CIO Bulletin

Fluid Business Solutions enables teams to collaborate more effectively, in meetings, projects, tasks and other activities

A business thrives when each project is delivered successfully. Selecting and executing suitable projects as per its workforce’s capacity and capability is the stepping stone towards the firm’s ultimate vision. With the ongoing diversification, enterprises are expanding their horizons and undertaking multiple projects to form portfolios.

However, it is not as easy it sounds. When there is an entire portfolio (or multiple) to supervise, it becomes challenging to monitor every project metric diligently. It is of utmost importance that program and project managers form a definitive framework to standardize the management process. Managers invest significant time and resources in creating a project portfolio management strategy as a part of BAU activities to make an organization successful.

A PPM strategy sets the ground for profitable and strategically aligned projects while also catering to efficient resource management. It offers a myriad of benefits to managers and organizations as a whole by enhancing the overall efficiency.

We introduce you to Fluid Business Solutions who offers the award winning all-in-one project & program management solution, Fluid. work. The company is not built with a vision to sell software, or products, or numbers. It’s built to make a difference.

In conversation with Jared Whitaker, CEO and non-executive director, for better understanding of the company

Q. What are the most important attributes of successful leaders today?

I believe transparency is a key attribute to be a true leader. Remove the barriers between layers and make sure everyone in the organization is on the same mission. I also believe in the fact that every member of staff is a person, so treat them as people, not as numbers. Work together as people who want to achieve the same goals for the company. I also think that successful leaders have to realize that they are there to serve. They serve the people that work for them, not the other way around. Only by being a true servant for your team can they be free to do what they need to do to help your organization thrive.

Q. How do you keep your team motivated despite conflicts and obstacles?

I have found that by instilling a culture of openness, transparency, respect, and by working together with similar values and goals, the motivation is inherent in that culture. The team wants to achieve the same goals and has the same vision, so they are motivated to achieve them. We also strive to constantly keep the tram up to date with any big developments in the organization, such as investments, new clients etc. If any issue, obstacle, or conflict does arise, we deal with it openly and with understanding.

Q. What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?

We have been a small team to date, and because of that the main challenge has been juggling the work to make sure we deliver the best possible service for all our clients, while growing the business, and enhancing our product offering. We have worked hard as a bootstrapped company to get where we are, and we have just closed out our first investment round which will enable us to scale the business more, whilst ensuring we keep the high standards of service we have achieved already.

Q. What was the path you took to get to where you are today?

I started out in projects, working as a project manager, a PMO Head, and Program Director for around 5 years before I moved to the UK and moved into more a business role. Along the way I learned a lot about people, about delivery, and about always working hard to achieve desired outcomes. My business roles that I performed really gave me a great platform of knowledge and experience that I have been able to apply to Fluid. In my mind, I never really thought of being a CEO, I always thought of myself as someone who supports the CEO or leader, but after becoming CEO of Fluid, I feel that this is the right role for me, and that I do have a lot to offer the role.

Q. What qualities are lacking among today’s leaders?

I obviously can’t speak for everyone, and can only speak from my experiences, but to me the main qualities I have seen lacking are humility, transparency, and treating everyone with respect. I have witnessed too many “leaders” who believe that because they are at a higher level within the organization than others that it means they are more important. That’s just not the case. Everyone is important, and everyone has a role to play. I have also witnessed too many instances of “leaders” thinking that their teams serve them when they should be serving their teams. I think to me there are bosses and leaders, and from my experience, a leader is harder to find than a boss, but a true leader will always be better and do better than a boss.

Q. How do you generate great ideas in your organization?

We generate them together. We constantly engage with each other to come up with ideas. We listen to each team member’s ideas, the exec team’s ideas, and the ideas of our clients. These are probably the most important. If the marketplace is asking for something, it’s a good idea to listen and make sure we can offer what people are looking for. A key skill we have as a company is to listen. We listen to everyone who has a suggestion, request or idea, and that has really paid off well for us.

Q. What’s the most important risk you took and why?

I don’t think there have been many huge risks we have taken, and I believe that is down to having such a great team. We do what needs to be done, and we do it together. The only thing that might be seen as a risk by some people that I do (which I don’t believe is a risk), is I hire people that might not have the relevant industry or role experience if I know and believe they will do a fantastic job for us. So far that “risk” has worked brilliantly.

Q. How do you align your organization with your vision and mission?

I covered this a lot previously, talking about how we work transparently and engage our team members. Some of the mechanisms we use to do this are monthly Townhalls for the entire company, I have one-on-ones monthly with every member of staff, we send out weekly update mails to everyone around key items that are happening (sales updates, client updates etc.), and I have a 100% open door policy. Anyone in the team can contact me anytime about anything.

Embrace the man behind the success of Fluid Business Solutions

Jared Whitaker is a CEO and non-executive director. He is the CEO of Fluid Business Solutions, a SaaS provider of the award-winning PPM solution Fluid.work. He studied at the University of Manchester where he graduated with an Honors Degree in Mathematics & English Literature.

He has nearly 20 years’ experience in the project management arena, as well as managing some of the largest projects available globally in the financial services sectors (Huge mergers, Brexit etc.)