Finding out WHO can help

Last week I was in a round table discussion focused on personal and professional growth. One of the points raised was the powerful acronym H.O.W., which is designed to help people remember to be: Honest, Open-minded and Willing. As we sat talking, I began doodling with the letters H, O, and W and realized that when rearranged, they also spell W.H.O. Immediately, the classic Abbot and Costello “Who’s On First” comedy routine came rolling through my head. So, with all due respect and apologies to two great comedians, here is a (much shortened) version I hope you will enjoy.

So W.H.O will help me change my focus?

Yes!
I mean the name.
W.H.O.
The guy with the answers?
W.H.O’s the guy.
That’s what I asked?
W.H.O!
The guy helping me change my focus is….
WHO is that person!

That’s exactly what I am asking.

Well, that’s his name.
That's W.H.O’s name?
Exactly!
Well go ahead and tell me.
I just did, that's it.
That's W.H.O?
Yes.
What's going to help me become a better person?
No.
Well, ok then W.H.O’s going to help?
Exactly!

Sometimes I can get wrapped around the axle trying to do this personal and professional growth thing just the “right way”. 
But there is no right way. Personal and professional growth is always evolving and never arriving. I know WHO is a key and whenever I am stressed I will lean back and remember WHO will help me live to my full potential. Exactly!

If you would like to have a laugh, here's a link to the original text andvideo.

Moving at the Speed of Don’t Screw Up

Building trust is the fastest way to motivate your people. When people are worried or fearful on the job, productivity slows down. Sometimes the harder we push the slower it moves. Eventually people get so fearful they move at the speed of don’t screw up which is the slowest speed they can move and not lose their jobs. If we want to break down the barriers to productivity we must build trust. We build trust in a number of ways. When we begin to act trusting with better delegation, communication and inclusion, we build trust. When we act trustworthy using good listening skills and better connection, trust begins to grow. When our people begin to feel that “we” have their best interest at heart, the productivity the barriers come down and productivity, mood and morale begin to accelerate. When staff input and ideas are includedin the goals and action plans, trust and productivity are optimized. As trust grows, organizations are energized. With this energy, the entire culture begins to work more effectively and efficiently, costs and wastes go down and profits go up. Trust is well worth the time it takes to build.

Find Savings By Reviewing Your Financial Plans

I have been around the office products industry most of my life and I know, from the friends I stay connected with, that many businesses are struggling right now. Sales are flat (if we’re lucky), collections are slowing, and people are disgruntled. Fear is a mindset and morale killer. I started my first business in the 1979 and 1980 recessions and grew and prospered through that as well as the one in 1989 and 1990.  I think that many things can be done to improve your business, today. All that you need is some planning.  This is the time to lead your company by finding ways to improve cash flow and cut costs. It is the perfect time to make sure your financial planning is as effective as possible.

My rule of thumb for cost curtailment -- anything can run on 12 percent less. Like weight, the first 10 to 20 percent that you are trying to lose comes off easiest. Start by reviewing each of the following financial-plan categories:

1. Rent – Demand a reduction from your landlord. Even if you have the discount added back later, now is when you need help.  If you’re the landlord, cut the rent.

2. Communications – Who is your carrier? Why are they your carrier? Are there ways to reduce your costs?  Maybe you can save money by getting new equipment from a different carrier.

3. Employee health insurance – I don’t think you should eliminate health insurance but you can review your policy and see if you can start planning it differently in order to change the deductible to reduce rates.  Or consider changing providers.

4. Legal fees – These seem to keep creeping up.  Ask your attorney for an audit of the legal services they are providing. Also, ask them what services you could reduce, bring in-house or eliminate altogether. Your attorney wants you to succeed because he wants a client for the long-term. He will help you find ways to cut costs.

5. Advertising – This is the time to improve advertising.  You should ask for an audit like the one the attorneys are providing.  Review where you are spending money; see if there are smarter ways of planning your advertising campaigns. Stop focusing on providing information about your company, as in traditional advertising. Find ways to provide value to clients instead through e-mail or SMS marketing for example. When you provide value for your clients, not only will they become more secure, they will also become advocates for you and your business.

6. Loan costs – Banks are struggling too. Have a heart-to-heart with your banker and see what they might do to help you with Loan planning. They have flexibility. Banks don’t want you to fail and they definitely don’t want your collateral. They just want to get paid back.

7. Accounting – Treat this exactly like the legal reviews

8. Travel – Do you really need to stay in a 4 or 5 star level hotel? Do you need to fly first-class? Heck, do you need to travel at all? Find new ways to stay home and cut your costs. Try planning your meetings online. Between Webex, Go to meetings, Adobe, Yugma and Skype (just to name a few) you can set up a perfectly acceptable virtual meeting.  I have been developing Webinars to help my clients reduce travel expenses for me.

9. On-hand inventory – Once again, ask your supplier for an audit and for recommended reductions.  Let your supplier help you with your inventory planning. If they are a reputable supplier, they will be honest about ways to help you reduce costs and improve cash flow.  Like all the rest, they do not want you to fail.

10. Employee costs – If you need to reduce staff, cut quickly, cut hard and cut deep.  It is much easier and much better to hire people back than for them to constantly watch for the “layoff look” on your face every Friday afternoon. Once cuts are made, pull your people together. They need to believe that they are with you for the long run and not just here until the next sales and profit numbers arrive.

These are 10 good areas in which to look first because you can immediately put money back into your pockets. But you should review all parts of your financial plan for savings.
 A successful bank president told me something once that I will never forget it:  Cash isn’t cash unless it’s cash. I purchased a company once and on the first day called the landlord about the rent. I told him we could move out the next day or he could reduce his rent by 50 percent, thereby maintaining a fully rented space with no loss of rent and no cost of looking for a new client. He said “no problem.” Though he was not excited, he was happy to have half-the-rent guaranteed instead of nothing.

What can you do to cut, reduce, eliminate or postpone payments? There are things you can do that will save you money today.

Remember to stay client-focused. Planning to reduce expenses shouldn't save you money but cost you clients. Also, look at yourself in this equation. 
Can you personally get by on less? Are you the landlord for your business?

Maybe it’s time to personally run a little leaner. Staff morale goes down and fear goes up when they think you are only focused on protecting yourself. Pull the details of each of the categories and create your own line-item veto.  Make sure everything has a valid justification for where you are now, not last year or even last month. Lean on your suppliers and maintain high-touch value with your clients. You’ll weather this storm and come out the other side a lean, mean fighting machine.

Exit Planning - Timing Is Everything

One reason business owners of successful companies put off exit planning is they don't know when to start.  There is one simple answer; every business owner should have an exit plan regardless of his or her age or the stage of the company. 

Exit plans are not just for pre-retirement business owners.  Unlike their parents, who typically stayed in one business for their entire lives, younger entrepreneurs are more comfortable with the idea of buying and selling businesses.  As a result, these younger entrepreneurs need exit plans as much as their parents do.

The bottom line is that in successful companies, business owner can never start the exit planning process too early.

Sophisticated investors like venture capitalists who fund start-up companies will not invest in a business unless they believe the founders have a good exit plan.  Private equity groups will not buy or invest in a successful middle-market company without developing a detailed exit plan for themselves before investing. 

Why do these sophisticated investors believe in exit plans? 

They know firsthand that in successful companies unless an exit plan is in place, there is no strategic road map to ensure that all of the goals of the stakeholders are met.  They have learned through experience that without a detailed strategic exit plan, they are much less likely to achieve their objectives. 

In successful companies the more time a business owner has to design and implement an exit plan, the better.  In an ideal world, business owners should develop their exit plan when they start their businesses. 

If that hasn't been done, the exit planning process should begin at least three years before the business owner ultimately wants to exit. 

Why such a long lead time?  Let's start at the owner’s final departure from the company and work backward to understand when he would need to start.

First, let’s assume the owner’s ultimate exit strategy is to sell the company to a third-party buyer (approximately 70 percent of business owners ultimately elect this strategy.)  In contrast to selling publicly traded securities, no liquid or efficient market exists for privately held companies. 

While there is a very active market for private successful companies, a great deal of time and effort is required to "package" the company for sale, identify and contact the right buyers, and then negotiate and close the transaction. 

Depending on the type of business broker or investment banking firm engaged to sell the company it may take between 6 and 18 months to sell a privately owned company.  This period can be even longer if the client has unique structuring requirements or other issues that limit the universe of potential buyers.

In addition to this, keep in mind that even after the transaction is closed, in most of the successful companies buyers want the former business owner to continue to play a role in the company as an employee, consultant, or advisor.  This transition period can last anywhere from several months to as long as several years.  I work to make sure my clients understand that their actual exit will occur between 6 and 12 months after the closing depending on the length of the transition period.

Perhaps most importantly, remember that one of the goals of the exit plan is to maximize the value of the company at the time of sale. Many value-enhancement projects take time to implement and even more time to show results.  Value enhancement really pays off when you can demonstrate concrete results to buyers. 

Given the above I advise business owners to begin the exit planning process at least three years before they want to completely exit the business. 

Exit Planning Timetable (in Reverse Order)

4. Transition Process                                                       1 year or more (after a sale)

3. Investment Banking/Sales Process                             1 year – 3 years

2. Implementation of Value Enhancement Plan                        6 months -24 months

1. Prepare Exit Plan                                                        3 months – 12 months

Idle Thoughts, I Don’t Think So,

Thoughts have given rise to our whole world. As the saying goes, “everything is created twice, once in the mind and then once in the world”. We are the architects of our thoughts and therefore the architects of our world. We can build up or tear down our entire world just by thinking. When we are grateful and focused on the positive things in our lives, our world is good. When we are fearful and focused on the negative things in our lives, our world is not so good. So much of our lives is out of our control but the one thing we can control is our thoughts. And that is everything. Become your own ‘thought police’ and catch negative and fearful thoughts and stop them before they catch hold and grow. Ask yourself “why?”. Why is this thought dominating my mind, is it a valid concern or warning, does it help me and move me forward, does it keep me on track, does it make me stronger or weaker? We want our minds filled with healthy, positive thoughts. Thoughts animate our lives, make yours count.