IT will come as no surprise to learn that the Financial Director of TrustFord is rather adept at steering the company in the right direction.
Stuart Mustoe, who will be revealing a fascinating insight into his role at Naked Leader’s October Leadership Conference, is the person in question.
Life in the fast lane has its challenges and Stuart began his association with David Taylor and Naked Leader in the summer of 2012, working on Leadership development.
Since then his drive and commitment have moved into top gear.
‘By applying Naked Leader’s Formula For Guaranteed Success it started to change my life,’ Stuart explains. ‘In both my work and personal life I found the very simple four-step process can be adapted to anything.’
Stuart has applied the principles in his role and the letters C and P are high on his agenda.
Firstly, he has created the 3 Cs – Cash/Control/Consistency.
He spells out the key elements here:
- Cash – The FD’s role is to ensure there is enough cash in the business to grow.
- Costs – The sales people will want to keep driving forward and spend money so the FD’s role is to put the foot on the brake, even stop or slow down if things are going too fast.
- 3. Control – An organisation with sound control framework will have a foundation to build upon.
Stuart’s three Ps are – People/Passion/Planning.
- People – The most important asset in the organisation and should be on the balance sheet!
- Passion – Motivation and enthusiasm to be the very best that you can be – finance need to be integral in the decision – not in the back room counting the numbers.
- Planning – All the best laid projects are delivered with great planning – with deadlines constantly being achieved to stay on track. Most projects fail due to poor planning.
Stuart also advocates Training and Succession Planning whereby a number two should be in place in order for the team and the company to progress.
‘It allows for personal development to benefit the team and generates “thinking” time for the manager to find strategic space and look for new ideas,’ he adds.
‘Internal promotion within the team must be a key objective. Who better to move up the ranks in an organisation than someone who understands the values and cultures of the company?’
Stuart talks from experience in that regard having graduated from university aged 21 and moved on to his current position – FD of an organisation turning over £1.3Billion – at the age of 37.
He places great store in Operational Relationships and adds: ‘We must ensure we are the eyes and ears for the operators to make informed decisions, always watching out for their best interests.
‘In Finance we normally have the answers. So having good communication skills is key, as is implementing them and developing them into business plans to drive the company forward.’
At Naked Leader’s Conference Stuart will touch on the following tips for heading up a Finance team.
‘Finance have the answers – the key is to get your operational management to listen,’ he insists. ‘Also invest in the people. They will pay you back over time, while it is important to keep it simple and stay focused on the outcome while delivering with enthusiasm and passion.’
A final word from David: ‘When Stuart says, “Finance have the answers” I promise you, he means it. Stuart rarely takes time out to speak in public – if you want your organisation to know how to get the answers, come and hear from Stuart, and most importantly, do what he suggests.”