Last week I asked if your strategic plan was for real. It was noted that one of the ways to bring it to life is an operating plan that spells out what gets done each year in support of the long-range plan. This week I want to take that idea a step further, based on a...
Every well-run company has a strategic plan in writing, ideally also in the hands of every key executive in the company. Not just hopes, dreams and aspirations, but solid goals and targets and timelines they hope to achieve for the benefit of owners/shareholders,...
I was asked last week to explain the value of a CFO to a young entrepreneur who had started from scratch with a great idea, and built a pretty solid business before hitting the glass ceiling (no, not that one) where the financial infrastructure he had in place just...
I wrote this article for my (print) newsletter 25 years ago. It’s so relevant even today that I decided to republish it, even though it’s longer than my usual post. I think it’s worth the extra few minutes you’ll spend reading it. We are often asked: What is the most...
It will cost you $2.15 today for what would have cost you $1 in 1990. You don’t have to read about the effects of inflation to know that it’s hitting everyone and every company. You see it at the gas pump and the supermarket. Your managers see it in the cost of raw...
