You are not in business if you are self employed

31 August 2011 Leave a comment

This is a tough pill for many start-up entrepreneurs to swallow.  But if the business still relies on your input of time and expertise, then it’s not yet a ‘system of work’ that can be sold without you, and therefore it’s not yet a ‘business’.  Until you make yourself redundant, the market value of your enterprise will be severely impaired.

Do you really think that no-one else could actually be a better leader and manager than you?  Maybe if you formed a Board, you and they could focus ON your business while another more qualified to ‘manage’ takes care of operational matters?

From the first day you started your business you’ve grown it by successively replacing yourself with people who took over aspects of your responsibilities up to then.  From an executive assistant to a bookkeeper to a sales person, and so on.  And it’s very likely that each now does a better job in that role than you ever would have.  It’s the same with the ‘top job’.

Issues surrounding the reluctance of founders to ‘hand over the reins’ are well described in an article entitled ‘Time to let baby go‘ which appeared in BRW, 10-16 March 2011 edition, pp 40-41.  But you’re not really ‘letting go’.  You’re taking your business forward.

If you have any concerns about how to recruit and select a suitable person to be your new General Manager or CEO, consider the services of CEOselect.

Filed under Business, Directorship, Entrepreneurship, Equity, Leadership, Management, Organisation, Performance, Personal, Planning, Recruitment, Strategy, Systems Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why the fuss about sustainability?

16 March 2011 Leave a comment

Still wondering why ‘sustainability’ is such a hot topic?  This 20 minute animated presentation (below) makes a provocative case for dramatic changes to the way our world economy operates.  What do you think?  Please leave a comment and/or rating.  And take a look at www.storyofstuff.com if you want more.

Filed under Business, Equity, Leadership, Marketing, Organisation, Productivity, Selling, Systems Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Making mergers work after the deal is done

2 February 2011 Leave a comment

Studies show that once a merger has taken place, the most important task is managing people in the newly created firm. Find out how Bupa Australia rose to this challenge after its 2008 merger between Bupa and MBF, which has resulted in the largest health insurance group in Australia.

Bupa’s efforts won them the 2009 AHRI National Award’s Wayne Cascio Award for Responsible Restructuring, and Bupa Australia, with the support of AHRI and the US Society for Human Resource Management, have created a 20 minute video case study which outlines the steps Bupa took during the integration.

If you would like more detail, there is a 40 minute video, plus a 36 page discussion guide and a companion presentation.

Every year, thousands of mergers and acquisitions – totaling trillions of dollars – take place worldwide. Though financial benefits are expected from these deals, research shows that roughly 2/3rds of M&A’s fail to live up to the expectations set for them.

This video highlights Bupa’s innovative and people-centric approach to the merger, and it identifies steps that all companies should take to ensure merger success.

Don’t forget to rate this post and/or leave a comment.

Filed under Business, Case Study, Directorship, Equity, Finance, Leadership, Organisation, Performance, Planning, Strategy Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

How to get top price for your business

18 July 2010 1 Comment

With millions of baby boomers nearing retirement, thousands of businesses are about to be put up for sale in the next few years, which could result in an oversupply, forcing the price of businesses down.  “This situation could see some owners closing up shop because they are unable to get a good price for their life’s work” according to Dennis Laundy, director of William Buck, as reported in The Boardroom Report published by the Australia Institute of Company Directors, Volume 8, Issue 11 on 16 June 2010.

Laundy believes owners should start planning at least three years before retirement to get the best possible price for a business. This is to ensure profitability is satisfactory, the risks that can be mitigated are, and the tax implications of a sale are properly considered and planned for.

He offers the following tips on how to get top price for your business:

Read more of this post

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What the best enterprises are doing to consistently increase ROSF

19 April 2010 Leave a comment

12 of the usual suspects!  According to Phil Ruthven, Chairman of IBISWorld, as reported in BRW April 8-14, 2010, p17.

[In surveys by IBISWorld over the past decade, it has been found that about 1/4th of the nation's largest enterprises match, or do better than, world-best practice in profitability over a 5 year period.  1/6th of them exceed an ROSF (Return On Shareholder Funds) of 25% pa, and almost 1/10th do better than 8 times the bond rate (which averages approximately 6% pa over 5 year periods, indicating almost 50% ROSF pa.

Interestingly, the successful firms that do manage to achieve world-best practice averages are less frenetic and less complicated than those that don’t.

So what do they do that’s different?  It seems they do the things we all expect, as below, in rank order.  They … Read more of this post

Filed under Business, Directorship, Equity, Finance, Leadership, Management, Measurement, Organisation, Planning, Productivity, Profit, Strategy Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Entrepreneurs – born or made?

15 March 2010 1 Comment

Ofcourse, a bit of both would be ideal.  Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned academic. He is a Visiting Scholar at UC-Berkeley, Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School and Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke University.  His study, featured at TechCrunch, provides more than just another opinion.

Filed under Business, Entrepreneurship, Equity, Recruitment, Training Tagged with , , , ,

Good companies with bad strategies

30 November 2009 1 Comment

Is yours one of them?  A singular focus on shareholder value is the Bermuda Triangle of strategy, according to Michael E Porter, director of Harvard’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, as reported in Management Today, October 2009, pp 38-39:

Michael E Porter is generally recognised as the father of the modern strategy field. When Porter started studying strategy, he believed most strategic errors were caused by external factors, such as consumer trends or technological change. During a recent lecture, Porter stated that he now believes that many, if not most, strategic errors come from within.

["Companies do bad strategy to themselves.” This was one of the ‘takeaways’ from a lecture held at Wharton Business School by Porter titled “Why do good managers set bad strategies?“.

Porter also warned that managers get into trouble when they attempt to compete head-on with other companies. No one wins that kind of struggle, he believes.  Instead, managers need to create and develop a clear strategy around their company’s unique place in the market.

Bad strategy often stems from the way managers think about competition, Porter noted. Many companies set out to be the best in their industry, and the best in every aspect of business, from marketing to supply chain. The problem with that way of thinking is …   Read more of this post

Filed under Business, Directorship, Equity, Finance, Management, Marketing, Planning, Strategy Tagged with , , , , , , ,

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