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...
by Ian Smith | Feb 9, 2016 | Operational Blueprints, Operational Tips, Problem Solving
Last year at The Portfolio Partnership we embedded our operational playbooks across many sectors, to scale our clients. The most common symptom across all clients? Handing operational problems correctly to get them solved. Yes key operational blueprints regarding...
by Ian Smith | May 20, 2014 | Operational Tips
Last week Seth Godin posted a brilliantly incisive post on the power of Doubt! Titled, The benefit of the doubt, he brought into focus, in my view, why we fail to move people. In his words: “The crowd likes the songs from the singer they came to hear, not the...
by Ian Smith | Jan 23, 2014 | Operational Blueprints, Operational Tips
To do your best work you need to focus. You need to master your craft. To be the best in your market, the best in your region, the best in the world requires a mental discipline few possess. I’ve always been competitive. I want to win. Even in hobbies,...
by Ian Smith | Oct 31, 2013 | Operational Tips
We all know how important a good question is. The incisive interrogation of Richard Nixon by David Frost. Ronald Regan’s question for the nation prior to voting in 1980 – Are you better off than you were four years ago? Questions define you. Great...
by Ian Smith | Oct 27, 2013 | Operational Tips, Scaling
It seems so obvious why wouldn’t you have done it already? Well, rolling out a services business on the back of your product business requires careful consideration. I’ve done it several times and I’m currently helping a client execute the...