20 Years in Consultancy: Shaun Harris on Leadership, Growth and Modernising Ep26

Описание: In this episode of the Growing Consultancies podcast, I speak to Shaun Harris of Harris Associates.

Shaun is a proper “been there, done it” business owner, there are plenty of pearls of wisdom in this conversation. We talk about doing things the traditional way for a long time, then recognising when it’s time to modernise. We also get into leadership, wearing multiple hats as a business owner, and why compliance and building safety is one of the biggest opportunities in the market right now.

It’s also a refreshing one for the podcast, because we’ve not had many guests so far from the building surveying and compliance space, and Shaun brings a really grounded, practical perspective.

We discuss:

• What Harris Associates actually does and how the business is structured (multi-disciplinary, multi-office)
• Why compliance is a huge growth area and where the real opportunity sits (especially with existing buildings)
• Growing headcount from the low 30s towards 40 and the challenge of finding quality people
• How PI insurance has changed and why it matters so much for higher-risk work
• How the business pivoted post-2019 and why speed of decision-making is a competitive advantage
• Modernising the “traditional way” by working smarter, improving systems, and using tech without losing expertise
• AI, digital tools, and the risk of losing future senior talent if juniors don’t learn the fundamentals
• Leadership, time management, and how Shaun prioritises in a week where everything changes daily
• Taking risks, getting comfortable with failure, and why attitude matters as much as technical ability
• What success really looks like beyond money, turnover, and titles

If you’re a consultant, surveyor, business owner, or anyone navigating change in the built environment, you’ll take something from this one.

Subscribe for more episodes.

#growingconsultancies #buildingsurveying #compliance #buildingsafety #firesafety #builtenvironment #consultancylife #leadership #businessgrowth #constructionindustry #propertyconsultancy #retrofit #netzero #professionalservices