"I think I've just paid £50,000 for a word I already knew" - Answer Digital co-founder Gary Parlett

Many CEOs call their companies "people companies". Occasionally they mean it!

Far more occasionally still, it translates into every sinew of a company's being.

Answer Digital comes about as close as you can get within the tech consulting sector. I don't know what perks they offer, or if they've latched on to the latest must-shout-about people-pleasing fad. But I do sense they've embedded values through the whole organisation.

And that's right from graduates who join their academy. Their coding skills will grow for sure. But they're also going to be asked to present what the company's values mean to them in front of their colleagues.

A tough ask, but it starts the process of connecting the team's day-to-day work to the company's values and the outcomes they create for their clients.

... and it seems to work, as 40% of the company's employees are academy graduates!

But way bigger than that is how founders Gary and Katie Parlett shunned high offers from trade and private equity and chose instead to put the company into an Employee Owned Trust.

EOTs aren't always the best answer. But they were to retain Answer's culture.

So my latest episode of the Karmic Capitalist talks to co-founder Gary Parlett about growing a successful, truly people-first digital transformation and IT consultancy.

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I host a weekly online workshop with CEOs of SMEs (10 to 100 employees approx) about scaling up, allowing them to step back and do more strategic work, and doing it in line with their values. Max 6 per session so we can have a real conversation.

If you'd like to join me, find a date that works for you here. They aren't charged for - you and I will both get value from the conversation.

Only CEOs / MDs apply - strictly peer-level conversation.