Tag Archives: Strengths

How Do You Present Your Solution to Potential Clients? Eight Recommendations

Situation: For an engineering solutions company, one of the challenges is engaging potential customers with the idea that a domestic solution can cost-effectively meet their needs. If you can combine a manufacturing solution with the service solution this helps. How do you present your solution to potential clients?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Know your clients. Clients have expertise of their own. However, they may lack expertise in all the disciplines necessary to create a full product. How will you fill that gap?
  • Know your strengths. Design is an iterative development process. If you increase process efficiency you can complete more process cycles in a given timeframe, advancing to final product more quickly.
  • Know your key differentiators. Target clients for whom your differentiator is a critical need. For example, do not encourage all of your clients to manufacture overseas. However, if they insist and lack experience managing overseas vendors, be prepared to handle this for them. Consistency of personnel across the life of a project is important, particularly the core team.
  • Know your competitors. How do they handle similar challenges to those that you face? 
  • Know your vendors. “Right-sizing” your contract manufacturer to your client’s product is important. Things will go wrong, and you must assure that the contract manufacturer will give you the priority to get things back on track to meet your launch date. 
  • Know the risks. Invention and innovation require a plan to mitigate the risk that new solutions represent. Develop the design along parallel paths and stage higher risk components or pieces of the design that represent critical path inventions such that they are proven prior to moving forward. If necessary take that feature out of the current design in order to develop it to a production-ready solution for the next product on the client’s roadmap. 
  • Know the situation and client expectations. Sometimes an invention or innovation is the reason for the new product.  In these cases the key is managing the client’s expectations regarding the significantly elevated risks that come with invention. Proceed with your and the clients understanding that the phase gates and even the production dates will slide according to the progress against developing that critical path invention or innovation.
  • Know your expertise. Expertise in material selection and understanding what can be done with materials in the manufacturing process is not trivial. The same is true of vendor qualification, particularly when the project involves new materials.

Thanks to Eric Bauswell of SurfaceInk for his contribution to this article

[like]

What are Best Methods to Develop Your Staff? Three Thoughts

Situation:  A CEO wants to build her team, identify leaders within the company, and develop managers. How have others done this? What are best methods to develop your staff?

Advice of the CEOs:

  • A valuable resource is “First Break All the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham. Among Buckingham’s findings are that great leaders are different from great managers. Good leaders are outgoing and goal-oriented whereas good managers are people-oriented. Expecting good leaders to be good managers and vice versa is not effective. Only the exceptional individual exhibits both sets of talents. The traditional business structure assumes that talented people will want to “move up” the organizational chart. The reality is that some people are very good at a particular level of responsibility, and are happiest with this responsibility.
  • How do to enhance your team’s leadership and management capabilities? Evaluate your team for candidates who possess the qualities of leadership or management. Tailor your training to enhance the natural strengths of your candidates. Draft agreed upon written responsibilities and performance objectives with each of your candidates. Regularly follow up and provide feedback. Establish trial projects for new candidates that will allow them to experience additional responsibility, and allow you to see how well they perform. Make small steps at first. If the individual demonstrates talent, make successive steps more challenging.
  • Look at your organizational chart. Does it provide room for both leaders and managers? Does it provide room for the skilled role player who thrives in a particular role? If not, how will you fix it?

[like]

What’s The Role as CEO? Four Pieces of Advice

Situation: A CEO questions whether he is the right person to lead the company. The company has solid revenues and profitability, but growth is lower than expected. How can the CEO improve his situation and solidify his leadership? What’s the role as CEO?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The primary functions of the CEO are to assure the maintenance of company values, to provide vision, and to monitor resource allocation within the company.
  • Identify your strengths, and the most important areas where you need help. Create an organizational chart not of positions but of strengths that are needed within the company. Compare these positions with your own strengths, and focus your own activities on your strengths. Promote or hire talent to support you in the latter areas.
  • As you hire or promote and delegate, make sure that you are allowing those with new responsibility the latitude to run their areas of responsibility.
  • Should the CEO consider hiring a new CEO or COO? Possibly. If you do, first identify the key leadership traits that we most want to see in a candidate. If you hire a CEO, this individual should have skin in the game. They must be perceived as a leader, and there must be a clean hand-off. Consider hiring a COO. This can be someone willing to take this role with the understanding that your long-term objective is to replace yourself as CEO. A person unwilling to come on as COO and to develop into the CEO may not be the right candidate.

[like]           

How Do You Differentiate Your Offering? Five Critical Steps

Situation:  A company has had success with a few large clients but wants to expand their customer base for long-term growth. The challenge is that their offering competes in what is commonly regarded as a commodity market. How do they avoid being perceived as a commodity? How do you differentiate your offering?

Advice of the CEOs:

  • One company created differentiation by getting to know everyone in the business. They built long-term relationships, based on reputation and trust. They took the time to understand the needs of customers that they wanted to develop. As opportunities arose, they built relationships and asked questions to clearly define and align with client needs. While this takes time and patience, the objective is to be able to say “We know your business” – with credibility. Here are the steps that they took:
  • Study the businesses, sector, and customers that you wish to serve.
  • Leverage your success with large customers. Talk about how you helped subunits within these large customers. This makes a big customer seem more like a collection of small customers similar to your prospects and makes your experience relevant.
  • Let prospective customers know that you are hungry and will go the extra mile for their business.
  • Learn who currently serves your prospective clientele. Study these competitors, their strengths and weaknesses. Talk to their customers – learn what they love about competitors’ service, and what they would like to see changed. Find the holes in what others provide and fill these holes with a better offer.
  • Look for and encourage repeat business and references to new business.

[Like]

How Do You Evaluate Financing Options? Seven Key Points

Situation: A start-up company needs to raise cash to fund the achievement of key milestones. The founders have evaluated private equity, angel, and venture capital financing options. They believe that at their stage of development an angel is the best source of funds. What guidance can the group offer for negotiating with a private financier? How do you evaluate financing options?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The important questions to answer are: who is the angel, what is the angel’s motivation, and what does the angel bring to the table?
  • What is the angel bringing to the table?
    • Is it money and connections? Who and how many people will be involved?
    • Do these individuals bring the expertise to take business to the next level and beyond?
  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the angel’s organization. Ask about other companies that the angel has financed. Talk to those companies about their experience with the angel.
  • Ask how long the angel plans to stay connected to the company.
    • Is the angel committed for the long-term or looking for a quick profit or exit and sale?
    • What happens after the angel leaves?
  • Validate statements made by and the experience of the angel.
    • How may IPOs has the individual or group been involved in?
    • What existing contacts do they have with additional potential funders or buyers?
    • Vet all of the claims and statements made by the angel.
  • Evaluate equity vs. cash funding and the prospects and terms that accompany future funding rounds.
  • What is the company’s long-term strategy?
    • Do the founders want to stay the course long-term or is it sale of the company to another entity?

[like]

What is the Role and Value of an M&A Consultant? Four Points

Situation: The owners wish to sell a company. One option is an M&A consultant to assist with the sale. The CEO wants to know about others’ experience. What is the role and value of an M&A consultant?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The first step is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a consultant to determine their value.
    • The cost of an M&A consultant is inexpensive relative to the value of the business.
    • Accounting rules and M&A practices of public companies do not always apply to private companies. Valuation is affected by variations in profits year-by-year, so consultants typically use 3 to 5 year historical results for comparison against industry standards.
    • Technology companies may have a different value than service-oriented businesses, particularly if significant IP is involved. Look at the creativity of potential consultants’ solutions.
  • Consultant alternatives:
    • Business brokers, accountants, and valuation specialists can all offer valuations.
    • Investment Bankers who charge an upfront fee may be more strategically oriented. Typically, the more strategic the valuation exercise, the more dollars involved.
  • Be cautious in choosing a consultant.
    • Many business owners spend a lot of time and money with accountants and lawyers when they could save by working with a business broker paid on a commission basis.
    • Business brokers are skilled at getting business sold – however the deal is not necessarily in the best interest of the owner. Brokers are paid by commission and so may not have the best interests of the owner at heart.
  • What should you look for in a consultant?
    • Maximization of sale value with a minimal tax exposure.
    • A consultant who will help the owner figure out what they want from their business and exit – who will help to establish owners’ exit objective, a key to a successful exit.
    • A consultant who will help choose the right team of advisors.

[like]

How Do You Train Others to Fill Your Shoes? Four Points

Situation: A CEO of a small but rapidly growing company needs to transfer her knowledge and experience to current employees and new hires. This includes project management, IT management and engineering. To support the company’s growth, she needs to focus on business development and closing sales to important clients. How do you train others to fill your shoes?

Advice of the CEOs:

  • Quash any skepticism associated with the release of control of areas that were previously overseen to grow the company to its current state.
    • Selected individuals with the capacity oversee these operations. As the working relationship develops trust will replace any existing skepticism about these individuals’ ability to take on these roles.
  • Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Focus on team management.
    • Hire sales people who will be tolerant of the odds and ends of prospective client behavior. Focus on effectively managing the sales team.
    • Train them to bring the CEO into key points in the sales process where that input can assist – after they have completed initial client development and know that a potential client relationship exists.
  • From time to time, it will be necessary to refocus the efforts of others. What can be done to facilitate this?
    • Ask questions. Try to refocus the conversation.
    • Seek clarification of what is said – “Let me summarize what I heard” – then refocus the conversation.
    • Adjust perspective. When an individual starts to ramble, they may divulge important information without considering the implications. Make mental or written notes and look for opportunities. Their talking can become a gold mine of information.
    • Use the conversation to make a personal connection. People love others who will listen patiently to them and infer trust and connection from this.
  • As CEO, the job is to help others succeed. The result is the success of the whole enterprise.
    • Remember that there are different levels of sophistication. Adjust the mindset and exercise tolerance over these differences.
    • Focus on passions and strengths. Get others to assist in areas which are not your strengths, but which may be strengths for them.

[like]

How Do You Deal with a CAVE Person? Four Options

Situation: A CEO has an employee who is very talented as an individual contributor but is destructive in a team atmosphere. The CEO wants to give this individual the opportunity to succeed and contribute, but simultaneously wants to limit the negative impact on other employees. In colloquial terms, this individual is a CAVE Person (Citizens Against Virtually Everything).  How do you deal with a CAVE person?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Limit this individual’s focus to his strengths. Work with his manager to facilitate this.
    • Let him focus and crank out work as an individual contributor.
    • Don’t require this individual to participate in group meetings. Approach this by asking if he likes meetings. The likely answer is no. Follow-up by asking whether he’d prefer to focus his time in areas where he can contribute the most.
    • Be sure to compliment him on his work when this is deserved.
  • For the last three years we’ve learned the utility and limits of remote work. Consider remote work as an option for this individual. Work out a schedule of individual one-on-ones with his manager via Zoom to assure that he has what he needs to fulfill his role.
  • Drive the department to company’s and the manager’s attitude – not his.
    • If he is having a bad day, keep up a good attitude without allowing his attitude to bring the team down.
  • Realize that it may not be possible to fix this individual’s attitude or save his position.
    • Make every attempt to find an appropriate niche for this person in the company.
    • Document the efforts and accommodations made.
    • Have his manager write him up when he is destructive to the team.
    • Be prepared if, at the end of the day, it’s necessary to let him go. It may be the best thing for both him and the team.
    • Another member shared her experience with a CAVE person at a previous company. They made every attempt to accommodate the individual, but documented as they proceeded. When they finally let the person go, everybody’s productivity increased because the distraction was no longer present.

[like]

How Do You Improve Delegation? Three Solutions

Situation: A company is growing rapidly. As it grows it is important to build the management team needed to support this growth. A few talented potential managers have a tough time letting go of previous responsibilities. How does the CEO help them to let go of previous responsibilities. How do you improve delegation?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Don’t teach method. The individuals to whom responsibilities are to be delegated may feel like trained monkeys, not the bright creative people that they are.
    • Set goals. Give them the information that they need to get there. Let them know that there is a procedure, and they are welcomed to use or adapt this as they wish. If they can find a better way that is more efficient – Wonderful!
    • Empower them. This is an investment. Like many investments, it may take time to generate a return, but be patient and wait for this return.
  • Look at the required roles and prioritize them as most to least critical to the company.
    • Start delegating the less critical roles, as well as the roles that are less time sensitive.
    • This will make it easier to maintain patience.
    • Also, delegate roles that play to the strengths of those to whom new responsibilities are being delegated. Those taking these roles will be happier and will do a better job.
  • Create an organizational chart for each department and responsibilities.
    • Make sure that all of the roles for which a department is responsible are included, but group these into similar roles so that there are, for example, 3-5 role delegations.
    • Prioritize each role for importance and urgency.
    • Take the least urgent and significant role and delegate it. Either assign it to an existing individual, or hire someone to take it on.
    • Once this has been done this and those to whom roles are delegated are used to them, do the same with the next least important or urgent role.
    • Do this over time until all the needed roles have been delegated, and managers are comfortable managing the individuals now responsible for them.
    • A valuable resource is the EMyth Revisited by Michael Gerber. It is a quick read and provides guidelines for how to delegate and let go of responsibilities the organization grows.

[like]