by Ian Smith | Aug 13, 2019 | Scaling
When we look at our favorite sport, it could be American football, tennis, rugby, track & field, football (can’t say soccer), basketball, ice hockey, there is a common thread. It’s amazing how more professional they have become. Conditioning, training, techniques,...
by Ian Smith | Jul 29, 2019 | Acquisitions
The best part of a seminar or workshop is often the Q&A session at the end. As a presenter I love them. It’s a chance to add specific value to that one person who asked the question. So this blog post is dedicated to the Q&A session of an imaginary...
by Ian Smith | Jul 22, 2019 | Acquisitions
In a recent workshop I started my chat with a statement: “Buying another company is just like buying a house, as long as you remember you’re buying the family inside it as well! I wanted to sear that image in the minds of my audience. Acquisitions fail mainly for one...
by Ian Smith | May 27, 2019 | Scaling
Hard to believe but 98% of US companies employ less than 99 people. To scale these companies (and of course the other 2%), the simple formula that most entrepreneurs seem to ignore is quite simple. Define your Positioning that you wish to dominate in the prospects...
by Ian Smith | May 20, 2019 | Recruitment
This week the WSJ confirmed that Smaller Businesses are suffering from slow job growth – Headcount rose just under 1% in April compared with 2018. Note small businesses are defined here as employing < 20 people that’s 89% of US firms – 5.3 million...
by Ian Smith | May 10, 2019 | Leadership
The One Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan was first published in 2013 and is on its 11th print run. It stimulated a powerful set of thoughts I’ve been blogging about for a while. Simplicity. The book’s thesis is amazingly simple! No matter how many...
by Ian Smith | Apr 23, 2019 | Acquisitions
Campbell Soup acquired Bolthouse for $1.55 billion in 2012 to enter the fresh food category and earlier this week announced it was divesting of the company for $510m to Butterfly Equity, an LA based PE group. PWC conducted a survey in 2013 of 106 executives at Fortune...
by Ian Smith | Apr 17, 2019 | Strategy
I’m always reading a business book whether I’m traveling or not. It’s been out for a few years now, but I’m enjoying Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It sets out a strong case for believing “Less is More”. I’m not reviewing the book...
by Ian Smith | Apr 3, 2019 | Scaling
There was a fascinating article in the WSJ today which is worth summarizing for business owners. The article was valuable for entrepreneurs because it brought together some key statistics you should be aware of, and I’ve added a few more to add value and...
by Ian Smith | Mar 18, 2019 | Acquisitions, Exiting your business, Operational Tips
Buying Companies Most acquirers embarking on an acquisition are ill prepared to successfully buy another company and integrate it. Research consistently tells us we are weak at this common corporate tactic – buying other companies. Acquisitions are for...
