Tend the Soil

One of the strengths of selling your business is the competence and confidence buyers have of your people. We were having a conversation with one of our clients who’s been working on transitioning out of the daily decision making for their business. It had been a few years since we found an up-and-coming young professional, Pete, referring him to our client when we received the call. Pete has grown in his role as a junior executive to his recently promoted role as COO. Our client called to give us the good news and asked our advice to support Pete. We discussed the results our client wanted for Pete and the owner’s business. How can Pete lead the present with an eye toward the future as the day-to-day leader.

Evaluate Yourself As A Leader

Self-awareness may be the biggest gap in many of today’s SMB leaders. Education, experience and history have carved the persona and character of many a leader. Without some introspection, how would you know what area(s) in your lead may need a tune up. Pete is sharp. Our client is a strategic visionary; he knows what needs to happen in the run up to selling his life’s work. Pete learned he needs to be an advocate for his people, workgroups, teams, directs and leaders to build a culture of collaboration.

ABC – Always Be Caring

Be aware of your surroundings internally and externally, large and small. From the parking lot, offices, art on the wall, snacks in the breakroom to the type of toilet paper in use, etc. Trivial? When there are nearly a hundred operators on the manufacturing floor, sometimes the trivial is very important. If the leader doesn’t demonstrate with actions creating a collaborative environment, then his words, his lead, his behaviors and habits will create a different assumption and perception from the people working there. Pete’s takeaway: Foster an environment that lives the value of ‘caring for the people who work here.’

Deliver Excellence

For his younger age, Pete is a master of asking great questions and frankly, I believe, it’s one of the main reasons he’s been so successful for our client. He’s asking his managers and their first tier leaders questions like, ‘does our process and supporting technology help or hinder [us from delivering] excellence. He made a clear point to those leaders to demonstrate and to teach what excellence looks like and let everyone know – safety first and deliver excellence in everything you do. “Anything else is a non value add.” Pete’s takeaway: We don’t fear innovation.

Fail Faster and Figure it Out

Part of Pete’s success is paying attention to the owner – his actions, his demeanor. When we first began working with our client years ago, he kept an eye out for talent; people who could prevent errors and deliver expected results. He created an environment that allowed for mistakes, course corrections, root-cause analysis, continuous process improvement. Operators who demonstrated their understanding of process were empowered to move from preventive to predictive. Pete understood this from Day One. “He [the owner] is like a horticulturist. He gives plants [us] room to grow, to develop and to screw up without any fear of recrimination.” Thus, their learning capabilities increased ten-fold. Our client created a learning organization without setting out to do so and Pete facilitated the continuation of that culture.

All Cattle

There’s a lot of ‘all hat, no cattle’ leaders, owners and offspring in the family-founded business world. It’s not the most charismatic, best speaking or most polished pedigree that delivers results with high-value relationships consistently. It’s the person who puts themselves last and helps others achieve a level of success are the best leaders. Humble, transparent, authentic and simply genuine people are the ones who make the best leaders. Pete is that guy – all cattle.

They aren’t always the ones with the best talent, but they know how to bring out the best talent in everyone else. They know how to tend the soil, feed it, water it, keep the bugs and disease away, so one day the blooms will shine in the sun and through the rain. We have regular conversations with some of our buyer contacts interested in what opportunities we’re working on and the event horizon. Buyers will pay a premium when the owner is out of the daily operations and the team is lead by someone who’s ready to take over with some outside guidance. If you knew you could,

would you like to step aside from the daily grind?

would you like to be more strategic?

would you like to coach and mentor your team?

Our client tended to the soil of the plants in the garden. He listened and learned what they needed and what they were best suited for. He helped them develop a plan to go from where they were to where they must go. If he was to sustain success and have the premium exit he wanted, he knew he had to prepare now.