Is the time right?

One of the more interesting and challenging questions as a business owner is “when should I be thinking about exiting this business? There are many factors to be considered but here are a few thoughts.

1. Business Health
Is the business operated from strong principles of strategy with a clear vision? Can that vision be expressed and understood by those who manage the business or potential buyers? If you the owner cannot clearly state the purpose or reasons that you exist don’t expect new owners to invent it for you.

2. Maximize return
In cases where management/ownership is dominated by a single individual it is important to maintain a high degree of confidentiality so that employees do not become insecure and unsure of the stability of the company or their jobs. This instability can easily be communicated to a potential new buyer and create a poor impression.

3. Need change?
Factors that may support your decision to leave can grow out of many conditions. The most common is an age derivative. A long career leading to a desire for more personal time; reap the rewards of your career. Age may not be the prime driver but longevity at the job could be creating burn out. Time to move on.
Another good time chosen is driven by a need for change. You may feel you have achieved all that can be achieved and you wish to quit while on top of the game. This may also provide a high rate of return if the business is at a high level of performance. Selling now may produce the equity needed to finance a new opportunity.

4. Exit from strength
Look for opportunities to exit from positions of strength. A well trained and competent management group may provide the opportunity to offer management buyout.  Managers may be able to pool resources to fund the buyout, you as owner may offer to finance all or part of the buyout or there may be an option to use company assets to finance the loans needed for the buyout. This is often referred to as a LMBO – Leveraged Management Buy Out. It also provides good opportunities for maintaining stability in the organization.

5. The market
The marketplace may facilitate determining the right time to exit. Poor economic conditions or competitive activity can have a huge impact on if or when you should exit. Positive conditions too might bring a competitor to the door with a buyout offer.

So the options are many but not always easy to sort through. Timing is critical, business life changes, choose wisely. These are my thoughts, care to share yours? gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Managing Your Time





Time is one of the resources business managers have that is scarce, cannot be replaced once spent, and it cannot be borrowed or purchased. Here are a few tips to help manage it.

1. Prioritize Activity
To help you determine what needs to be done immediately and what can be tackled later, ask yourself questions such as: "How much time do I have to make this decision, contact this person, or complete this assignment?"

2. Take time. Before making calls take 5 minutes to determine what results you expect to attain and review results after to see if the goal was achieved.

3. Calls and email. Try not answering the phone every time it rings or reading an email just because it shows up. Few issues in business require an instant answer and you will be more efficient if you schedule time to return calls and email inquiries.

4. Evaluate your capacity for stress 
Start with the most worrisome task; this will reduce your anxiety and stress levels for the next tasks and in many cases improve your performance. Take breaks if you feel you are about to overload. Even a short period away from the desk is effective.

5. Plan the unexpected. It is inevitable that the unexpected will occur so leave open time in the morning and afternoon schedule to deal with “fires”.

6. Plan Strategic time. Plan ahead for weekly, monthly, and quarterly business reviews. It is important to continuously review and understand the business issues and if you fail to block off time some emergency may pre-empt the time and your plan will be postponed or eliminated.

7. Downtime. Casual time over lunch can be useful for strengthening relations with employees, customers and suppliers. Use that time judiciously.
Remember that it is difficult to get everything done and best results are achieved from those priority activities that are the focus of the business and future growth.

Thanks for allowing me to share your time with these tips. Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Managing Change in Your Business

Managing change in an organization is crucial if the business is to move forward with adapting any new structure or shift in business focus needed to realize its goals of growth and profit improvement.
Here are a few thoughts on areas management needs to focus on to implement and manage change in the organization.



1. Responsibility. 
Clearly management of change rests at the senior levels of the organization. Employees have the responsibility to accept and help implement changes which need to be communicated clearly so employees understand the purpose and how it impacts on their individual roles.

2. Involvement. 
Management should involve employees in the changes – it is never a good idea to just impose change from the top. Midlevel and frontline employees can make or break the change initiative,

3. Plan.
The organization must develop a plan that is achievable if management is going to be credible. The plan should set out stages for implementing change in phases that are not only achievable but measureable.

4. Communicate
This stage cannot be overly stressed. Clear communication of objectives, involvement of people, at the early stages, and enabling of employees will facilitate involvement and buy in for the company.

5. Assess and Adapt
 Many organizations involved in transformation efforts fail to measure their success before moving on. Leaders are so eager to claim victory that they don’t take the time to find out what’s working and what’s not, and to adjust their next steps accordingly. This failure to follow through results in inconsistency and deprives the organization of needed information about how to support the process of change throughout its life cycle.

It is obvious to most business owners that people matter. Sometimes however the organization gets lost in plans and processes rather than facing the difficult and more important people issues. Making the initial steps to involve the entire organization starting at the top will help achieve success.
I’m always happy to hear your thoughts.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Business Ethics – Consider the benefits

The point of a corporate ethics code is to promote ethical behavior – not to enhance productivity, profits or public relations.  Still, a sound, well-administered code can benefit a company and its stakeholders in a variety of ways.



Here are a few thoughts to consider:

1. Guide employees in situations where the ethical course of action is not immediately obvious.

2. Help the company reinforce – and acquaint new employees with – its culture and values.  A code can help create a climate of integrity and excellence.

3. Minimize subjective and inconsistent management standards.  A code explicitly outlines the rights and responsibilities of staff members and helps guard against capricious and preferential treatment of employees.

4. Build public trust and enhance business reputations.  Also, a code helps demonstrate the company’s values to socially responsible investors.

5. Enhance morale, employee pride, loyalty and the recruiting of outstanding employees.


I hope these comments provide some help on this often difficult topic. Please let me know your thoughts: gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Do You Have Effective Business Leadership Skills?

Effective business leadership demands a captain of the ship, not just someone who's standing by the helm. Leadership is active, not passive.
Cool-headed, farseeing, visionary, courageous - whichever adjectives you choose, leadership is a winning combination of personal traits and the ability to think and act as a leader, a person who directs the activities of others for the good of all.
But you can't be a leader just by saying you are. Business leadership, like leadership of any kind, needs to be worked at. Transform yourself into the kind of leader your small business needs with these keys to business leadership.

1. Vision - Vision is essential to good leadership. Vision provides direction and without direction, there’s not much point to all that planning; your small business will still flail about. Create a Vision Statement for your business. Because it embodies your dreams and your passions, a vision statement will also serve as a leadership vision. Plan where you want your business to be in five years and how you are going to take it there.

2. Planning - The core of business leadership is being proactive rather than reactive. Sure, leaders are good in crises - but that doesn't mean they sit around letting crises develop. Leadership involves identifying potential problems and solving them before they reach crisis proportions. Good leaders analyze and plan and adapt their plans to new circumstances and opportunities.

3. Communication - Plans, strategies and results should never be left on paper, collecting dust. “If you are making money, your employees should know about it and be rewarded. This will motivate them and your company will continue to grow. The success of the company isn’t yours alone, it belongs to your team. On the other hand, if the company is facing problems, your employees will be a valuable source of ideas on how to improve things.

4. Staffing - Businesses are as successful as the people working in it. Great leaders who created successful companies have one thing in common: they surround themselves with talented, courageous, loyal people. Once you have recruited them, invest in their development through training, coaching and fair compensation.

Learning to be a leader isn't easy because it takes a conscious commitment and consistent effort to develop one's business leadership skills. But on the positive side, anyone who is willing to make the effort can become a good leader.

Business Strategy

Do You Have an Exit  Plan?

Determining when and how to exit a business can present issues often more challenging than starting the business.  Here are a few thought starters for owners looking for a way to exit their business.




• Vision
Is the business operated from strong principles of strategy with a clear vision? Can that vision be expressed and understood by those who manage the business or potential buyers? If you the owner cannot clearly state the purpose or reasons that you exist don’t expect new owners to invent it for you.

• Return
How will you get the maximum return if you plan to sell? In cases where management/ownership is dominated by a single individual there is a risk that customers will not have confidence in new ownership unless the current owner can provide an effective transition plan that ensures continuity of the business operations. Current owners may need to plan for extensive transitional training.

• Exit Rationale
Factors that may support your decision to leave can grow out of many conditions. The most common are age or health related. A long career leading to a desire for more personal time; reap the rewards of your career. Age may not be the prime driver but longevity at the job could be creating burn out. It may be time to move on.

• Maximize Opportunity
Look for opportunities to exit from positions of strength. A well trained and competent management group may provide the opportunity to offer your staff a management buyout.  Managers may be able to pool resources to fund the buyout, you as owner may offer to finance all or part of the buyout or there may be an option to use company assets to finance the loans needed for the buyout. It also provides good opportunities for maintaining stability in the organization.

• Market Conditions
Finally, the marketplace may facilitate determining the right time to exit. Poor economic conditions or competitive activity can have a huge impact on if or when you should exit. Positive conditions too might bring a competitor to the door with a buyout offer.


So the options are many but not always easy to sort through. Timing is critical, business life changes, choose wisely.

Business Management

Are you maximizing your business’ profits?

There may be many options to choose from that can help you improve profitability. Analyse your strengths, weaknesses and capabilities for ways to improve.






Here are a few measures that can have a surprising impact on profitability.


1. Examine key performance measures: Falling sales, shrinking working capital, and rising costs are key indicators to monitor.

2. Manage your costs: more effective purchasing can improve margins. Eliminate waste of materials and time.

3. Review sales to long term customers: you may find out some customers are not as profitable as you thought.

4. Increase productivity: Staffs are the largest cost centre in most businesses. Increasing employee effectiveness can improve profits.

5. Review sales: ensure you are targeting the most profitable customers with the right product mix.
In most cases, a combination of these measures will give a boost to profitability. Incorporate these measures into your business plan and review frequently.

Be diligent and execute, execute, execute.