The Impact and Influence of a Leader

Kate Atkin

Members of experiential business learning group, Directors Forum 9,  spent the day recently exploring their ‘Impact and Influence as a Leader’, including examining their indispensability factor to their organisation …

We worked with Kate Atkin to explore our ‘EPL’; our ETHOS, PATHOS and LOGOS.

Ethos being our business and personal credibility, built on our track record, experience, qualifications, knowledge and gravitas; often leading to referrals.

Pathos being our empathy and understanding, built on our ability to ask great questions, truly listen and check understanding.

Logos being the facts, figures and information that we use in our reasoned arguments.

We established that our school days taught us to start with Logos, however, when working with humans we’re often much better to start with Pathos and Ethos.

We also discussed the statements “You are your business – What Impact Are You Making?” and “What changes in behaviour create the ‘right’ impression?”

By the end of the day we had a much greater understanding of the ripples, waves and tsunamis that we cause as leaders in our organisations.

Joanna Jesson

Kate proved to be an excellent trainer, adapting her material to the content presented in the members’s Goal Reviews and the emerging needs.

Joanna Jesson,
Chairman – Directors Forum Group 9

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, to find out more about the Herts, Beds & Bucks Group, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

Unpossible Thinking

Ian Moore

Members of experiential business learning group, Directors Forum 11, had a great session when Ian Moore,  Msc & BSc(Hons) author of “Engineering The Impossible” and “Unpossible Thinking” presented to their group recently.

Ian is fascinated in developing tools and techniques to allow people to unblock their thinking on demand to achieve their full potential- (see www.unpossiblethinking.com).

The Academy for Chief Executives members enjoyed a fascinating workshop on the workings of our brain! Thinking about thinking … Members were thoroughly engrossed and involved through experiential learning in the way we think about issues/ problems and how we can resolve them.

The key experiential learning points included:-

• How to think about thinking and the benefits of doing;
• Clearer techniques for thinking outside the box;
• Thinking about being more positive can result in more positive actions;
• Lateral thinking regarding ‘If I could do it, then how would I do it?’;
• The benefits of not using the word ‘Can’t'!

Peter Sutcliffe

Peter Sutcliffe
Joint Chairman with Karen Humble, North East
Academy Group 23 and Directors Forum 11

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning.  To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, to find out more about the North East Group , or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

 

 

Creating a Winning Mindset with Steve Smith

Steve Smith

The North East Academy for Chief Executives‘ speaker in July was Steve Smith, UK high jump record holder and Olympic Bronze Medallist speaking on ”Creating a Winning Mindset‘

The Academy members not only gained a highly interesting and entertaining insight into the determination and planning needed to achieve Olympic standard but also how to relate such focus to business and personal life through experiential learning.

The workshop highlighted how, from a situation of failure, you can then achieve your goals through analysis of present position, to focus on end objectives and define a set of rules/ actions to achieve them to rigid timescales.

The key experiential learning points included:-

• The importance of planning and focus,
• Analysis of competition and your strengths,
• How you can win the psychological battle in competition and with competitors,
• Analysis of your own leadership skills,
• Developing an action plan to help develop your own leadership and coaching skills.

Peter Sutcliffe

Peter Sutcliffe,
Joint Chairman with Karen Humble Academy for Chief Executives North East (Group 23)

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, to find out more about the North East Group, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

The Secrets of How to Create a Great Workplace

Henry Stewart (pictured, right) spoke to his first Academy for Chief Executives group recently, (Joe Adams’ Group 11) having been sourced through ‘Speakers for Business‘.

Henry is the founder and Chief Executive of Happy (previously known as Happy Computers), who provide training in both desktop IT and how to create great places to work. Although only employing 45 people, Happy has won wide recognition for its innovative approach to management and to customer service.

This first Academy experience of presenting to my group of business leaders certainly exceeded my expectations. He was a pragmatic, straight forward and very accomplished executive in his own right. I believe his takeaway value will be unique and long lasting.

The secrets of success that he talked about were:

• Don’t tell when you can ask
• Recruit for attitude; train for skills
• People should be chosen to manage people who are good at managing people
• Play to people’s strengths
• Celebrate mistakes

Henry also has a concept within his own company where there are no individual bonuses, but a collective group bonus is given based on 20% of the total company’s profit, given equally to every staff member.

Henry is a unique executive and a unique speaker with a great message. Not-to-be-missed.

Joe Adams,
Chairman, Academy Group 11

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

Maximising Performance as a Leader

Simon Hazeldine (pictured, right) presented his workshop “Performance Leadership” to members of new Surrey Academy Group 14, (an experiential business learning® group), recently.

This was a very good session from Simon, particularly on the diagnostic tools that can be used to evaluate a company’s level of organisational engagement and performance focus.  It was also a timely reminder of how critical it is for leaders to be visible, engaged with their people on both an emotional as well as intellectual level, and above all be a role model for the kind of behaviours the company requires of its people.

Key take-aways were:

1. To achieve great results leaders cannot only focus on maximising staff performance – that must be coupled with strenuous efforts to engage all staff in the mission and objectives of the company.
2. Focusing on staff engagement isn’t only about doing the right thing in the right way – engaged staff deliver better results, more satisfied customers, higher margins and ultimately higher net profits.
3. Actively using the templates Simon provides for evaluating current scorecard against the Engagement drivers and and the Performance Focus factors will provide a solid base for developing the right action plan for individual businesses.
4. Leaders must be role models

Simon’s workshop provides a strong wake up call for all of us as leaders and is particularly strong on the realities of what is required to maximise performance and get real results consistently.

Gordon Bromley, Chairman – Academy Group 14 (centred in the Kingston area of South West London and Surrey)

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, or to find a
local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

The Non-Executive Director

For some organisations, particularly owner managers, a Non-Executive Director (NED) has much in common with a Bidet! Being something one quite fancies but not really something one is clear on how to use!

A NED is a common position in many substantial companies indeed the combined code (a code of good practice for listed companies) recommends that for every Executive director you have a Non-Executive director. In privately owned companies of course such a specific may be neither relevant nor indeed affordable.

Getting a great NED and the work great is important here, can prove to be of huge value in creating a strong and well performing board.

It has been found that the top reason for board failure is the structure of the board itself and there is no doubt that the utilization of a competent Non-Executive director can add substance and credibility to an owner managed company.

Several problems face the owner manager when embarking on this route, not least of which is identifying the right person. Any number of individuals have aspirations to take up such a mantle but all too few have either the experience or gravitas to add that “X” factor needed and expected in a smaller company.

More often than not the smaller company in truth requires a part-time executive rather than a Non-Executive. In other words often such a person is filling a functional role rather than just a general advisory position.

There is of course, nothing wrong with this approach but it is fairly important that the director in question does not get so immersed in the operational aspects of the company that they are unable to provide one of the most important “inputs” of the NED is that of challenger plus an ability to (in colloquial terms) see the “wood for the trees”!! Something made much more difficult if an operational function becomes a prerequisite.

Finding someone suitable is always a difficulty. Start with your advisors, banks, lawyers, accountants they will inevitably know people who may have the relevant skills and recommendations are the best route to identify the right individual.

Personally match can’t be over-estimated. The chosen individual doesn’t have to be Mrs or Mr. Charismatic but they do need to be able to get on with not just the Board but senior and often junior staff gaining respect is a given but being affable often over-looked.

Write a personal specification. Now is the time to think about … Must have v desirable traits; consider using physcometric tests to ascertain what you have personality wise on you Board and what is missing. We don’t often have the chance to put and place our own fantasy team – now is your real chance to improve on what you have.

For both sides I cannot recommend highly enough setting targets and objectives. This will help both the NED and the owner-manager manage expectations and monitor progress. Of course these are likely to be a moving target but it doesn’t really matter it’s just helpful for all concerned to have clear measurable objectives at the outset.

Targets in this field are usually quite fluid, so you need to understand as does your appointee, that nothing is laid in stone but think short-term i.e. first 100 days and medium term i.e. first 6 months and longer term i.e. first 12 months, in order to give everyone a real focus.

The right person for the right job is not going to be a clock watcher, indeed if you can’t contact this person out of hours, so to speak, (it’s the wrong person) More often that not the NED in a smaller business is not just a board member but a confidante of its members, in particular the MD in many cases. Hence availability being paramount.

Remuneration is also a fairly fluid process. Anything from a few thousand a year to £40k or £50k a year for the larger firm.

For some this may seem a cost too far but a good NED will add much more in terms of value than the costs and in fact if they don’t, you probably haven’t selected the right person.

Commitment is usually one day a month but could be 2 or 3 dependant on the objectives. You may even want to consider equity options either real or phantom shares or even options, these all have various pros & cons. Real shares, for example, will have implications related to transfer rights on death, for instance, dividend issues and votes, Phantom Shares have less beneficial tax implications but are far less problematic if you have bad leavers issues. Indeed if a Phantom Shareholder leaves usually the so called “Shares” evaporate. Options schemes nearly always requires some sort of revenue approved process and maintenance scheme and so tends to be rather more expensive in it’s creation and onerous in it’s maintenance.

Although not usually an employee and therefore not in need of an employment contract, it is a wise board that would put in place a contract for services, which would specify both payment and notice terms as well as non-disclosure and restrictive covenants as appropriate.

It is generally advisable to involve a lawyer in the creation of an agreement for services, although the Higgs Report (part of the Combined Code) does offer some sample agreements. In truth it is best to take tailored advice for your own requirements.

A good NED will bring not only a challenging attitude and ideas for the board but structure and an appropriate formality both of which can be hugely protective against legal issues and the increasingly onerous legal compliance facing directors.

The value of having regular structured discussions with papers circulated in advance and a third party who will make executives accountable for their actions and responsibilities, has to be seen to be truly appreciated but it is worth considering that without exception most private equity investors would not consider an investment without the utilization of a Non-Exec to represent their interest – if such influenced players see their worth. Perhaps it’s worth at least a trial period to assess what benefits such a person can bring to your business

Jo Haigh
Head of Corporate Finance for MGR

www.mgr.co.uk
www.jo-haigh.com

Related article: “To get ahead, employ a NED (Non-Executive Director)”

About the Author

Jo Haigh

Jo Haigh is a Partner and Head of Corporate Finance for MGR, a company based in London and Yorkshire and a partner in the FDS Group, a specialist training and development business.

An experienced dealmaker, Jo specialises in putting together the right deal at the right time and in the right format for growing businesses throughout the country. She has bought and sold over 300 companies in the last 20 years specialising in owner managed companies. More >>

 

Buy Better

Of course everyone wants a bargain even the super rich, in fact probably particularly the super rich. How do you think they got rich in the first place!!

In our current economic climate, it’s almost certainly a buyers market – though in order to buy well you clearly need a willing seller. Therefore in order to get a good deal, unless you are really ruthless, a fair deal is what you should be aiming for and don’t forget a fair deal can still be a bargain.

To buy right you need to do your homework not just on your target but on you – ask yourself:-

1) Why am I buying

2) What is it exactly I want to achieve

3) What’s my maximum price

4) What are the things I will not compromise on – no matter what

Armed with this information, whether you are buying a house or a business, you will at least have set some critical parameters.

The process of acquisition is a long and painful one. Most deals take twice as long and cost twice as much as you may first have anticipated. Deal fever takes over ad buyers (as well as vendors) make compromises that in the halcyon days of the transaction no one would have even remotely considered and if its not deal fever, deal fatigue sets in, when frankly the parties involved are so sick and tired of the deal they will virtually do anything to compete the blooming thing!

It’s not a bad idea to have a contingency fund for just these purposes as 2 out of 3 deals as a minimum will need it.

The time needed to successfully complete a deal cannot be underestimated and up to 12 months is not all that unusual. If you have taken yourself out of your business to do this, don’t forget how important it will be to leave someone in charge of your own territory throughout this period.

Over optimistic projections of future business performance of an acquisition is common place. What we call “hockey stick” projections are endemic – watch carefully you don’t step into this arena and be advised that your funders will always discount any budgets you provide by up to 25%.

To make a deal work it’s essential that your staff are on board with you, both supportive and able.

An acquisition which brings about change, often phenomenal amounts, will sort the men from the boys, if only on a sheer scare factor. An acquisition can send lesser mortals off the Richter scale.

Information and lots of it, provided in a timely and understandable format, keeps everyone sane, but make sure the medium covers both written and verbal format allowing a facility to allow those involved to answer questions and provide support.

It’s sometimes quite humbling what concerns people have, including in my experience, seemingly irrational worries about brand changes, uniform allowance and working hours. One of the best ways I have seen this dealt with is by using FAQ summaries issued in advance to allay fears (helping especially those people who dare not even vocalize their concerns).

Many buyers concentrate so much on the end completion (not unsurprisingly) that post integration if often over-looked, which is proven by the fact that 3 out of 5 acquisitions fail to add value. This is probably due to the issues listed above and the failing to plan for a proper integration. Your 100-day plan post deal with the deadlines will undoubtedly help.

Having a realistic sense of proportion is also helpful, even when everything looks great. Post deal, s**d’s law says somebody or something will be waiting around the corner to trip you up unexpectedly, so complaining is not a comfort zone you should seek out; be pro-active and anticipate problems.

Jo Haigh
Head of Corporate Finance for MGR

www.mgr.co.uk
www.jo-haigh.com

About the Author

Jo Haigh

Jo Haigh is a Partner and Head of Corporate Finance for MGR, a company based in London and Yorkshire and a partner in the FDS Group, a specialist training and development business.

An experienced dealmaker, Jo specialises in putting together the right deal at the right time and in the right format for growing businesses throughout the country. She has bought and sold over 300 companies in the last 20 years specialising in owner managed companies.   More >>

 

Would You Buy This Company? – an understanding of company finance

The North East Academy for Chief Executives, Future Leaders Forum speaker in May was Peter Sutcliffe, an accountant who facilitated a workshop including practical examples and case studies from his own ‘coal face’ experiences within finance, IBM, GEC and in recent years as a company doctor. The Academy members were taken on an experiential learning journey from the principles of accountancy/setting up a company through to the selling of a business and how it would be valued. The workshop used action and experiential learning techniques culminating in delegates valuing a company based on what they had learnt.

The key experiential learning points included the:-

• importance of business planning, forecasting & budgeting,
• principles of finance and its role in a successful business process cycle,
• clarification of accountancy jargon,
• ability to identifying trends,
• key ratios and performance indicators to monitor,
• understanding of statutory accounts -Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet,
• key elements that can positively affect the bottom line,
• benefits of knowing breakeven at all levels of the business,
• best way to analyse strengths/ weaknesses in financial performance,
• benefits of team motivation by displaying meaningful performance data,
• techniques for adding value to our services to charge customers more/ increase sales revenue,
• various fundamentals that affect the value of a company when buying or selling.

Peter Sutcliffe,
Joint Chairman with Karen Humble,
North East,
Academy Group 23 and Leaders Forum 11

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, to find out more about the North East Group, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

Salesmen and Saleswomen: We Salute You

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. Part of membership involves members taking their issues to the table and discussing them with their peers. This month, one of my members raised the issue of how to get people into a selling mode with regard to their mindset.

It was concluded by the group that selling as a profession was less accepted in the UK, than say the USA. Companies would go out of their way to use language other than sales or selling, such as marketing, merchandising, distribution, product movement, or any other number of cryptic descriptions. It was concluded that in order to change the mindset, people involved in the selling process must be proud of their profession and to make this point, I am including a poem which I have long believed to be instrumental in helping people to have a greater understanding and respect for sales.

THE SALESMAN

When labour toils and factories hum,
And out plant doors the products come,
The payment for it comes from.
The Salesman.

In any business office where
White-collar workers earn their share,
They all should thank in grateful prayer,
The Salesman

When banks and institutions lend
The funds on which the firms depend
For finance, they, too, have a friend.
The Salesman

And miles of gleaming railroad track
And roads and highways there and back
Could not exist without his knack.
The Salesman

So ‘cross the land, behind each door,
Are worlds of wealth and goods galore.
They’d ne’er be there – were it not for.
The Salesman

Yes, others may salute their trade,
The contributions they have made;
But it’s for him that I’ll parade.
The Salesman

For it is sales that keeps us free,
That fuel our great democracy,
And that is why I’m proud to be.
A Salesman

This was one of the best issue sessions of the year!

Joe Adams,
Chairman, Academy Group 11

For confidentiality reasons we cannot divulge all of the advice provided by our members – however, we do hold open meetings where guests are able to attend and experience for themselves the real power of ‘The Board You Could Never Afford’®. To find out how you can take advantage of advice like this every month, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

A lesson in risk-taking in business

Academy Groups 5 and 32 enjoyed the benefit of a really powerful and surprisingly relevant session with Caspar Berry (pictured) on “Poker as a Metaphor for Risk-Taking in Business” on 23rd April. I say surprisingly because Caspar is an ex-professional Poker player and Media “personality”; so everyone present expected an entertaining and intriguing session – but we got even more than just that: we got real insight into the psychology and traits behind our own (and other’s) behaviours when placed in situations where real choices have to be made – real risks to be taken.

I picked up 4 key points from the session:

1. It is normal to fear short-term failure (ie, if taking a bet at poker or making a decision at work where there is the real possibility of loss – be it money, time “face” or reputation – we all experience some fear/discomfort at the thought of losing that “gamble”.) However, really successful people focus upon Long-Term gain. If we make lots of calculated gambles when the odds are in our favour we will OFTEN lose individual bets: but in the long-term we will make a return. We must face our fears of short-term loss in order to achieve Long-term gain.
2. Accepting that to be true, we can see that losing a calculated risk/gamble is NOT FAILURE – it is an essential step in the path to Long-Term success.
3. Long-Term failure is often the result of not taking enough well thought-through short term risks, or of taking too many badly thought-through short term risks. Both of these traits can and should be managed, and it is essential that business leaders are clear about their strategy and culture in relation to these two possible sources of Long-Term failure.
4. It is LONG-TERM FAILURE that organisations and individuals should most fear: the risk of short-term “failure” on carefully calculated gambles or projects should be embraced. For that to be possible the individuals within an organisation need to really understand the relationship between Short-Term risk-taking and Long-Term Failure, and must really understand their organisation’s rules and objectives in this area. Many organisations claim to “embrace risk” or to not have a “blame culture” – but do key staff really know what that means in the real world: especially in these most risk-averse of times?

Fear of short-term (project-by-project, decision-by decision) failure is normal, but clarity of thought and a culture that is consistent about the need to avoid Long-Term failure can be a big motivator to help us and our organisations overcome short-term risk aversion and resistance to change.

Peter Pritchett,
Chairman, Academy Groups 5 and 32

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.