?
BUT...Amazing
results
people need to be responsible for their own career growth and not solely rely on ‘corporation’ planning.
How do we increase our value as individuals?
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO PROGRESS AT AES:
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO PROGRESS AT AES:
1. Be BRILLIANT as an individual contributor and make magic.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO PROGRESS AT AES:
1. Be BRILLIANT as an individual contributor and make magic.
2. Provide SPECTACULAR support to those who are doing #1.
“ “IF YOU’RE JUST DOING YOUR JOB YOU’RE NOT DOING YOUR JOB.
Adequate performance is not acceptable- our people must go further…We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall goAlways a little further; it may beBeyond that last blue mountain barred with snowAcross that angry or that glimmering sea Excerpt from Flecker, inscribed on the clock tower of 22 Special Air Service Regiment
We’d rather be failing frequently
We’d rather be failing frequently
than never trying new things.
We are pioneers of a new paradigm and the financial well-being of many future generations depends on the achievement of our mission.
If we fail - people suffer.
We are pioneers of a new paradigm and the financial well-being of many future generations depends on the achievement of our mission.
If we fail - people suffer.
It’s that simple.
Remarkable outcomes rarely result from modest effort.
REFACTOR.• Pull out unused features.• Remove unnecessary rules.• Stop generating useless reports.• Automate manual processes.• Cancel unproductive meetings.• Prune extraneous processes.• Ensure ever more high performing people.
Teamwork depends on high performing people and good context.
The objective is to be big, fast and flexible.
to recapSo
THE AES CULTURE CODE
1 Values are what we value.
2 We are mission driven.
3 We strive to deliver the best information, the best prices, the best service and the best advice.
4 We are radically transparent.
5 We believe in autonomy not autocracy (mission command).
6 We are unreasonably picky about our people.
7 We invest in championing our people.
8 We challenge the status quo.
Our culture is not perfect for everyone.We are not a utopian place to work...
We have issues. Here are a few...
There is
TENSION between short-term goals vs long-term ambitions.
We lean towards the long-term, but it’s not always easy.
Change can be difficult (and sometimes elicits fear and anger.)
Not all decisions are popular but delaying action perpetuates the problems we are fighting to destroy.
Because things are moving fast and changing constantly, it can feel chaotic.
Because things are moving fast and changing constantly, it can feel chaotic.
It feels chaotic because often it is chaotic.
We have our flaws. But, this only gives scope for+POSITIVE CHANGE
WE WERE PREDOMINANTLY INSPIRED BY HUBSPOT
who in turn credit the following legends:-
• The Netflix Culture Deck (McCord & Hastings)
• “Drive” (Daniel Pink)
• The Valve Employee Handbook
• “Rework” (Fried and Hansson)
• Google’s People Ops Team ...and countless others on the web
THANK YOU Congrats for making it to slide 112!
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