Summary
Armstrong Watson is a leading accountancy and financial advisory firm in the UK. With ambition for rapid growth and a stretching three-year plan, they faced the challenge of aligning a growing workforce around a shared direction. While the ambition was clear, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Paul Dickson recognised a gap: teams were working in silos, momentum was inconsistent and there was no unifying purpose driving collective performance. Armstrong Watson needed clarity, cohesion and a way to galvanise the business behind their growth ambitions.
How Did we Get There?
The Challenge
Armstrong Watson had a bold vision: to significantly scale their presence across the UK and become a leading player in the accounting and advisory market. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Paul Dickson, they embarked on a stretching three-year growth plan fuelled by both organic expansion and acquisition. Whilst the ambition was set, there was a sense from the team that ‘what got us here, won’t continue to get us to where we want to go’.
Despite strong technical expertise, teams across the business were working in silos, with limited cross-functional collaboration. Leaders recognised that to deliver truly outstanding client service (a key part of their growth ambition) they needed to break down internal barriers and offer clients a more holistic, joined-up experience. Many employees were focused on local priorities rather than collective progress, with a limited shared sense of direction to unite the growing organisation. A culture shaped by analytical thinking often emphasised problems over potential, leaving some leaders and teams disengaged from the bigger picture.
Paul recognised the need for sharper focus, stronger belief, and a unifying purpose that would help the entire business to start pulling in the same direction.
The Solution
Based off our consultation with Armstrong Watson, Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? designed a bespoke Crazy Goal Programme which was delivered to their board and selected executive members.
This approach included:
- 1:1 diagnostic interviews with everyone to understand their respective challenges. Summarised and themed, the data was used to inform the design of the rest of the programme.
- We facilitated a 2-day Crazy Goal workshop with the board and senior leaders to form their unifying ambition. Their aspirational goal became an umbrella under which existing projects, some already underway, could be consolidated and aligned. The Crazy Goal provided a narrative that helped bring coherence and energy to previously disconnected efforts.
Armstrong Watson's Crazy Goal:
- To embed the Crazy Goal across the business, we delivered a series of Layering Goal workshops. These were attended by service line heads and senior leads, translating ‘what does the Crazy Goal mean for us and our service lines?’.
- Supporting the launch of the Crazy Goal to a wider business at their annual leadership conference where Ben Hunt-Davis delivered his keynote speech to over 150 senior leaders across the organisation.
- A Momentum resetting session with the board to review progress to their goals, adjust where needed, and reaffirm their direction to be achieved 12 months later.
To extend our impact beyond internal audiences, Ben was invited to speak at an Armstrong Watsons client-facing breakfast event, where he shared his keynote speech and the story of Armstrong Watson’s transformation journey with over 60 of their clients. The event helped to externally position the firm’s ambition of providing word class customer service, while reinforcing their evolving culture of excellence. Ben then was further asked to open the Law Firm Ambition conference in June 2025, an event co-led by Armstrong Watson and other sector partners, demonstrating the wider recognition of Ben story and Will Its? Impact.
The Results
The Crazy Goal is now embedded into the everyday language across the business, within daily conversations citing it. Decisions are made in service of the Crazy Goal. As part of their commitment to delivering exceptional client service, Armstrong Watson are now a member of the Institute of Customer Service, reinforcing their Crazy Goal through external accountability and best practice.
Internal Measures
- 30% uplift in perceived quality of customer service – reflecting progress against their Crazy Goal ambition.
- 35.4% improvement in employee perceptions of effective team working, supporting better collaboration across silos.
- 28.6% increase in excitement and energy about the future – showing a stronger sense of momentum and belief.
- 22.4% growth in confidence around executing ambitious goals – underpinned by clearer alignment and direction.
- 17.8% increase in employee engagement within the team – highlighting deeper commitment, connection, and ownership in driving success.
Partnering with Will It Make The Boat Go Faster has been transformational, we engaged with their team to help us define and embed our Crazy Goal, firm wide. Through a series of diagnostic and immersive workshops and leadership events, they helped us uncover the clarity, cohesion and belief we needed to move forward together. Their approach brought energy and focus to our leadership team, culminating in the creation of our Crazy Goal, this goal now sits at the heart of our culture. It’s referenced in daily conversations, guides decision-making and inspires our teams to collaborate more effectively across service lines.
Beyond internal transformation, our Crazy Goal has helped us externally position our commitment to excellence. Armstrong Watson is now delighted to be members of the Institute of Customer Service, further embedding our Crazy Goal through external accountability and best practice. Working with Will It Make The Boat Go Faster has been a catalyst for change. They didn’t just help us set a goal, they helped us believe in it, live it and use it to drive meaningful progress. We’re excited about the future and we’re moving forward together, faster and more focused than ever.
