In a recent edition of the Daily Herald’s Business Ledger, the focus was on family businesses. More specifically, the focus was on succession planning so that the business could remain in the family and continue to benefit family members for many generations. One of the stories discussed Klein Tools, a business that has been in
It’s all in the execution.
James “Murph” Murphy is a former F-15 fighter pilot who left the Air Force after 12 years to enter the business world. In his book, “Flawless Execution,” he talks about the rigors of being a fighter pilot, about the exhaustive work pilots do as they prepare to fly a “mission,” and about the concentration and
“Make no little plans.”
Sometime around the last holiday season, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced a plan to home-deliver merchandise within 30 minutes of the order being placed . . . by a little helicopter drone. That’s right. He claims, when the system is ready some years in the future, you’ll call Amazon, place your order, and 30 minutes
To-do’s Before Year End
January is a time of renewal. It marks a new beginning, a fresh start. But there are things you should be doing now, before December 31, to get you out of the blocks fast when the year turns over. If you’re on a roll, you need to think about how to keep that roll going.
Plan Your Exit Now!
You need a business exit strategy. If you don’t have one, develop one. The closer you get to exiting your business, the more you need a plan to do it. But even if you’re just starting out in business, you still need an exit strategy. If you don’t see the need for an exit strategy or if
“Goals produce results, not activities.”
Our last posting talked about consistency. We talked about identifying “critical success factors” . . . operating principles that, when applied consistently, are at the core of a company’s success. But operating principles are only half the equation. They are the front end, the input side of things. They are the consistent activities that produce
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”
For most small business owners, the business is their single largest asset and the one they are counting upon to fund their retirement. So wouldn’t it make sense for them to plan when and how they expect to exit the business? You would think so, but many don’t . . . at least not in
Running a company is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.
Running a company is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do. Below are some activities that, when performed rigorously and consistently, tend to separate strong small business operators from those who are struggling. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list, and the list is not in any particular
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
I have talked about planning here before, but I continue to run into small business owners who seemingly just don’t get it. They don’t plan because they don’t see the value in it. So I continue to hammer away at it in hopes that the lights will come on and they will finally “get it.”
“The nicest thing about not planning is that failure always comes as a complete surprise and is not preceded by a period of worry and desperation.”
Many small business owners do not engage in any real, substantive planning activities, even though planning will do more to move the business forward than anything else they can do. This is often because: a) they are so busy putting out the fires of today that they don’t have time to worry about tomorrow, or
