I’ve been studying and analyzing financial statements going back to my days at KPMG Peat Marwick in St. Louis. But I’d have to say I started doing it for fun (yes, fun) when I would receive hundreds of annual reports mailed to my home thanks in part to my membership with the National Association of […]
Would You Want to Be CEO for Barnes & Noble?
I used to look forward to walking through my local Barnes & Noble in Columbia, Missouri on a weekly basis. I could browse the book shelves for hours and easily drop a hundred dollars before leaving (so much for the family budget). In 2011 while rushing for a connecting flight with about 6 books under […]
Leaving a Business on Your Terms
The term exit planning sounds so cold, so calloused, so calculating. If I were a content writer for any exit planning expert, I’d force them to quit using this term entirely. Business owners pour their lives into building companies at the risk of isolating themselves from family members and friends during the early turbulent years. These […]
You Had a Great Sales Month, So What!
Periodically, I get a call or email from a client early in the month stating something like, “Hey Mark, we had an awesome month. What do you think?” CEOs love sales. Heck, CFOs probably love sales even more. But I still hate these messages unless I know the plan calls for increases on the top […]
We Need Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in Small Business
I confess that I’m a little fanatical about baseball statistics. And yes, sometimes these numbers cross my mind when I’m thinking about senior management team members. Take wins above replacement (WAR) for example. Let’s say my number is 8.4 as a shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals. That number means I’m responsible for about 8-plus […]
Your P&L Could Be Revealing A Serious Strategic Flaw or Poor Execution
I have designed hundreds of financial reporting packages–I’m not even sure of the count. I’ve created reporting packages spanning 3 pages to nearly 100 in varying formats including raw HTML back in the ’90s, in Microsoft Publisher (I still do), Access, Excel (via F9 or Jet Reports), the old Microsoft FRx (is it still around?), […]