Business Performance

Do you Have A High Performing Organization?

Organizations that consistently outperform most of its competitors have a number of common characteristics. Managers use lessons that have allowed them to succeed individually within their organization to achieve similar strong results.
Here are some of these winning characteristics:
1. Strategies:
Business strategies are more consistently clear and well thought out.

2. Customer Service:
Service exceeds customers’ expectations in providing value and satisfies current and long term needs.

3. Ethics
Winners are more likely to adhere to high ethical standards throughout the organization.

4. Employee orientation
Managers in these organizations promote the best talent, ensure performance expectations are clear and promote strong team efforts. Training is also a priority.

These are just a few elements that identify high performing organizations. Clearly these winners also continue to strive for continuous improvement. This passion for improvement helps keep their organization at the top.

Do you have thoughts? Please let me know.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Plans

Do you have an effective business plan?

Developing a great business plan does not guarantee success but it can increase the odds. A strong business plan helps ensure that the management team has common goals and provides support to the feasibility of achieving goals established.

Here are some elements that are key to developing an effective plan.

The plan needs a concise Executive Summary. In two pages the plan should communicate what the business does and how it will make money, and why customers want the product or service.

A definition of the Market Opportunity. Define the size and potential growth of the market. Define opportunities and threats with definitions of how they will be resolved. Know the competition and how to capitalize against their weaknesses.

An outline of the Organization Structure. This is a key element for investors, suppliers and customers. The strength of the management team is important as it establishes the stability of the business and how well managed it is. Financial partners like banks are keen to know how well finances are handled if they are to risk loans for operating funds.

Financials. The projections of revenues, expenses, and most importantly, cash flows are perhaps the most important element of the plan. Past performance establishes bench marks for future projections and provides the credibility for expected performance that may be forecasted. Three year forward forecasts are a must and should include income statements, balance sheets and cash flow projections. This will provide the basics to calculate breakeven analysis to ensure investments for growth are covered.

 

These are key ingredients to a business plan and certainly additional details for sales and marketing are often added to expand on content.

I hope this provides some guidance to the needs for your business plans; please let me know your thoughts.

 

Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

 

 

 

Business Success

New 5 C’s for Business

 

Contribution, Conviction, Culture, Commitment, Confidence

 

These 5 C’s act together in a business and support each other.  When one starts to become affected, the others may also become unstable.  This can affect the overall performance of the business. When employees have high levels of all the 5Cs, then they'll perform at their best whatever happens.

 

1. Contribution.

This is derived from the core work activities. It is important to have clear goals, striving to attain them and having management support to deal with issues that might prevent you meeting your objectives. Employees do best when they feel appreciated and valued by management and colleagues. So it’s not just about delivering: it’s about doing that within collaborative working relationships too.

2. Conviction.

This is expressed in short-term motivation both in good times and bad. The company benefits from employees who keep going even when things get tough, and maintain energy, motivation and resources that allow them to pull you through.The key to doing this is feeling resilient, efficient and effective. Employees are much more resilient than many managers realize and are often committed to dealing with problems faced in the job.

3. Culture.

Performance and happiness at work are really high when employees feel they fit within their organizational culture. Not fitting in is hugely draining and de-energizing. If you’re in the wrong job, you’ll find that the values mean little to you or political and you don’t have much in common with your colleagues.  

4. Commitment.

Employee commitment is important because it underlies the reasons of why you work. It is key that employees perceive they are doing something worthwhile, have a strong intrinsic interest in the job and feel that the vision of your organization resonates with them.

5. Confidence.

Confidence is the pathway leading to the other four drivers. If confidence is lacking in employees performance suffers. Too much leads to arrogance and sometimes poor decisions. Self-confidence with employees will produce employees who will take a risk or try new approaches to work. Confident organizations are a product of confident individuals treated with respect by management.

Management can support these elements by showing trust in employees, and recognizing good performance. This will instill pride in the organization and enhance the opportunity of success.

 

 

 

 

How do you Manage Growth?

When managing growth there are critical factors to consider.



1. Plan. Without a plan success may be a challenge. Planning will include a regular review of all operations, competition, financial results, and new technologies.
2. Adapt. Keep flexibility in the organization to be positioned to take advantage of strategic growth opportunities.
3. Challenge. Owners involved in managing growth need to know what questions to ask, when and how. Motivate managers to have an “entrepreneurial “approach and reward those who enhance growth.
4. Share. Management must communicate the growth vision so team members understand the role, direction and philosophy of the business.
These are some elements of managing growth and there are others depending on the nature and size of the business. Building a solid foundation and showing leadership are key responsibilities for owners to assume as they provide the resources and direction needed to implement changes as the business grows.
These are a few of my thought. Please let me know what you think.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Leadership

How Do your Business Leadership Skills Measure Up?

Successful businesses, almost by definition, are led by individuals with strong leadership skills. Among strong leaders you will find values that permit them to convince others that their vision is worth following. Traits found include:

1.     Clear communications

A clear vision is essential but communication of that vision is paramount. Providing employees with a clear plan gets everybody working on the same page. Poor communication may lead to missed opportunities.

2.     Delegate for Growth

Don’t let ego get in the way of delegating and allowing employees to develop and grow. The leader does not need nor should the leader want to “do it all”. Delegating, sharing, allowing contributions from others contributes to growth and excitement that often generates new ideas. 

3.     Think Strategically

A good idea and boundless energy is not enough to succeed. Leaders develop strong plans that outline where you expect the business to be in 5 years and then work with the team to execute the plan. 

 

4.     Hire and Retain top Talent

Strong leaders have a talented management team surrounding them and when treated fairly they will remain loyal. Continuity of management is an important element to consistent growth and strong leaders seek top talent for key management roles.

How do you measure up? Let me know your thoughts.

Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Implementing organizational Change

Implementing organizational change effectively requires changing employees attitudes and behavior from a current state to a new level of behavior with a minimum of cost in terms of performance and morale.
Here a few ideas on implementation to mitigate disruption to the business.
1. Understand the issues. Identify the problems, prioritize and deal with the most important, and clearly define the solution or change needed.

2. Communicate. Conveying the vision of the intended structure to all employees is critical. Make the entire team part of the process to optimize success. A clearly structured plan must be developed to ensure employees see the intended path forward. Maintain stability and retain the overall mission or key personnel to reduce anxiety within the organization.

3. Implement carefully. Manage the transition by allocating appropriate resources and appoint a key person with responsibility for the change process. Key managers must lead by sharing the goals and vision and they must serve as role models. Take small steps initially to achieve success and set the stage for larger more important steps in the plan.
Ultimately as an organization grows and matures change becomes necessary. The methodology used by the organization to implement the change will determine the level of disruption to employees and to productivity.
Plan carefully, choose the path ahead wisely.

Those are my thoughts; I look forward to your comments.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Creating value in the business

Value of a business is not just the price paid to purchase it or what it might sell for. Different values can be created depending on operational factors.
Here are a few factors that can influence the value of your business whether you are selling or not.


1. Performance
Value will be more dependent on future projections than past performance. History helps set the base but future plans are of more value. Cash flow is the most important factor. Revenue is secondary but a company with higher cash flow is more highly valued. Cash Flow drives value more than Profits.
Other factors affecting performance will include customer loyalty, brand strengths, industry trends, and capacity of the facility used.
2. Leverage
Value of the business can be influenced by financial leverage that can be generated. A business with a high asset base may have greater borrowing capacity or credit capacity.  This will enhance value as it may facilitate financing growth. Assets of the business are an important factor in determining value. State of the art equipment is important as it puts the position of a new buyer not having to further invest upon acquisition and at the same time it allows the seller to expect a higher selling price.
3. ROI
A buyer looks at value in the context of expected Return on Investment. The higher the expected ROI, the lower the business has value. A number of conditions can influence the expected ROI including strength of the balance sheet and financial history, strength of the management team, quality of the product line and distribution, and property values.

4. Exit Strategy
Value of the business will be influenced by the circumstances of the intended sale. If urgency is involved because of death, illness or pending retirement of the owner the value could be depressed. If a longer time horizon is in play and the owner can play a role in financing the purchase through a vendor take back there me be a positive influence on value.
These are some of my thoughts on factors influencing business value.

Please let me know your comments.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com