XPX-DC Metro event – October 20 – Potomac, MD
Thursday morning, October 20, Potomac, MD XPX – D.C. Metro will present Jack Moore, a fourth-generation family member and former board director of Benjamin Moore & Co., a publicly-owned manufacturer of industrial maintenance coatings. Mr. Moore will tell the story of how this fourth generation, family owned business founded in 1883 streamlined its operations and doubled its [...]
Every Family’s Business by Tom Deans
a process…that keeps the family members in the business focused on the goal of selling the business at some point–selling the business at the highest price to the highest bidder, giving preference to cash and without prejudice to whether the buyer is family or an unrelated third party. The stock of the business must always be understood to be for sale. Sale of the stock takes primacy over any consideration of family employment. And family employment will not alter or distort the value assigned to the stock.
Book Review – The New Capitalist Manifesto
I’m a big fan of Umair Haque’s blog (and have always gotten a kick out of the fact that the blog is on the Harvard Business Review site—they aren’t usually this radical…) Anyway, I had been dying to read his new book The New Capitalist Manifesto. There were some great ideas here…Like his explanation of [...]
A Seat at the Table/For CEO’s and CSO’s by Jackie Bassett and Daniel Rothman
While protecting customer data must be of highest importance, the opportunities around strategic application of that same customer data to enhance the business was the most interesting angle for me in the book.
Reading List – Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
Pink makes the case that in modern America, personal fulfillment — Motivation 3.0 — can be a stronger motivation than material reward. This explains why financial rewards for behavior may backfire (extrinsic motivation). The opportunity for freedom/autonomy (Google’s corporate policy of allowing 20% of employee time to work on whatever they want), greater mastery of the skills required for the job and purpose, and gaining a real understanding of why we’re doing what we’re doing may provide real motivation, what Pink calls intrinsic motivation. Lots to think about here for businesses and non-profits.
Reading List – Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steve Johnson
reading list Johnson has written other well-received books and this one has created quite a buzz. It’s a little dry, even with the many stories, but there’s no question it contains lots of interesting takes on innovation, inventions, and process. For example, Johnson detected patterns of innovation and analyzed their origins: How most innovative ideas [...]
Will Intangibles Ever Go on the Balance Sheet?
This week, we’ve been talking about collecting data on intangibles investment. This discussion seems to beg the question of how it will be used. In contemporary accounting, the investment by an organization in tangible assets is “capitalized” on the balance sheet and depreciated over time. This serves as a way of keeping non-operating expenses (that [...]
Superfusion – How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World’s Economy Depends on it
Karabell traces the origins of this economic dependency between China and the U.S. with stories and examples. His original point of view regarding this interdependence does not offer solutions to the U.S. problem, but does provide an entertaining version of how we got here.
family business and a joke
An owner walks up to his son and says, “Son, I’ve been thinking, I’d like to give you half of this company. I’d like you to learn the business starting on the plant floor with production.” Son says,” Dad, that’s not really interesting to me.” Father says, “OK, son, work in the office with me and learn finance, sales and marketing.” Son replies, “That doesn’t sound very appealing.” The father, frustrated, then said, “Well, what do you suggest, son?” The son replies, “Why don’t you just buy out my half?”
Valuation for M&A – Building Value in Private Companies by Chris M. Mellen and Frank C. Evans
While this may not be the type of book you would sit down to read for pleasure, I can certainly recommend that participants in the value creation and M&A space familiarize themselves with the concepts and practice within. This is a business course in itself. Very dense and rich in content.
