PJ Bain is Chief Executive Officer at PrimeRevenue, a global leader in working capital financial technology solutions.
Performance. Respect. Innovation. Diversity. Excellence. Integrity.
These are the core values that my company, PrimeRevenue, strives to embody every day. We might fall short sometimes—no person or organization is perfect—but we certainly make every effort in our actions, hiring and decision-making to uphold them.
Part of what keeps us accountable is the extent to which we make those values visible and prominent, including throughout our internal and external communications. For any organization, its core values serve as its North Star, laying the vital foundation of purpose and trust that ultimately defines and reinforces its goals, practices and reputation.
Do you want to build an incentive structure that keeps you and your company true to your values? Then being proactively transparent—about those values, as well as about your vision, culture, and decision-making—will go a long way in strengthening that foundation of purpose and trust and in keeping your leaders, employees, customers, vendors, partnerships and products all on the right track.
In my experience, transparency in B2B payments and supply chains (which are my areas of expertise) goes a long way, too.
Ray Dalio And Radical Transparency
The venerable hedge fund manager Ray Dalio went as far as to make Radical Transparency a key tenet at his own company, Bridgewater Associates.
He has famously said: “Understanding what is true is essential for success, and being radically transparent about everything, including mistakes and weaknesses, helps create the understanding that leads to improvements.” And there is great wisdom to be learned here.
Leaning into this line of thinking, I see the following simple—yet as easily forgotten—questions as crucial for company leaders to spend time reflecting on honestly and truthfully:
• What are my company’s handful of core values?
• How do we make those values visible and prominent?
• Are our actions consistent with those values? If not, what needs to change?
While the answers to those questions will vary from company to company, what remains universal—from what I’ve observed, at least—is that the most successful leaders are regularly asking themselves those types of questions. Further, they think deeply about how such questions apply not only to internal company matters but also to their customer-facing products and services.
Transparency Applied To B2B Payments, Supply Chains And Beyond
In recent years, buyers and suppliers have been forced to navigate a unique macroeconomic environment defined by substantial and lingering uncertainty—resulting in a strain on B2B relationships. A study published in late 2023 found that more than half of businesses were paying suppliers later compared to the previous year due to higher costs and market uncertainty.
These late payments create and exacerbate a wide range of issues for businesses—impacting everything from operations and cash flow to technological investments and long-term planning.
As an executive in the B2B payments business, the current situational landscape tells me that, for many businesses, enhanced transparency and visibility into their payments could substantially improve their finances and business operations.
That’s not to say that transparency is an end-all-be-all solution—but, considering the extent to which such payments visibility is often lacking, it is easy to see how functions such as real-time insights, audit trailing and cash flow forecasting can go a long way in helping buyers and suppliers alike.
Simply put, having access to a wide set of relevant and real-time data informs and equips you to make better, smarter decisions. This applies in the realm of payments and beyond.
Whatever industry you’re in, transparency is a fundamental component of your business’ vitality, strategic planning and B2B relationships—including those with vendors, partners and clients. For companies that make the concerted effort to make transparency a key defining attribute across their organization, it can very well prove to be their greatest competitive advantage.
The world and macroenvironment we’re all navigating are often undeniably opaque. But what your business stands for, along with the services you provide—and receive—don’t have to be.
So, I leave you with the following bottom-line questions: What are your company’s core values? Are those values being made visible and prominent? And are your company’s actions consistent with those values?
If not, then what are you going to do to change that?
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