CEO to CEO

The Wheels Coming off the Bus

By Robert Sher

What could ever be wrong with a strong, growing top line? What would be wrong with running a lean company? The answer: Too much work to do and not enough people or resources to execute it well.

There comes a tipping point, when an organization goes from hectic, busy and rushed, to being overwhelmed, chaotic and hopeless. When the wheels fully separate from the bus. It’s not pretty. The ugliness usually includes employees yelling and screaming; angry customers, vendors cutting off supply, resignations without notice, hostility in the workplace, and much worse. Perhaps you’ve seen this in your organization.

The Wheels Coming off the Bus, the seventh in the Defeating Corporate Distraction series, will take you through some common issues and techniques related to this common distraction. To access the entire series written to date, click here.

Inside a Merger that Worked

By Robert Sher

Two companies merge to gain economies of scale and to create an industry leader. How many times have we heard this story only to be disappointed by the results? Where 2+2 equaled 3?

But not so with Oclaro (NASDAQ: OCLR), formed when CEO Alain Couder merged $300M Bookham (NASDAQ:BKHM) with $200M Avanex (NASDAQ: AVNX) in April of 2009. Today, the combined company’s stock price is up nearly four times from April of last year. Adjusted EBITDA is at 10.5%, growth is at 35% and the company is focused on a goal of hitting the $1 billion revenue mark within two years. So what did Alain and his executive team do differently to make this merger work so well?

Data and Analysis Obsession

By Robert Sher

I hate making mistakes. They waste money, make me look foolish and I feel embarrassed. When I wore a younger man’s clothes, I would tirelessly dig for data, and analyze away. I remember with pride a massive spreadsheet I built in 1983 that held that detailed historical data and projections for three related entities. Recalculating took ten minutes, yet I waited with baited breath to see my new financial future each time. This topic, the fourth in the series, Data and Analysis Obsession will take you through some common issues and techniques to get just the right amount of analysis. To access the entire series written to date, click here.

Some organizations get obsessed with fact finding and analysis, and they keep it up until it’s too late. Too late might mean the decision was imposed upon them. Perhaps the market window closed. Perhaps the product failed horribly before the recall decision was made, and that meant it went legal and political both. These bad outcomes are in addition to the time, cost and effort of analyzing far in excess of what reality requires.

Powerfully Executing for the Upturn

This article is for companies in a slump right now, due in large part to the downturn. It is not targeted toward companies that are in serious jeopardy of closing, nor is it for companies that are growing strongly despite the downturn.

By Robert Sher

Close your eyes and imagine your company’s future. You’ve been hanging on since the downturn hit, first staunching the cash bleed, but now you’re stable, perhaps even getting ahead slightly. You know your company will be around for a few more years at least, if the economy doesn’t slow much further. Congratulations. Many firms are not going to make it.

Keep those eyes closed. Picture yourself a few months from now. Customers and clients start talking to you again. They start asking for RFQ’s, and a few orders break loose. You realize that the ice is thawing, the time for hibernation may be over, and your hope for a bright, order-rich world is soon to be upon you. This is the time you’ve been longing for. Is your company ready to make the most of it? Will you be operating from your business’s power zone, where you have the maximum ability to create results? This chance won't come again soon.....

Outlasting Hard Times

Summary: Run any business for long enough and you’ll go through a down cycle. This article identifies some practical tips on preparing your business for hard times, and surviving them when they come.

Investing in Growth or Throwing Cash Away?

Summary: Too many businesses spend their positive cash flow on failed attempts to scale up. The article discusses the process for proving scalability of a sales and marketing engine long before starting the spending.

A Strategy for Choosing Online Software Tools

By Robert Sher As I sat at the East Bay Alliance meeting on October 20, 2006, listening to John Dillon, CEO of Navis, I had to agree with him that so many great software applications are becoming available to use over the Internet on demand for small monthly fees. For small and medium-sized businesses, this means we can do even bigger things with a small investment.

The Insomnia Factor: How to Keep the Wheels From Falling Off

Summary: High-growth companies carry plenty of risks. The article provides a series of questions designed to help CEOs keep the wheels rolling.

I Wasn’t Welcome?

Summary: I came to meet with a firm for the first time and had trouble getting into their offices – the front door was locked and there was no bell. CEOs are reminded to check up on what visitors feel and perceive when they encounter the firm for the first time.

Board Benefits

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Summary: An entrepreneurial couple brought in outside board members to help bring in key accounts and to aid in their decision making. They diluted ownership’s vote to 50%, but the payoffs far outweigh the lack of freedom. Important pros and cons are discussed, as well as some guidelines for adding outside board members.