Faster, Better & With More Style
We all have deeply ingrained personality traits that stay with us throughout our life. As we get older, one of the benefits of this, I think, is that we get to know ourselves better. We have more years to look back on and spot the common themes and personality consistencies that define us and are important to who we really are as a person.
When I look back, even to my very early childhood, I can see one of my persistent traits has been a desire to first understand and then to find a way to ‘make it better’. I have also had a strong drive to express myself and this is the reason that photography has stayed with me as a creative outlet that I am just as much in love with today as I was when I first discovered the art at the age of eleven.
Burial Place of King Canute?
I can remember, when I lived in Hockley, (Essex, England) I was fascinated and pre-occupied by a go-kart that my father had made for my brother and myself. There were several hills in the area that I regularly raced down at ever-increasing speeds. The steepest and longest of these was Plumberow Mount. It was rumoured to be the burial place of King Canute*. This may have been a myth passed between children as I have never heard it mentioned anywhere apart from amongst the local children and a few gullible adults.
Once I had conquered the trepidation of releasing myself down this steep, grassy hill, my next thought was how could I make the go-kart go faster and for longer. My first discovery was to use the large mound at the very top that some people called the “Pimple” as my launching pad. This was even steeper than the main hill and, in my mind’s eye now, it seems more suicidal than adventurous to have considered launching myself down it. I must go back to see this ‘monstrous’ hill one day, with the “Pimple” at the top, to see what it looks like from the perspective of an adult. I always remember my childhood friend, Stephen, encouraging me to attempt the “Pimple” launch. After a few false starts, and a successful and thrilling ride down the hill that took me out of the park area and across the road, where I ended up in a ditch, I proudly came back, pulling the Go-kart behind me, to offer him a ride from the Pimple. I remember his answer with a smile now, as I think back. “Do you think I’m mad?! That is suicidal! I just wanted to see you do it”.
Innovation & Constant Tweaks to Enhance the Speed
My next thought was could I grease the wheels to make them run more freely. With increased enthusiasm and zeal I spent the next three hours chasing little ball bearings all over my parents’ garage, with my hands in a pot of grease. Who knew that those wheels would have so many little ball bearings!
My testing track became the nearest hill to where I lived as it was not far and the “track” (pavement) was not unduly affected by the weather. I then decided that if I had more weight on the kart it would go faster. So, I recruited/twisted the arm of my younger brother, Grahame, and Stephen my friend, who was prepared to climb aboard as long as we did not attempt the Pimple Mount suicide run as he liked to call it. After a few runs, I discovered aerodynamics and found out if we all leant forward we could take nearly 2 seconds off the run.
Trial & Error Led to Some Painful Lessons
My final discovery was that having the additional weight on board was OK until you needed to do an emergency stop. The normal practise of putting the flat of your shoe down was not so effective when you had another ten+ stone sitting behind you. This was sharply and painfully brought to my attention when some local lads blocked our path and I had to perform my usual emergency foot down brake and the kart continued and ran over my leg which ended up being twisted at an odd angle. Fortunately, at that age, I seemed to be very bendy and bouncy and would always walk away relatively unmarred by the experience. However, the experience deterred me from any further ideas of adding more weight and I decided that aerodynamics was the best way to go.
My next improvement was to lay face down on the kart with my hands where my feet were -normally on the piece of wood that was fixed to the front axle for steering. I am not sure this was any safer, as I was now hurtling down the hill, head first, using my hands to steer, just inches from the wheels.
More Efficient M&A Deal Making
One of my consistent goals has always been to make things better, faster more efficient. This is a trait I have carried through to my adult life and my work in mergers and acquisitions deal making. My early beginnings with John Oakes as my mentor were fun times but even then, I still wanted to ‘do it better’.
Over the past 18 years, since founding “Boss Equity” (formerly Document Boss), I have watched the M&A industry very closely, both in awe and some amusement. It seems to be an industry that is stuck in the past, clinging to old, tried and trusted work processes and procedures. In part, they do what they do because that is who they are - a bit like the story of the Scorpion and the Frog**. The clear majority of the people you will meet who are involved in transacting M&A deals have their early foundation training in financial accountancy. Consequently, they sit and number crunch and do maths!
What It Really Takes - Safeguarding the Value of Your Business
To safeguard the value of your business, you need to view your business in an objective and more multi-dimensional way, not just through the eyes of a number cruncher. Buyers will do this soon enough but, as you build and prepare your business, you need to take a more objective view. You should view your business like the mighty colosseum, supported by 5 huge columns. Those five columns are what reduce risk in your business whilst also increasing its value. These are the columns (foundations) you need to focus on to build strength and value in your business. They will also make a more stable business with more predictable revenue.
When we work with a client company we we take them through a process, which we call the Equity Value AcceleratorTM (EVA). The five stages in our EVA process - or columns in the business - are:
1. Competitive Space
2. Marketing Fuel
3. Sales Engine
4. Management Drivers
5. Exit Strategy
For further insight and information about unlocking greater equity value in your business, please contact us
* Plumberow Mount is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. It is said to be both a Roman burial site and potentially also, an Anglo Saxon burial site. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1017451
King Canute was laid to rest at Winchester Cathedral http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/our-heritage/royal-connections/
** The Scorpion & the Frog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog
