The Building Business Value newsletter has one purpose - to assist midmarket business leaders in their never-ending quest to build better companies. Whether you are the CEO of your own company, a senior manager of a business unit, or a leader in a company that serves those in the mid market, you will find something in each newsletter to help you serve your stakeholders. Each month we will cover a variety of topics, all focused on leading in the mid market.
We are very conscious that you spend much of your day buried in e-mail, so it is with your permission that we send this newsletter your way.
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Deep Depth or Bad Breadth
What makes you more valuable in the long run?
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It doesn't sound like much of a choice does it?
Should a company strive for depth and market segment dominance or spread their resources across multiple markets for the sake of customer diversity? What makes you more valuable in the long run?
Of course the ideal is deep breadth but so many companies, especially in the mid market, get caught up in this race to diversify their customer base resulting in neither depth nor breadth but rather bad breadth.
Customer diversity can reduce the risk of market exposure, but as leaders pursue the next logical market, they must resist the lure of developing token presences in multiple markets. Customer and market intimacy are difficult to develop when your presence in a market is paper thin.
Many of us took our queue from Jack Welch and strove to be number one or number two in our chosen markets. Mid market leaders have to adjust this thought process considering the size of their companies, but the theory holds. Be strong and deep in your chosen markets and move logically and purposefully to the next market.
Yogi Berra didn't say it, but he could have ... "deep depth is much better than bad breadth".
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Peer Advisory Boards & Business Coaching Services
Small-to-medium sized businesses remain the heart of economic growth. With a multitude of business leaders and entrepreneurs all striving for the same goals, the most successful business owners know they must focus only on the vital business tools that can help them rise to the top.
The Alternative Board® (TAB) is an indispensable resource for business owners, presidents, CEOs and partners to find the personal level of success and freedom they seek.
www.tab-bwi.com
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| Is Your Workforce Engaged and Entrepreneurial?
If not, begin with your hiring process.
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Is your workforce filled with engaged, entrepreneurial employees? If not, begin with your hiring process. When you hire new employees, do you want technicians or entrepreneurs? Are you hiring people with specific skills, or are you hiring entrepreneurial people with an aptitude for the job they will perform?
Most employees are conditioned to think like a technician. They view themselves as a salesperson, an engineer, or a manager.
You need to begin to view your employees as entrepreneurs. And this starts with your hiring process. When you screen for attitude and cultural fit, look for people with entrepreneurial drive. Engage in openended questions that tap their background, demonstrate their ability to understand customer needs, and illustrate how they have served customers in the past. When you begin to explain to prospective employees that they will be given the opportunity to act like an owner, the entrepreneur in them will awaken.
Read More ... |
As a business operator, I have been in a position to lead a company during troubled times. Concerns over the direction of the company, sleepless nights worrying about debt and cash flow, high anxiety over closing a deal or a transaction - the challenges seem endless. But I've also experienced the highs of leadership - the real joy of meeting client needs, the fulfillment of shaping a team, and the satisfaction of watching a vision become a reality. As tough as it can be, there is really nothing quite like being a leader in the midmarket.
It is my sincere desire that this newsletter will support leaders in the midmarket as they navigate their way to building stronger, more valuable companies. I welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
Marty
Martin O'Neill
Corsum Consulting, LLC
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A resource full of smart ideas to help educate and inspire decision-makers.
Each issue includes features, interviews, case studies, columns and other departments designed to help this region's CEOs face the daily challenge of running a business.
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The Alternative Board
| The Alternative Board provides a free business newsletter, Tips from the Top®. This business management newsletter will provide you with articles and tips with the knowledge you need to operate a profitable business. Tips from the Top® is written for those at the top by those as the top- business owners, presidents and CEOs.
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| | Marty O'Neill | Marty O'Neill founded Corsum Consulting, which focuses on one goal: helping companies build business value. He is a frequent speaker and consultant on leadership, corporate culture and building business value and is the author of The Power of an Internal Franchise (Third Bridge Press),
Building Business Value (Third Bridge Press) and the co-author of Act Like an Owner (Wiley). As a business operator, Marty started and sold a company, positioned another for an LBO, and helped a third sell for a significant premium. Marty lives on the Magothy River in Maryland with his wife and three children.
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 | | Luke Garwood | |
Luke Garwood has owned and operated technology-based businesses for the past 21 years. He has professional experience in leading Information Technology (IT), Systems Integration, and Construction companies. His specialization is in operational excellence. He has been heavily involved in start-up and high-growth companies for most of his career. He has extensive experience in the overall development and delivery of technology-based solutions, services, and products to the commercial, federal, state, and non-profit sectors. Luke has performed many functions across the companies he has been involved with to include general operations, service delivery, product management, sales, marketing, strategic planning, leadership development and vendor management.
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Subscribe to Marty's Blog!
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"The vision is really about empowering workers, giving them all the information about what's going on so they can do a lot more than they've done in the past"
~ Bill Gates
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