The Portfolio Partnership

How to Deploy Lean Thinking in M&A

by Kevin Young | Jul 13, 2023 | Acquisitions, Lean Six Sigma

Early in my career while working at Sony Chemicals Corporation of America, a division of Sony Corporation, I was trained in Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Seiichi Nakajima developed Total Productive Maintenance in Japan between 1950 and 1970. Through this...

The Benefits of Simplification

by Ian Smith | Jul 6, 2023 | Leadership

We are traveling this week so a little repeat of a popular post from a few years ago. We all admire a leader who can simplify a complex problem into an understandable, simple, explanation of the essential elements. We are motivated by a leader who can set out a clear,...

Two Tools To Explain Your Financials To An 8th Grader

by Ian Smith | Jun 29, 2023 | Basic Finance

The financial analysis of a business can seem complicated but there really is no need for this complication. Every financial story in any currency, in any sector, and in any business model boils down to two things! Volume and yield. Let’s take a simple example...

M&A – The Integration Management Office Explained

by Kevin Young | Jun 22, 2023 | Acquisitions

So, you have just completed signing the Purchase & Sale agreement on the big acquisition that is going to change your company and enable your strategic initiatives. Deal done! Check that off your to-do list! Major objective completed for the year! Not quite so...

The Divestiture Playbook

by Ian Smith | Jun 15, 2023 | Divestitures, Divestments, The Divestiture Playbook

We just published our latest playbook – The Divestiture Playbook – a short ebook inspired by the excellent and insightful new book Divestitures by Wharton Professor Emilie R. Feldman. Emilie kindly shared our new publication on LinkedIn stating –...

How Far Can Sales Drop Before You Bleed?

by Ian Smith | Jun 8, 2023 | Uncategorized

A little classic today that you can do at home! Every business has a different set of economics but every business has one common element, they all have a break-even point. First, establish your Gross Margin %. That would be your sales less your variable costs = Gross...

Early Thoughts on AI in M&A

by Ian Smith | Jun 1, 2023 | Acquisitions

Artificial Intelligence is developing at a crazy fast pace with thousands of tools being developed to capitalize on the technology. Subcategories have already emerged including AI Content Detection, AI Enablement, AI Predictive Software, AI Speech Recognition, Data...

Operational Actions that Transform Value – Time Required 2 years

by Ian Smith | May 25, 2023 | Grooming For Sale, How To Build Shareholder Value, Operational Blueprints, Operational Tips

It’s very tempting to compare the buying and selling of houses with businesses. Be careful. For example, buying another business is like buying a house but only if you include the family inside it! Selling a business is similar to selling a house in some ways, such as...

How To Scale 98% of US Companies

by Ian Smith | May 18, 2023 | Scaling

Hard to believe but 98% of US companies employ less than 100 people. Take a look at the table below created from the latest US Census data. The green cells represent the companies employing 99 people or less or 98.1% of US companies, 6 million out of 6.1 million (who...

Divestments vs. M&A

by Kevin Young | May 11, 2023 | Divestitures, Divestments

Divestitures and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) can be used effectively by companies to restructure their businesses as well as meet the strategic growth objectives of the business. Divestitures involve selling off a business unit or assets (although as pointed...