Using Research and Experience to Accelerate Results
A Case StudY IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
PRESENTING ISSUES
A privately held manufacturing company, with 2 owners and 6 senior department heads had analyzed the revenue and profit levels the company must achieve within 3 to 4 years, for the company to compensate each equity owner when they choose to retire. The payout was planned to be spread out over 10 years, based on the value of the company when the first owner retires. This team identified 2 goals:
Create a plan to transition ownership of the company to 6 senior leaders, when the owners retire in 3 or 5 years.
Achieve the top and bottom-line revenues necessary to pay out the retiring owners the market price for their stock, without slowing the company’s continued growth.
The team had acknowledged these 2 goals, yet had not taken any actions to boost revenues, add salespeople, explore acquisitions, or determine the value of the company.
THE PROCESS
Tom first coached Robert to create the first draft of a plan, detailing the current company's financial condition and the gaps needing to be closed with actions and time frames to achieve their two goals in 3 to 5 years.
Tom believes language matters. As they worked on this plan together, Tom saw opportunities to shift Robert’s style of communication with his associates. Robert was frustrated that his team wouldn't talk strategy and his team was upset because he kept raising these issues.
Robert and Tom role-played several scenarios, preparing to overcome the team’s habit of deferring strategic actions. Robert practiced conversations to turn “yes, but” responses into a dialogue resulting in recognizing possibilities and committing to tangible next steps.
Robert then scheduled a series of meetings with the team to discuss his draft plan and collaborate on refining it. The plan laid out the firm’s continued growth while having the cash flow to pay out the two partners over a 10-year period when each choose to retire.
Tom continued to refine Robert’s leadership language as he led his partner and senior team through several meetings to create action steps and timelines to:
Recruit, select and train new sales resources.
Determine the value of the firm today as a benchmark to measure future growth.
Search for and then select a business broker to look for acquisitions.
Transfer ownership to each one of the senior leaders as part of the retirement process.
Robert’s company is now on pace to achieve their 3-to-4-year goals. He is proud of his proactive leadership skills and increased confidence to inspire actions leading to positive change. Robert began to plan for his retirement by buying a vacation home which he now works from three days a week.
Consultants in Corporate Innovation
Using Research and Experience to Accelerate Results