In his book "Mission Possible", Ken Blanchard describes a present curve and a future curve.  On an X/Y axis, the present curve is a gentle slope pointing, one hopes, upward.  That upward tic is the gain represented by incremental growth due to increased operational effectiveness. Of course, it's the transformational initiatives that give your company that hyperbolic or hockey stick growth, so you want to have people working on both kinds of items.  Jeanne Lee, in her Forbes article on Exit Strategies discusses midmarket leaders struggling to make good exit decisions in a rough economy.  It is true, it is always more difficult to lead when times are tough, but never loose focus on building value and exit strategy questions will be much easier to answer.  Choosing the right initiatives can help you stay focused on value building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had lunch  with an old colleague a while ago and he reintroduced me to the concept of the Triple Bottom Line. Alan Randolph is the Professor of Management and Global Business in the business school at the University of Baltimore and the author of "Three Keys to Empowerment". As our conversation drifted around concepts of empowerment and value drivers, Alan reminded me of the concept developed by Ken Blanchard, Alan and others at The Ken Blanchard Companies.

 

It goes something like this. Companies should certainly strive to achieve results in EBITDA or the traditional bottom line. That almost goes without saying. But they should also expand their concept of a bottom line to include being considered the employer of choice and the investment of choice. So if it all comes together, you'll strive for the best profits, the best place to work and the best place to invest.

 

Marty

Martin O'Neill
Corsum Consulting, LLC