Alastair Morris, Managing Directr of Accu, is the latest regional business professional in the hot seat as we give him just 10 minutes to answer our 10 burning questions.

1. What does a typical working day for you involve?

I can’t really remember two days having been the same in three years with the business. We are a rapidly growing company and constantly pushing the boundaries of what we are focusing on. I join many meetings, in person and hybrid across the company, but I am also out and about meeting partners, suppliers and customers.

2. What makes your company special?

I am very proud of our culture and do everything I can to defend it. The headline is that we all work a five day week, but the truth is something far deeper, with a young, ambitious team that is the most customer focused I have come across in my career. They help one another and all think about what they are doing and how it impacts our customers. We are pretty democratic, with a flat structure. Leaders are accessible and try to be approachable.

3. Do you dress up or down for work?

You will be lucky if you ever see me wearing anything other than an Accu Hoodie and a pair of jeans, quite probably with my Accu branded shoes on too! I love our brand and promote it internally and externally whenever I can. But I also love the Steve Jobs principle, that you shouldn’t waste headspace thinking about what to wear- save your energy for bigger decisions!

4. What piece of advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

It’s OK to be a generalist - indeed, you can become an expert in it! I used to worry that I wasn’t good enough at any one thing, but have actually managed to carve a career from being a bit good at lots of things.

5. What’s your favourite Yorkshire venue for an event or team away day?

Well obviously it is the Accu Stadium! Since taking the naming rights of Huddersfield Town’s football stadium last year, we use it for everything we can. But genuinely, the investment that has gone into its various venues in the last 18 months has been amazing, and it really is a world class place to hold any kind of event now.

6. How do you prefer to travel for business?

I love all forms of travel. I drive a lot and use it for crucial time to marshall my thoughts and strategise, away from the noise of screens and meetings. But the ability to get bigger bits of work done on a plane or train is also great.

7. What’s your favourite place in Yorkshire to relax?

My parents still live where I grew up, in the countryside near to Cannon Hall Farm. It is such a peaceful and beautiful part of the world and definitely my happy place where I can switch off, breathe the air and relax.

8. Where is your favourite place to eat in Yorkshire, and what dish do you recommend?

I have always loved the 3 Acres near Huddersfield, celebrating several life milestones there with my family. I’m delighted it has reopened and will be going there for my wedding anniversary this year. I’m certain everything on the menu will be great, but I’ve got my eye on the venison.

9. What do you miss most about Yorkshire when you’re away?

The countryside… it is so quick and easy to get into the hills, some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, from all of our cities and industrial areas, you can escape whenever you like. Even just going over the Pennines I find myself lost in endless suburbia and look forward to getting back to our blend of culture and wildness.

10. Do you have any business rules that you swear by?

I tell people to make sure they are focusing on what is important rather than what is urgent; it can be very easy to get lost in the pressing needs of today when you could actually be adding more value by working on something bigger. I am also a big believer that most of the time it doesn’t matter which decision you make - how you implement that decision is far more important. Every option has up sides and down sides, the key is to mitigate for the down sides and look to maximise the upsides. All too often, we think there is a right decision and a wrong decision and once we’ve made it, we forget about the down sides coming our way.



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