DAMAGE FROM "A DIFFERENT DIRECTION"

Next time you decide to fire a senior executive or make a significant change in the operation of your organization, avoid stating the reason as “we’ve decided to go in a different direction”. You might think that’s a short, clear-cut and irrefutable explanation for making the change, but it seldom calms the departed and can send a ruinous message to your stakeholders, irrespective of whether the organization is competing in the private, not-for-profit or public sector.

I always like the sports analogies; if you’re a team does that mean a complete overhaul/re-build? Or are you just replacing the head coach because you don’t think he/she is getting enough out of the talent? One might lose season ticket holders, the other might increase sales.

If you’re a not-for-profit society does that mean there’s a void in leadership, or are you changing your programming? Funders will be nervous!

If you’re a consumer goods company, does that mean you’re ditching or dramatically altering the current product line? Maybe a good thing but in the meantime, customers are going elsewhere. In 2011, when then CEO Leo Apotheker of Hewlett Packard announced the company was getting out of PC computers they did terrific damage to their channel partners who thought they were abandoning hardware altogether. It’s taken years to rebuild that trust and business under Meg Whitman. Now they’re at the point where they can split the business units and create more shareholder value.

In executive dismissals, what is said behind closed doors is often covered under a cloak of confidentiality as the result of a non-disclosure agreement tied to a settlement. That of course only serves the purpose for which it is intended if both sides honour the pact. You could prosecute if the deposed executive takes to social media or commits an obvious breech, but you may never know about the over the phone and over the fence conversations that have a way of spreading like an oil spill. You’re taking the high road and you can’t understand the backlash.

Unless the dismissal is “for cause” it seldom changes the fate of the individual to say he/she was let go, but what’s the right “spin” publicly? When Canadian Pacific Railway ousted its CEO a few years ago in a very messy and public battle, it was very clear why .The winning shareholder group was validated as Hunter Harrison, ex of CN, proceeded to take the company to a new level of performance and profitability (some may argue at the expense of other metrics, but that’s another story).

Why not just say it like it is? We needed a change in leadership after this many years (in sports vernacular that’s called the players tuning out the coach). We are looking for more growth and innovation over this next period. We need to generate a greater return for shareholders. Whatever piece of straight talk fits.

From the executive’s perspective, the best professional athletes know when they need a change in scenery and systems to “spark” their game. They also tend to realize when they don’t have what it takes anymore to perform at a peak level and would rather go out on their terms than fight their replacement. Organizations need to be able to make the same call for the same reasons and be very clear about it. It usually ends up being the right approach for all concerned.

Mark Olson (click to see Mark’s profile)
Managing Partner & Principal


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A BUDGET THAT ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING

My aim in this article is to stimulate some thought and, hopefully, discussion about the budget and how it can be a useful tool. The budget is the financial expression of the business plan. As such, most of the information and analysis will have been drawn up during the business planning process. Though the budget is summarily expressed financially, its makeup is derived from many measurable components. Do not lose sight of this.

Too often the budget is the domain of accountants with their arcane talk of models and their dreary, repetitive spreadsheets. Let’s get this straight right up front: accountants are a service group. They assemble the budget for the owners, management and operations. They later use it in their reporting service to management and operations. Ownership of the budget goes with ownership of the business plan.

I am going to approach this stimulation of thought by asking what requirements we have of a budget and what uses we put it to. If your budget satisfies the discussion below then it will serve you well. If it does not, then you need to work on it.

The Budget Proves Out the Financial Viability of the Business Plan
The business plan includes inputs from many facets of the organization. These might include new products, research, new assets, new directions and the ongoing business. The budget brings all pieces of the business plan together in the single language of money expressed on a timeline. Though often the business plan and the budget data are prepared close to concurrently, it is a useful exercise to consider how the organization holds together financially.

This is the point at which risks can be assessed by challenging the business plan assumptions. For example, what if revenue is 10% off by more and less? A change in assumption has a ripple effect throughout the organization. In the revenue example, if revenue is lower, it may mean that asset acquisition must be through external financing rather than out of profits, and the implications of this must be explored. Ask the question “What will this mean to us if it happens?” and explore the implications thoroughly.

Some notes on this:

• The process is more important than a deadline. Be thorough.

• You cannot do this unless the duration of your budget matches the duration of your business plan.

• Always assess risks even though they may have a low probability of occurring. The process can provide insight.

The Budget Quantifies Goals
The budget does not set goals. The business plan sets goals. The budget provides the measure of the attainment of those goals over the timeline of the budget.

There is a tendency to think of the budget as only a financial document. Yet the budget is the financial reflection of hard facts, eg. payroll is people working hours for a contracted rate of pay. The number of people and the hours they work are as important to the budget as the dollars.

The quantification of goals is often expressed as Key Performance Indicators (KPI). The budget must facilitate the quantification of the baseline for these.

The Budget Provides Discipline in Performance
The essential elements of a budget are a breakdown of expenditures and a timeline. For a department to meet its budget it must consider both elements and how it will achieve them. This provides a degree of structure and discipline to operations. Time and circumstances may render the budget a less effective tool for this but the baseline provided by the budget must receive consideration.

The Budget is a Component of Monthly Operational Reporting
Let’s start by dispelling the myth that a budget has less value over time. The budget was set as a baseline against which anticipated performance can be measured. The measure of variation from budget may become significant, however, a methodical analysis of the variances will still lead to a full understanding of operations, assist in ongoing forecasting and aid in subsequent business planning.

The standard reporting format is a statement of revenues and expenses for a time period, usually month and fiscal year to date, with the related budget and the variance between the actual and the budget. To this will be added in depth reporting on variances and a report on Key Performance Indicators.

The essence of this is the variance. The variance is the difference, positive or negative, that the actual result is from the component of the budget against which it is compared. A variance has the measure of its component (eg. dollar, unit, hour).

If you prepare a budget that does not fully document the components on which it was based you will not be able to analyze the variances in sufficient detail to effectively manage the organization.

Some notes on this:

• I have laid emphasis on the components. You must have systems in place to measure them. You cannot control what you cannot measure.

• Make sure you have meaningful statements at a department or project level so that line management may analyze their results and control their areas of responsibility.

• Formalize the reporting of variances and KPIs. Ensure that this is at a component level.

• Be methodical in the analysis of variances. Get to the root causes. This is a “call to action” at the operational level.

The Budget is the Base of the Forecast
I am a huge advocate of forecasting. Do it monthly or quarterly to suit your needs. Though it does not need to be as comprehensive a process, think in terms of strategy, business, budget. Have discipline.

Your first forecast was the budget. Document why your subsequent forecasts vary from it. Include the forecast and notes on it with your reporting package.

Conclusion
If you have critically reviewed the requirements of a budget and can honestly say that you are happy with yours then it will serve you well as an ongoing management tool.

Postscript
In my three articles on strategic plans, business plans and the budget I have tried to stimulate thought on their uses and preparation. Though I am an advocate of considering these three areas as philosophically different, I am aware that they generally blend together in practice. Though this is so, I advise that you do stand back and consider them separately and recognize the need for each area. We tend to do this annually but at least do the strategic plan when necessity dictates.

Roger Andrews (click to see Roger’s profile)
Principal


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THE BUSINESS PLAN - YOUR ORGANIZATION'S GPS

My previous article, The Key Drivers of Strategic Planning, discussed the thought processes behind the formulation of a strategic plan. In this article we will consider the thought process and some questions that should be answered when building the business plan. Though organizations span a vast range of activities, they all have revenue and they all need resources. I have tried to keep the ideas adaptable to all organizations.

This article applies for a physical product, intellectual property or a service (all referred to as products). Not-for-Profits generally provide services to assist their clients. These could include social assistance, housing, counselling or training. When we talk about resources we tend to think about raw materials, plant and physical infrastructure, but they may also be people (HR), programs and methodologies.

The primary purpose of the business plan is to set out, in detail, how the strategic plan will be achieved. The plan will extend over one or more business cycles. These are governed by the market and the nature of the business. For convenience and to meet secondary objectives and deliver on outcomes, the business plan will be broken into annual cycles and the budget should be run out longer than one year to match this.

Taking the Wrong Direction
If we recognize the false paths we will avoid them during the business planning process:

• This is not a budget process: This is an operations process. Though it is important to consider financial resources, at this stage it is at a macro level.

• No business has a life of one year from January to December: Business moves on a cycle that is rarely annual. Plan to that cycle. The cycle is not necessarily the revenue cycle. The introduction of a new product, for example, could have a cycle of several years from conception to a sale.

• Not only the executive participate: This is a time for inclusion to gain maximum knowledge.

• An upfront “Business Planning Meeting” does not drive the process: The strategic goals drive the process of data gathering and preparation of organizational level plans. These are then brought together in the overall plan for the organization.

Starting Out
The strategic plan will have identified the goals of the organization for ongoing activities and for new initiatives. The business plan takes these goals, analyses the process by which they may be achieved, provides an estimate of costs and identifies the resources needed.

Let us consider how we get started:

1. Communication: The strategic plan must be communicated across the organization. Although senior management will be aware of the plan, line managers and often their staff will also need to know the content. At the business planning level broad input will improve the content.

2. Assign Responsibility: Ongoing business is generally assigned by department or program. Each will prepare a plan that meets its assigned strategic goals. Those strategic goals may be broken down further to give meaningful milestones and performance measures.

Business development may be assigned by department but often will cross the organization. A proven strategy is to appoint a “champion” who has a broad understanding of the goal and the organization. That champion will pull together the resources needed to achieve the goal and will manage the team.

3. Gather Data: During the formulation of the strategic plan we gather information on:

• Our products and services, potential offerings and products/services at end of life.
• The market place and how we position ourselves within it.
• Our competitors.

To this will need to be added information on:

• Human resources.
• Materials and suppliers.
• Plant/infrastructure.
• Finance.

The detail needed in this data will be far greater than at the strategic level. It must confirm the feasibility of the strategic objectives, set a defined roadmap for operations including finance and allow the preparation of the budget.

Getting it Together
Generally organizations have three streams of operation:

1. The ongoing business.
2. The new business or business process, or in the NFP sector fund development.
3. The end of product/program (service) life.

Books the size of War and Peace have been written about the methodologies involved in business planning. Pick your book and follow it but answer the questions set out below. They apply to all three streams. Be honest and minimize assumptions.

1. What do we provide?

• Define the existing products/services, rate their success, consider their life cycle.

• Define new products and services, what need do they meet, who is the client, what will be the life cycle.

2. How do we provide it?

• Who is our customer/client?

• Who is our competitor, what are their advantages and how will we overcome them?

• What is our brand and how recognized is it?

• How are our products/services promoted?

• Who touches our products/services before the final consumer?

3. What materials/resources do we need?

• Who supplies our raw materials and are they reliable (remember people may be your raw material)?

• Will our current suppliers continue to provide what we need?

• Are there new materials and suppliers out there who will allow us to make a better product or deliver a better service?

• How scalable are we? Can we have materials as and when we need them?

• What is our risk mitigation strategy?

4. What people do we need?

• Have we evaluated our current staff and can they meet our needs?

• What training do our people need?

• Do we have a need for specialist or scarce resources? How will we attract them?

• If there is to be attrition, do we have a plan that will be fair, will minimize the deterioration in morale and that will meet legal requirements?

5. What plant and infrastructure do we need?

• Have we considered our capacity in relation to growth?

• Is our plant near the end of its useful life, obsolete, inefficient?

• What do we replace our plant with?

• What plant do we need for new processes?

• Does our building meet our needs?

• When will we negotiate our lease and what needs do we have?

6. Can we afford it?

• What is our routine cash position?

• Will our credit facilities accommodate swings in the business cycle?

• Do we need to consider the lease or purchase of assets and how will this be financed?

• Is new owner, investor equity, program funding needed to sustain the business and its growth?

The last and most important questions if this is a private sector entity: Are we making a profit? Are we accumulating a dollar? If the answer is “no” to either and this is a surprise, you need to backtrack to the Strategic Plan and resolve how you will turn around and, if you cannot ,how will you arrange an orderly exit.

The New Product or Process, the End of Life for a Manufacturing or Product Development Company
The development of a new product, the introduction of a new process (system) and the end of life of an existing product are too often governed by hopes and dreams rather than by hard facts and reasonable assumptions. All of the questions above should be answered.

The best way to deal with these events is by making each occurrence a project and implementing project controls. Project management is a discipline and there are many resources available to help. When preparing the business plan, take the answers to the questions and incorporate them into the following project requirements:

1. A Project Champion: This must be an individual with a vested interest and sufficient authority to control the resources needed. When considering who will be project champion evaluate the required and decide how the normal day to day workload of the champion will be backfilled.

2. A Well Defined Project: An explicit definition of the project is needed. It will set out precisely, and in sufficient detail, the need of the end user, whether a customer or an internal user.

3. A List of Product Specifications: These must meet the project definition and be as comprehensive as possible.

4. An Overall Project Schedule: The timeline from origination to the sale of a final product. Bear in mind that the first saleable product may not be the final product.

5. A Staffing Schedule: Consider internal resources, how their work will be backfilled, additional resources and specialists. Are the skills in short supply? Do we contract or hire?

6. A Procurement Schedule: How will I get my materials when I need them?

7. A Budget and Cash Flow: The most important question is where will the cash come from? Potential sources are internally generated cash flow, credit facilities, loans and equity. Do not forget that money is available through grants including SRED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) credits.

At this stage the project may not be fully defined and there will be changes during the development process. Changes should be fully documented and considered in future planning cycles.

The Final Plan
When you have followed your business plan development methodology and can read this article and say “yes, got that covered” then document the results. Now you will have a robust guide to operating your business and a base to measure performance.

At the back of the document leave space for the budget. We will talk about building the budget from the business plan in a future article.

Roger Andrews (click to see Roger’s profile)
Principal


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THE KEY DRIVERS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

Definition

A definition of “strategic” is a good place to start. Webster’s   defines “strategic” in terms of war and this may be appropriate in the cut throat world of business. The Oxford English Dictionary states “relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them” and this seems a reasonable definition.

The key word in business is “overall” and this is what this article will discuss, the formulation of the overall aims of the business. The other key point in both dictionaries’ extended definitions was a shortage of resources. This is an important point to bear in mind. Your critical resources might include cash, experienced staff or materials in limited supply.

A Process

We are thinking at the strategic level in this article. The detail of how the strategy is achieved belongs in the business plan. The emphasis is on data gathering and in-depth thought and consideration.

My suggested process is to gather information, consider the information and set down your path.

Gather Information

You will need to know the following at a minimum:

1. Desires of ownership:

Whatever the ownership structure, its desires should be clearly understood and documented. Thoughts on this:

• For most businesses, ownership will wish to grow the business and maximize revenue and profit. Occasionally there may be an overarching aim specific to that business, or a secondary, but important, desire to be satisfied.
• If the exit is in a foreseeable timeframe then it is a driver to many other decisions. For example: do we maximize the value derived from the existing product line or do we do two years R&D to have a state of the art product?
• The strategy may not be communicated outside the ownership if it is felt that this would jeopardize the stability of the business.

2. Desires of other stakeholders:

Other stake holders may include non-active shareholders, private equity lenders, and/or the bank. Each may have its own wishes as to the direction the business should take. These need to be considered and balanced.

3. Our brand:

What is it really? It is not the logo. Consideration of this question may give you some insight.

Brand is defined by Seth Godin as:

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a    business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer. 

The implications of this definition are worth some thought. Note that it is consumer facing.

4. What we sell:

Define what you sell. Is your product hard goods, service, knowledge or a more nebulous concept such as a feeling of wellbeing, Starbucks being a good example of a vendor of this intangible product. Thoughts on this:

• How long will we satisfy the market place? Do we need an end of life plan for a product?
• Has the demand in the marketplace changed and what product revisions do we need to meet this change.

If the product base needs revision, then this must be fully formulated in the business plan. At this stage we  are concerned with the broader picture.

5. Who we sell to:

The customer base is defined by the product. We need to consider:

• What are the broad characteristics of our customers?
• Do we wish to expand the customer base or enter into completely new markets.
• If so with which products or new products?

6. Who our competitors are:

This is a time for an honest evaluation free of prejudices and ego. Some thoughts:

• Chart out the competitor universe and compare products, potential products, positioning and marketing  strategies. Add other comparisons that are useful in your circumstances.
• Look to what is on the horizon in your industry. We all carry a smartphone. We used to carry a phone, a diary, a map and a camera. And not too long ago.

Consider the Information

Sit back and think about the information you have in front of you. The information should be sufficient to see a path ahead, or maybe a new path. If you are missing a piece in this puzzle, get it.

A timely word on assumptions. Use as few as possible. We cannot get hard data on everything but we should make the best attempt. We often lapse into assumption out of laziness. The assumption then takes on the guise of fact and can lead to poor decision making. Do not let an assumption take on the guise of fact.

Give this piece time. Mull it over for a few days. Sleep on it. Too often this piece of the process is the smallest when it should be the biggest. We have all been to the strategic planning meeting where the information becomes the focus, consideration is skipped over and we jump into business planning. Business planning comes later.

Just for emphasis I am going to say it again. Give this piece time. Mull it over for a few days. Sleep on it. This is the crux. Everything else falls from it.

Set Down Your Path

This is where vision comes in. Not the vision that you use to lead into your website, those few words of motherhood, but the true vision of what your business will be going forward. Some thoughts:

• The vision is achieved over its own time frame, not the fiscal year of your finance department. If it is a ten year vision, it is a ten year vision. Breaking that down is a part of the business planning process and the budgeting process.
• If you do not have consensus among stakeholders then you will have strife. If not today then in the future. Those not along for the ride are best left behind.
• Get this down on paper. Use timelines, charts, diagrams or whatever you need to ensure clarity. Append all of the information that supports the viability of your chosen path.
• Once it is on paper circulate it to all contributors and any other key personnel. You need not have a full consensus but you must have buy in.

A Personal Note on this Paper

Too often at my clients, the “strategic planning session” is really the business planning process. Strategic is the big picture, business planning is the tactics and timeline to achieve the big picture. I am not trying to set out a textbook methodology. I am trying to aid in the most important and most neglected piece – the thought and conceptualization needed to truly define the path to the end game. The end game is yours to decide – usually pots of money but sometimes an altruistic goal.

Roger Andrews (click to see Roger’s profile)

Principal

JANE GERARD JOINS OGCEC - EDMONTON

Osborne Group Contract Executives is pleased to announce that Jane Gerard has joined the organization as Director of Market Development - Edmonton and Senior Advisor.

Jane, in her past role as a senior fund development manager, brings with her a proven track record of securing corporate sponsorships and partnerships within the private sector in Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto.

Jane will immediately begin working with Osborne’s Alberta team of Interim Management Principals and Business Advisors to introduce their extensive experience into the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.