Dare to Accelerate—Dinner with Robert Hah, Managing Director at Accenture Strategy

1pVzUImYgJwMpJKUhJH3uJQ scaled
Dinner with Robert raised 218 volunteer hours!

Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their life and career.

In professional relationships, open-mindedness and teamwork are necessary to actualize an effective, results-oriented goal. To achieve this, corporates hire consultants to pitch strategies that accelerate company growth and help them perform at the top of their game.

Consultants like Robert Hah need to apply a flexible mindset to step into the shoes of different stakeholders and unravel complex puzzles —essentially becoming a jack of all trades. To put it simply, consultants are the hidden heroes behind successful businesses.

Who is Robert Hah?

Robert Hah is Managing Director with Accenture Strategy, the strategy consulting division of Accenture. As the Products Group Strategy Lead for Greater China, he and his team work with high-profile clients from various industries to improve their business strategy.

In addition to his client-facing roles, Robert is also involved in internal operations with leadership responsibilities related to human capital and sustainable growth across Accenture’s entire portfolio of businesses. Prior to Accenture, Robert became one of the youngest individuals to be appointed Managing Partner at Deloitte Consulting across the Asia Pacific region.

Robert also has a passion for nurturing talent and supporting the start-up scene in Hong Kong. He provides pro-bono coaching to many Hong Kong-based entrepreneurs to help them set up and operationalize their business. He also provides mentoring to underprivileged individuals such as new immigrants and people with disabilities.

1QazIfnZwJA9rBsw2jWwHrQ scaled
1bvgcaaer5LWACGDddANG7Q scaled

Utilizing your Dream Team

It takes an army of capable people to create an effective consultancy. During the brainstorming and strategy-building stages, each member contributes their own unique skill set, experience, and individual perspective. But ultimately, Robert reminds us that there is no ‘I’ in a team.

“Understand your stakeholders. Know what makes them tick and what their priorities are.”

In consultancy, a shared vision is important, especially when considering the interests of all parties. The team can then exercise a top-down approach to develop an exhaustive strategy. In doing so, the client is better poised to achieve favorable business outcomes.

Establish meaningful connections

Robert advises that quality matters over quantity in curating meaningful relationships. In the world of business, the best kind of relationships isn’t superficial. They are personal and it makes him willing to troubleshoot and be a sounding board outside of office hours.

When asked about how introverts can socialize in a world favoring extroversion, Robert maintains that everyone should find their own way to communicate with others. His example is based on years of navigating social situations and different networking environments.

“I try to find commonalities, the things that bring that person to life.”

1eJbxdZDjXSHZz36S4 d 7A scaled
1pufI9AJROsoNOAjDnn0FtQ scaled
1zI bqqqpnLS3qZAGNzU4sg scaled
1j7gE0WcWEaIE2iemx2mEqw scaled
1NvxjsIVOuWFefnWlplIMHA scaled

Stay hungry, Stay humble

“When the day you think you know everything comes, that should be very scary. Because your world becomes really small.”

Robert is an avid reader , and one may find a number of books on his bedside. He recommends the book Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the creator of Nike. The memoir talks about the brand’s journey to success. However, Robert is more appreciative towards the author’s self-reflection on the challenges and failures he faced while building the shoe empire.

The second point Robert highlighted was the importance of family as depicted in Knight’s book. Our family keeps us grounded and is a refuge against the harsh realities in society.

His final advice?

“For a lot of entrepreneurs, often you’re so focused on your company — it’s a part of your life but don’t forget about your family.”

1WW1w lpxvsSK8Ao3WehH0g scaled

Thank you so much to Robert for raising 218 volunteer hours and all the volunteers who dedicated their hours for charities such as Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong, VolTra and more! We would also like to thank photographer Steve from Kachick!

To see our upcoming experiences, head over to the Time Auction website!

This article originally appeared on our blog on Medium: https://timeauction.medium.com/dare-to-accelerate-dinner-with-robert-hah-managing-director-at-accenture-strategy-1e9227c4495a

Updated on 8 April, 2021
Share on

Volunteer Your Skills for Worthy Causes

Ever thought you could volunteer with your skills?

Discover volunteer projects where you can use your skills to support causes – all while building your resume, gaining references and making a difference!
Discover Projects
【2024義工活動】點樣加入義工行列?5大義工服務種類推介
你對「做義工」嘅認識有幾多?好多人都未必熟悉除咗賣旗籌款同探訪老人院之外,仲有咩其他類型嘅義工服務。究竟坊間有邊啲做義工嘅途徑,可以搵到適合自己嘅義工機會呢? 其實香港大大小小嘅慈善團體或非牟利機構  (NGO) 都會招募義工,而非牟利機構嘅義工服務範疇亦非常多元化,包括技能義工 (Skilled-volunteers),善用義工嘅個人技能同專長服務社會。你可以根據唔同嘅服務種類,或者按自己嘅喜好、關心嘅社會議題選擇義工機會。以下係5種常見嘅義工服務範疇同機構簡介畀你參考: 目錄 (一):動物福利 (二):長者服務 (三):青年發展 (四):環境保護 (五):社區服務 技能義工配對平台推介 常見嘅義工服務範疇(一):動物福利 如果你係狗奴、貓奴,或者鍾意動物,不妨考慮做動物義工!除咗有機會親身接觸毛孩之外,仲可以利用自己嘅一技之長,支援NGO嘅日常運作。雖然根據政府公佈的數據,動物棄養嘅數量有持續下降趨勢,但因近年的移民潮影響,保護動物慈善協會表示棄養寵物個案兩年升近三倍。因此,很多關注動物福利的團體都十分需要義工加入服務行列。 義工服務性質:清潔籠舍、照顧動物、活動推廣等 香港動物基金 Hong Kong Paws Foundation 香港動物基金係一間完全依靠慈善捐款同義工支持嘅動物福祉組織,希望拯救被虐待、遺棄同走失嘅動物。 香港愛護動物協會 SPCA (HK) 香港愛護動物協會係本港首間兼顧動物福利各方面嘅慈善團體,提倡善待動物,同時打擊同防止虐待動物。 Bring Me Home (Suppaw) Bring Me Home (Suppaw) 係一個寵物社交網站,亦係香港首個無償動物領養平台。 嘉道理農場暨植物園 Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden 嘉道理農場暨植物園為需要支持的農民提供農業援助,幫助他們過上獨立嘅生活; 並為公眾提供休閒同教育體驗。  Team for Animals in Lantau South (TAILS) 南大嶼山動物保護隊為有需要的貓狗提供救援、醫療、絕育、養育、庇護、寄養同領養服務,包括那些 流浪、被遺棄、受傷、虐待同忽視既貓狗,大力提倡動物福利,相信教育可以創造有利於香港動物嘅變革。 立即發掘更多! 常見嘅義工服務範疇(二):長者服務 隨著香港長者人口上升,越來越多關注老人家嘅機構都招募緊義工,希望為老友記送上更多關懷。 義工服務性質:家居維修、網頁設計、文字翻譯等 […]
Lessons from Managing Partner of McKinsey, Joe Ngai
“Be generous with your time. The world would be a better place with a little more generosity.” We were privileged to have the opportunity to spend close to 2 hours speaking and learning from Joe Ngai, Director and Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company Hong Kong. A man with many hats, Joe currently also leads […]
Advice from a CEO whisperer — Dinner with Lale Kesebi, TED speaker and CEO advisor
Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their life and career, where we get a glimpse into their mentality behind their ventures. Many of us expect CEOs to be masters at problem solving and […]
Lunch with Dominic, Business Advisor, Corporate Trainer, University Lecturer and World Traveler
As founder & chief consultant of Decisive Consulting, Dominic is a man who wears more than one hat. Aside from being an independent business advisors, he is also a Corporate Trainer, University Lecturer & an avid World Traveler. We spend this afternoon chatting with Dominic (ex-Mckinsey) as he shares tips & advices to our volunteers […]
Top