Creating Value

I was recently having a conversation with a reporter where I was asked the question, “why do most business owners who sell their business end up leaving shortly after they sell?”  My answer was they don’t realize what they’re getting into and once they’ve sold the selling owners often don’t like what they find.

Companies large and small try to commoditize their suppliers.  Those businesses that allow this to happen will often have a future of profit challenges.

I’ve recently finished the book Traction by Geno Wickman.  I highly recommend the book and will likely write several blog posts about ideas I got while reading the book.

I often ask myself if exit planning is a profession.  There is a group of people who are trying to make the business of writing an exit plan a profession.  I think they miss the mark.  Writing an exit plan should not be a profession, but exit planning should.

There have been hundreds of pages written about how to hire effectively.  It’s rare that I see an article on how to train effectively.  I believe that hiring is truly an important activity.  At the same time without great training you can often have great hires not do as well as you had hoped they would.

One of the most powerful parts of lean manufacturing that both improve operations and start to change your culture is what is known as the 5 S’s of lean manufacturing.  Yes, I know this is true jargon, but in this case the 5 S’s actually have meaning and is something you might want to use in your company.

One thing I’ve noticed that all successful business owners have is a passion around their business.  When the passion leaves it’s often also time for you to leave your business to someone else.

One of the most valuable things that I’ve ever done is participating in several peer-to-peer groups during my business career.  A peer-to-peer group is one where a group of business owners get together and discuss, comment on and help other members of the group make their businesses better.

I’ve become very interested in Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System.  Both are ways for companies to use their internal strengths to dramatically improve throughput and profitability.

Mission is the first thing a business owner should consider as they become strategic in their business.  The second are the supporting pillars of that mission statement.

We all have them: strategies that form how we live in the world.  Many of us don’t have a clear idea of what others’ strategies are, nor do we even know what our own strategies are.  I believe this is a mistake.

I’m always interested when I find people who are resistant to change, which is almost everyone I know.  Change is a natural force in our world.  We go through changes and we all know after we become conscious that change is a normal and expected event.

I’ve been reading a lot about “lean manufacturing” systems.  I love the idea of companies becoming lean and changing their culture and techniques for running those companies.  Not only will the company gain a great deal of efficiency and increased profits, but also employees are treated as valued partners in the process.

This is a really interesting question.  When you ask a group of employees they often will say developing weaknesses is important.  When I ask this question of employers or business owners the answer is almost always develop your strengths.

I’ve seen businesses thrive, survive, and fail.  Those that fail often have something in common.  The founder made mistakes either through lack of knowledge or actions not taken that could have saved the business. 

Advisors talk about how they can help clients when they’re with you, their clients.  The dirty little secret is that when advisors get together and clients (you) are not there, the conversation often turns to “client control.”

Daniel Pink has done a great entry on saying no and what are some of the issues around it.  His post isn’t just about how to say no, but how to say no to things you might actually want to do.

I’ve heard many business owners tell me they’ve decided they want to move their company in a different direction.  This is often right before the owner makes a grand announcement to everyone in their company.

I was recently at a training program where the topic came up of being an early or late adopter. 

This is such an obvious statement but it’s one that I see business owners including myself ignore over and over.

I see this scenario all of the time.  A business owners starts to become very successful.  So successful that they start developing a significant amount of cash that isn’t needed by the business to grow.

I’ve noticed a phenomenon: When a business owner reaches fifty years old their business seems to get much more successful.  I’ve now seen this enough times that I’m thinking there is something to business success and getting older.