Today I'm going to be talking about a recent episode that we have that we recorded with Darryl Bates-Brownsword.
Darryl's an expert consultant and runs an expert consultancy firm in terms of helping business owners exit their business.
Business exit may not mean actually selling.
It does in the majority of situations, but sometimes exit can actually mean
SUCCESSION PLANNING
in terms of you passing it on to the next generation or management or whoever it may be.
And I want to try and reflect on a few areas within the conversation with Darryl in terms of...
Darryl firstly said that actually having some kind of structure in the business, whether that's something like Michael Gerber's, the E-Myth sort of side of things, there's the Scaling Up and there's also EOS from Traction.
Darryl felt that that that's essential in terms of having some kind of structure organization defined culture roles and everything within your business.
Then if you want to avoid an earn-out and ideally if you want to have a business that has a larger multiple in terms of how you can exit.
So, I thought that was quite interesting in terms of that we certainly have very similar thoughts.
We operate on EOS ourselves. We've certainly seen some major improvements in terms of our business.
Through operating in that way (EOS), we've understood the importance of culture.
We've understood the importance of having the right people in the right roles and having accountability through having somebody in charge of a particular area or a particular role.
And also, then having scorecards so you can measure whether that role is working or not working for that department and then spotting areas for improvement.
I think all of that probably documents that actually the business maybe is less reliant upon on you as a business owner.
Actually, if you've got somewhere documented that you are making those progress and that you are making those improvements and everything as well.
The other area that was key was through some degree of plan or strategy or a business plan or an exit plan, whichever way.
And actually, when it comes to exit planning, it's no different to business planning and probably no different to life planning.
BUT THAT PLAN IS DOCUMENTED IN THE HEAD.
And emphasize is actually the need to put time aside in order to consider where you're heading to and not just be able to by default go, or it's in three years' time because it feels far enough away that all three years,
I don't have to do anything.
It's very interesting that actually one of the first things that they do in terms of exit planning is making sure the exit plan is well thought out and it's documented.
One of the first things that we also do in terms of a business owner getting control of their business through the growth stages is having a business plan that's well thought out and well documented.
So, there were some good synergies there. I thought maybe we would delve probably a little bit deeper into that and just go,
WELL, WHAT REALLY IS A GOOD PLAN?
And I think a good plan is one that actually has its outcome focused.
It's one that's focused towards where you would like to be.
What would you consider a suitable improvement for X amount of time down the line?
That means that you are getting the outcomes that you desire and that you wish.
That could be an exit.
It could be a certain level of earnings.
It could be a certain level of hours worked.
It could be a certain impact that you are having within an industry or on the community there.
There's multiple and it can be multiple of these as well at the same time, but having that and then documenting it and then working backwards and going, where are we today versus where we would like to go.
Now what you've got is a little bit of a map, I suppose.
You know where you are and you know where you'd like to be, and now you've just got to join the dots.
Sounds simple, but actually now you're going to need to consider what are there all the obstacles that you need to get over in order to get to that position?
Because ultimately, if there weren't obstacles, you'd be in that position today.
Those obstacles are probably very specific to you.
There's a need for some kind of process where realistically you can probably do this on your own, but you need somebody, in my opinion, to question you and to challenge you, somebody who's emotionally disconnected from the situation, whether actually what they can do is go:
Okay, you said you want to achieve this and this is step or obstacle one, that you are going to take some action to overcome.
Why is that the right answer?
Okay. And what's If it was something different?
Okay, but what if it wasn't that either?
What if it was this?
What if it was that?
Have you considered anything else?
What else?
And going through this process over and over again, and actually just having that ability to hold two opposing thoughts in your head any of those times.
Cuz actually you can go,
“Do you know what, I can see how this could be true and I can also see how this could not be true. How do I now on the balance of probabilities and my workings and my beliefs decide which way is the way that we should be going?"
I think this is a common thing that pops up within strategic planning of any description is actually, ultimately, you're trying to work towards some degree of process.
There probably isn't a defined right answer either way that can work, but you have to HAVE ONE THAT WORKS SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU.
So, when you're mapping out and looking at these stepping stones, is that ability just to stand back and just go look ignoring sort of EMOTION.
Here, I've got this area that's not working.
These are the possible solutions.
If I do this one, what's the knock-on effects?
Does that affect anything else?
Does it have any problems that it creates?
And if so, what?
Where do they spur off to?
And does it have any opportunities and things and positives that it creates?
And where they spur off to?
And where that lead?
Thinking time and the challenge here is I think the majority of business owners aren't planning and putting that time aside.
We're drawn into working in our business, whether that's in a particular role that we have, maybe it's delivery or sales or whatever, or it's firefighting.
Where's that time that we are really taking to work on the business, have that thinking time to make sure the strategy is well built out and thought out, and that then it's also being implemented after that, and what's getting in the way of it being implemented.
I think there's probably nothing more powerful than that thought process that you can go through.
We certainly know when we hold strategic planning sessions with clients that often they're just major breakthroughs that you've got people who are maybe working in a particular direction that's completely the opposite direction of what they really, really want.
I think it was interesting that that's also similar toward the exit.
I think there's some great thinking process that needs to come off the back of that.
And I encourage you to go and put some time aside and think about you trying to exit.
Do you have an exit plan and is it documented?
Is it well thought out?
Do you have a business or strategic plan gain and is that documented?
Has it been well thought out?
Have you tested?
