The Portfolio Partnership

The Secrets of Scaling a Business

by Ian Smith | Feb 3, 2013 | Scaling

So what are the secrets of scaling a business? Well let’s define scaling in terms of sales growth. Let’s say you are on a path of scaling from $5m to $75m. Let’s assume you are not growing at say 25% per annum, or if you are, your have concerns that the situation is...

Getting Ahead of The Curve – Some Trends Worth Understanding

by Ian Smith | Jan 31, 2013 | Strategy

You could be in email marketing, recruitment, niche manufacturing, wealth management, cloud services or a million other SIC code sectors. So what big trend will transform your industry over the next 5 years? I’ve gathered together some ideas from smart thinkers for...

How To Work On The Right Stuff

by Ian Smith | Jan 29, 2013 | CEO, Data Overload, Execution Tips, Leadership, Management

As CEO of your business, you arrive at your desk to find a supplier has stopped your account. You failed to pay him for the third time according to his terms. You have plenty of cash in the bank but you were being just a little too smart with the cash flow management....

Measurement – A Reminder from Bill Gates

by Ian Smith | Jan 27, 2013 | Leadership, Management, Metrics

Last week in the WSJ an adapted extract from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual letter was published, outlining Bill’s plan to fix the world’s biggest problems. His thesis revolves around good measurement and a commitment to follow the data. And oh how...

The Cost of Mediocrity

by Ian Smith | Jan 24, 2013 | Leadership, Management, Strategy

Seth Godin in his new book – The Icarus Deception writes that in the context of sinking or swimming we are indoctrinated into believing we actually sink when we fail. Do we? he asks. “In fact, in the connection economy, it’s the person who doesn’t enter the arena who...

Unlimited Vacation Time – A Winning Strategy?

by Ian Smith | Jan 22, 2013 | Leadership, Management, Operational Blueprints

A recent FT article spotlighted the unlimited vacation time phenomenon. Wandisco (software company), Evernote (note taking service), LRN (consultancy), Netflix, Red Frog (events company), Inbucon (HR consultancy) all offer some version of unlimited vacation/holiday...

Zooming Out & Zooming In – 10x Management Revisited

by Ian Smith | Jan 20, 2013 | Strategy

This is an update of a post first published in May last year. The original post was inspired by the book Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Chris Collins and Morten T. Hansen. As the authors illustrate so well...

Innovation – Looking in the Wrong Places

by Ian Smith | Jan 17, 2013 | Innovation

Commerce Bank went through an impressive period of growth from 1997 to 2007, market capitalization of $400m in 1997 to $8.5Bn in March 2008, when it sold out to TD Bank. Commerce wanted to re-recreate the retail experience. They didn’t look to other banks to...

Conference Board – Leadership Survey Results

by Ian Smith | Jan 15, 2013 | Leadership

Latest survey from the Conference Board reveals top 10 priorities for 2013 of global CEOs. The US CEOs placed their priorities in this order: Operational excellence Government regulation Customer relationships Innovation Human Capital Global political/economic risk...

The Solution to Broken PO Promises

by Ian Smith | Jan 13, 2013 | Sales Tips

We’ve all been there. The deal is going well. The prospect is engaged in our dialogue. The conversation builds to the obvious conclusion where a proposal goes out the door. Then silence………….. You can’t find the prospect with a...