Tag Archives: Sources

How Do You Position a Professional Services Company for Growth? Part 1 Three Suggestions

Situation: The CEO of a professional services company wants to position her company for growth. What suggestions do others have to assist her? How do you position a professional services company for growth?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Focus on Dynamic Processes – The world and business environments are changing rapidly in response to economic, business and political stimuli. This places a premium on developing dynamic and highly adaptable business models. Companies that develop these models will have a much more sustainable competitive advantage than those who do not.
  • Leverage Information – Along with rapid change comes a great deal of new information. Companies with a sustainable competitive advantage will leverage information from both traditional and new sources to develop new opportunities and new applications for older but still valuable technologies and processes.
  • Be Sensitive to Cultural Issues – The expanding global economy means that customers, suppliers and employees will come from all over the world, bringing with them different cultural backgrounds. By adapting business models to address and respond to varying cultural needs – by celebrating differences instead of being inhibited by them – a company enhances its competitive advantage.

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How Do You Interview for New Hires and Promotions? Part 1, Three Points

Situation: A CEO seeks advice on interviewing both for new hires and promotions. What advice and guidelines do others suggest to improve interviews? How do you interview for new hires and promotions?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Preparation before hiring or promotion is critical.
    • Preparation means having a road map – for what will be accomplished in the new position and for how the company selects and hires or awards promotions.
    • Discipline: have the patience to do it well.
    • Be aware of and watch for possible legal issues. This has become increasingly important under DEI.
  • Raise the bar. Each new addition or promotion should enhance the company’s capabilities instead of just filling a slot.
    • Hire individuals with skills that complement areas of your own or the organization’s weaknesses.
    • Be creative in developing sources or new hires.
  • Ask open-ended questions and follow-up with additional open-ended questions to clarify areas that the response opens.
    • Focus interview questions and processes to identify demonstrated values and habits.
    • Insert pregnant pauses into the interview. How does the interviewee respond?
    • Listen for what is NOT said as much as what is said.

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How Do You Obtain Competitive Intelligence Ethically? Six Points

Situation: A CEO is concerned that many of the ways that her company might gain competitive intelligence could compromise the ethics and values that she has worked to instill in the company. What legal and ethical methods have others used to gain competitive intelligence? How do you obtain competitive intelligence ethically?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • It’s critical not to use methods that compromise the company’s legal position. Using spies or spy devices fit into the category of both illegal and unwise methods to obtain intelligence.
  • Do not misrepresent the company, or have employees misrepresent themselves to competitors in order to obtain competitive information.
  • Do not talk about prices directly with your competitors. This compromises both companies legally.
  • Here’s a test: If an action is being considered to gain competitive intelligence, would the company be willing to put up a banner in the office for all employees to see, telling them about this? If not, don’t do it. If questionable activities are employed, it’s likely that they will find out no matter what is done to hide these activities.
  • Here are primary sources for gathering competitive intelligence ethically:
    • Customers;
    • Competitors’ customer service and engineering departments, possibly through 3rd parties;
    • Editors of trade journals;
    • Former employees of competitors;
    • Trade Associations; and
    • Trade shows and conferences.
  • In addition, these are good secondary sources:
    • Google and other search engines – whatever appears through these is publicly available;
    • D&B Hoovers;
    • Web sites;
    • Reverse engineering – without using information obtained unethically;
    • 10Ks and Annual Reports available on the SEC web site.

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How Do You Raise Cash Short Term? Seven Suggestions

Situation: A CEO has identified a new business opportunity that looks promising but will require raising additional cash short term. What are good sources of short term cash, and what will simplify access to these resources? How do you raise cash short term?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • You must be the biggest critic of this opportunity. If it doesn’t fly to your critical eye, it will be hard to sell to others. As a reality check, ask yourself whether the opportunity is something on which you’d bet your house.
  • Build the new capability around a web distribution system that compliments your other capabilities. This broadens the appeal of the offer.
  • Generate an investment proforma and revenue stream. Most investors or debt financers will want to see this. You can position it as an immature business plan backed by your best estimate of the numbers.
  • You’ll need a business plan unless you’re lucky enough to find someone who believes that you can turn any opportunity into gold.
  • Presell subscriptions to target clients to prove the value of the offer – both to you and for investors.
  • Assure that any payments due from you go into an escrow account, to be released on a quarterly or other phased basis pending performance from the other parties within this deal.
  • This is not a venture capital story. Angel investors will seek a lower return for lower risk than VCs. Set some milestones for the Angels that will help them to see that you are monitoring their risk.

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