As the growth in Asia accelerates, here’s how Xero’s Managing Director aims to lead a growth business
Last October, I was officially tasked to lead Xero’s Asia business as the Managing Director.
This was in fact the culmination of an extensive ‘five-month-long interview process’—the longest in my career, where I moved from the role of Regional Sales Director to the interim Regional Director when the former Regional Director went on a sabbatical.
The transition was a welcomed challenge as my responsibilities extended beyond sales targets and allowed me to look more broadly at the business from various angles to ensure its long-term success.
It also meant I had to be very clear about Xero Asia’s priorities and work with the team to focus our attention there to grow our presence strategically.
Being immersed in the Xero culture during my two and a half years serving as the Territory Sales Manager in Victoria and Tasmania, and having gone through the growth stage in Australia helped establish my inner compass and gave me a deeper appreciation of Xero’s best practices, culture and leadership style.
However, moving from an established corporation in ANZ to a startup outfit here in Asia is a whole new story.
I had to adjust my mindset and management approach to rally the team in Singapore, and later in Hong Kong when we opened our Hong Kong office early last year.
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I would describe it as leading a startup within an MNC where I have to work with very interesting dynamics and it is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity to be entrepreneurial, yet backed by resources, experience and support from our established counterparts in the global team.
It also gave me a deeper appreciation of the nuances of startup behaviour, and why any business should be looking to incorporate the most positive and beneficial aspects of it.
Get the ground running in Singapore
Most importantly, the guidance given by Xero’s senior leadership meant I could develop a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the Xero Asia business and the importance of keeping our approach simple.
Interestingly, the lengthy grooming process before taking on leadership roles seems to be the norm here at Xero.
Our CEO Steve Vamos had served as a consultant with Xero for 18 months before being offered the position and tasked with implementing the strategy he devised during his consultancy stint.
Although we are able to apply the Xero playbook based on our experience expanding to new markets from our home base in New Zealand, we still had to localise the approach based on in-market nuances.
While the Xero platform was designed to automate and simplify accounting and bookkeeping processes, it ultimately works best when combined with an ecosystem of app and banking partners.
And with so many of the regulations, business practices and general technology adoption and sentiments in Asia differing from the ANZ market, developing an ecosystem that empowered Asian small businesses was a lot easier said than done.
One of the main things going for me has got to be my first-hand experience in seeing Australia’s growth phase in cloud-based accounting software.
This allowed me to share my insights and coach the team to stay focused and believe that the work they were doing was having an impact on the local markets.
Opportunities and strategy for Asia
Cloud adoption in Asia: With a relatively low cloud adoption rate in Asia (based on our recent market segmentation study in Singapore and Hong Kong, only 26 per cent and 17 per cent of businesses have adopted cloud-based accounting software respectively)
We need to be very strategic about the allocation of our efforts to ensure we attain maximum results.
Referencing the typical technology adoption curve (pictured above), featuring early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards, we decided to strategically focus our efforts on early adopters – businesses and accountants who are eager to adopt technology to drive growth.
This is our sweet spot, for now at least, and where our time and investment are focused.
Of course, with so many tasks on our table, I’ve also had to learn how to say no to initiatives that don’t drive results or aren’t related to the company’s priorities in the region.
On the subject of late adopters (i.e. laggards), for example, we’ve had to be critical about how much time we invest in this market and whether it helps achieve our goals in 2019.
No doubt we will revisit this group once our resources permit us to do so.
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Breaking into Asia: As is often the case with global brands entering local markets, Xero Asia had to overcome barriers to achieving buy-in with our audience.
The key to educating and selling in a city like Hong Kong, for example, where cloud adoption is still in a nascent stage, is having ears on the ground.
There is simply no replacement for meeting partners in person and asking them basic questions about what they need and how our solution can help.
Naturally, this also involved learning as much as about the culture, listening intently, and responding to and learning from honest feedback.
Finding a clear value proposition: While approximately 80 per cent of SMEs in Asia use some form of accounting technology, only an average of 20 per cent are on cloud accounting platforms, so there’s clearly some reticence about our product—but also a lot of opportunities.
So, to carve out a niche in Asia, we are pivoting from simply being an accounting software to a platform designed to meet the needs of the small business community through our efforts to cultivate a comprehensive ecosystem of over 700 app partners, banks and fin-techs.
This effectively establishes a value proposition that’s distinct from our key competitors.
Shaping the Xero Asia culture
Transparency and clarity: The foundation of a strong team is transparency and clarity. This means being clear about expectations and working with each individual in my team to guide them through their milestones.
Timely team communication: With the startup pace of work at Xero Asia, where we are constantly expanding and evolving, I place a strong emphasis on regular and informal check-ins to ensure that no one is being left behind and issues are always addressed in the early stages.
I belong to the camp that believes that modern-day management is more about employee engagement and empowering the team to take ownership and step up to own pockets of the business as they strive to achieve their full potential.
Hiring for attitude: It’s an optimistic perspective that I hope will create a two-way culture that attracts people with enthusiasm and passion—people who want to be part of something bigger or part of a journey.
As the Xero Asia culture takes shape, hiring then becomes an essential part of business success. Over time, I see the conventional CV or resume as a mere means of securing an interview.
Beyond that, what I typically look out for and prioritise are candidates who exhibit a keen sense of curiosity—curious about the business, the role, the customers we are serving, etc—it is a trait that has to be innate because it is impossible to force or teach someone to be curious.
Vulnerability-based trust and psychological safety: With such an amazing team on board, it is important that we create a safe environment for them to thrive and succeed, and that can only be achieved if employees feel safe to display his/her own vulnerability or gaps in knowledge and be authentic and passionate about it.
It will also open doors for them to be creative in their approach and be adventurous in trying out new ideas. This startup mindset is essential for our success in Asia.
From Xero to hero
Growing the team, helping each team member achieve their fullest potential, and, in turn, nurturing the small business community here in Asia will be our focus.
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As the growth in Asia accelerates, it is a fantastic time to be leading a growth business in Asia and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Xero Asia!
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