The People Factor: A Discussion on Leadership Development and Succession Planning

Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 7:30am – 9:30am

Register Today!

Companies succeed because of people and people succeed because of the environment and culture we set as CEOs.  Finding the right hire for your business or your executive team is more difficult than often anticipated.  In our workshop evaluations you have marked this topic as very important.  We are excited to bring you another panel of experts around this theme. We will focus on two aspects:

1. Leadership Development
2. Succession Planning

The exceptional line up of  experts will share how to create a passionate and competitive environment for employees to excel and grow.

Moderator:

Bonni DiMatteo, President of Atlantic Consultants

Panelists:

William Bachman, COO of  Bingham

Lyn Kaplan, Business Performance Advisor at Insperity

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach at Medical Development Partners

Larry Stybel, President of Stybel & Peabody Associates, Inc

Bring your own questions and learn from the experts:

• How to hire for success?
• How to train and support a valued employee from field to management?
• What are key components to building a highly effective executive team?
• What assessment tools do I need to evaluate and define talent?
• What are best practices in implementing a successful succession plan?
• How do you create and live an ideal culture for your organization?

Host:

Insperity, Inc

Sponsor:

Next Stage Solutions,Inc

Sign up and add this to your calendar today!  This event is complimentary yet registration is required.

We wanted to capture the essence and caliber of the discussions on video so that we can share them with more CEOs and other thought leaders.

We take pride in our selection of panelists and moderators who are leaders in their respective fields. Our thanks again to the workshop panelists:

• Skip Kelly of Silicon Valley Bank
• Katherine Brand of Monroe Credit Advisors
• Joan McArdle of Massachusetts Capital Resources Company
• Patricia Conry of Middlesex Savings Bank

If you are in the process of looking for debt or equity financing, NSS can help you prepare the story and the numbers so that lenders will listen.

Call us at 617-449-7728 today to set up a time to meet.

“How to Gain Access to Capital Markets”

Thursday, Nov 17, 2011 from 7:30am to 9:30am

Register Today!

According to our recent Annual CEO Survey, the biggest challenge for CEOs is getting access to capital markets and how to maintain liquidity in a volatile economy.

In response to this urgent challenge, the upcoming workshop will explore two areas:

1. How to organically manage your cash flow
2. Hear first hand from Key Lenders how to access capital

The exceptional line up of Key Lenders will share how to optimally pursue debt and/or equity financing in a fragile economy.

• Skip Kelly, Silicon Valley Bank
• Katherine Brand, Monroe Credit Advisors
• Patricia Conry, Middlesex Savings Bank
• Joan McArdle, Mass Capital Resource Company

Learn from these Key Lenders:

• Who is lending?
• What industries and why?
• How can you make your company more attractive to lenders?
• What NOT to do and why?

Join us for this important panel to discuss the current credit market climate for early stage, growth and middle market companies.

Many CEOs are so busy right now working in the business, that they lose sight of the longer term goals. Our panel of experts proposes ways to take a longer view and maximize the impact value drivers can have in achieving success.

The uncertain economy demands disruptive innovation, yet that implies risk that is harder to achieve. Agility is more important than ever. The 6 Value Drivers below show you how to incorporate hidden values into your strategy and how to achieve value short-term and for the future health of your company.

Carol Kunik, Vistage | Value Driver 1:

Culture and Communications are often overlooked and viewed as a soft skill.  In your work with CEOs, where do you see the pitfalls and breakdowns in communications of the mission, goals and objectives and why is it so important?

The CEO/leader is the creator of the culture. He creates dedication to a “noble cause” by winning the team’s commitment to the cause, communicating that “we are in this together” and developing a compelling saga in language that inspires passion for strategic results. This becomes the Mission of the company. High passion companies out maneuver the demoralized competition. The leader also stands for what is not tolerated on his/her watch in terms of ethics, relationships and work.

In the book “Better Under Pressure” by Justin Menkens the research indicates that great leaders strive relentlessly to maximize their own potential – as well as stoke people’s innate thirst for their own triumphs. He says they all exhibit three essential attributes (that are rare, but can be learned) realistic optimism, subservience to purpose and finding order in chaos. It is up to us to create the environment we want to work in.

Steve Wishner added that leaders must have ‘town meetings’ and execute against goals.  Everybody needs to focus on mission and goals.

We spent some time going around the room to share our Mission Statements and how to think about crafting one:

• What drives you?
• How are you uniquely successful?
• Why does it matter?
• Re-communicate to highlight mission and goals

Dan Adams, NENS | Value Driver 2:

Technology is ubiquitous these days yet widely under leveraged.   What are some of the key aspects to consider ensuring our investments in technology will create value for our businesses?

Technology is a value driver if it is truly understood.  Most companies are winging it when it comes to a solid IT strategy.  There are two key areas we see companies lose control, efficiency and money.  The first is creating a real IT strategy and the second to understand the resources required for efficient technology usage.

IT strategy needs to include your business objective and goals, an accountability chart, a budget including human capital, timeline, operational support, cultural integration and metrics to measure outcomes.   This plan is a map to follow, to hold IT accountable for the targets you desire to hit.

Different skill sets are required to accomplish the tasks all businesses have.  Think of it as a transmission on a car.  You have different gears to enable different driving requirements.  In IT there are 5 basic levels which are help desk, network administration, specialized engineering, operational practices, and CIO skills.

Technology is a value driver if it is truly understood.  Most companies are winging it when it comes to a solid IT strategy.  You want to have a clear strategy and also a multiple gear box which refers more to the different levels of IT expertise you want to consider and don’t forget the roadmap.

Ron Adams, Capstone Partners | Value Driver 3:

A strong Brand with product and services visibility is an important value driver for a business.  How can a business enhance their valuation through brand recognition?

Brand recognition is an important value driver. Make your brand visible, recognizable and tie it to your mission statement. Brand awareness is a key intangible that is reflected in your workforce, customer relationship and distribution of products.

How does one quantify a brand, a CEO asked?  You can analyze the average lifetime of a customer, customer retention from the history of your client list. You then want to figure out what it costs to acquire one client.  Looking at loyalties of other brands will give you ideas, based on your sales, 3-4%should be spent on branding.

If you find your brand diminishing, identify the problem, develop an action plan and ask yourself if you are still accountable for your value you bring to your customers.

Beth Arnold, Foley Hoag | Value Driver 4:

Intellectual property in form of patents and trademarks are essential in managing competitive risk. How should a business look at its IP Portfolio today and have you seen companies benefit from repurposing IP?

Companies should do all that they can to strengthen the value of their IP- always.  Patenting, in particular, can be very expensive.  So you have to ask, do you really need a patent?  Patents are critical for technologies that require long and costly development and/or that require regulatory approval.  Example include drugs, medical devices and medical diagnostics.  Patents may not be important for technologies that will continue to be improved and can be maintained as a trade secret- software, for example.

If you are planning to obtain financing from an angel or VC investors, it is important to understand what they think of patenting for your particular product/technology.

In the current economy, it has become increasingly important to be strategic about patenting in order to minimize costs.   You may apply for patents in fewer countries, you may avail yourselves of international and regional filing systems.  You may file provisional patent applications.  However, it is critically important to spend the time and money upfront to fully develop the invention, make sure it is adequately described in the patent application and that the  broadest claims available are supported and pursued.

Trademarks, names of your product, logos, tag lines, slogans are important intellectual property.  Trademarks may be federally registered and it is not as complex to do that as it is to get a patent.  Also state law provides certain trademark protections based solely on use.

As for repurposing IP, that is a tricky thing, since a patent is only as important as what it is protecting.  For telecommunications and other technologies, what a patent actually covers may not always be clear.  This is why some companies with money buy up all relevant patents.  If someone sues them for patent infringement they hopefully have at least one patent that they can assert back.

Ben Weller, Next Stage Solutions | Value Driver 5:

We know that processes and methodologies are important to bring efficiencies and higher productivity for the business. How much impact do such value drivers have in a business and can you give us an example?

An often overlooked value driver is the process flow analysis.  Find your bottlenecks or silos and figure out how to resolve them. Make people in your firm accountable for what they do. The value creation comes from the top down by setting business cultures where all employees are encouraged to problem solve at the grassroots level. Allowing everyone to contribute will enhance your bottom line.

Rolling Forecasts is another tool that helps businesses stay agile and forward looking at the same time.  When a business develops a budget, typically once a year, there is a tendency to work towards that budget, a static document at best. This process is not innovation enhancing, whereas with a Rolling Forecast, the CEO   each quarter looks one quarter back and two ahead and makes changes and adjustments accordingly.

If for some reason projected quotas are not met, the rolling forecast model forces you to identify the reasons and either fix the problems or recalculate the projections.  We love this model because it helps businesses stay nimble and encourages them to embrace ongoing changes in the business.

Steve Wishner, Corporate Advisor and Managing Director, Exigent, LLC | Value Driver 6:

Focusing on the right value drivers can prove critical in an environment such as this. Steve, could you address some of the value drivers that you believe are most important for CEO’s to focus on in this economy?

In a slow recovery it is especially important to maintain positive cash flow? How do you accomplish this? Firstly, size the business to realistic revenue expectations.  If revenue is declining and you generate revenue below the capacity of the workforce you have hired, looking at layoffs may be inevitable.  Think hard, act decisively, do it ONCE and get it over with quickly. Importantly, communicate right away with the survivors and assure them  that the trauma is over and that they are the critical workforce  that the Company will now be depending on as it moves forward.

Another aspect of keeping cash flow positive is to understand and analyze your variable and fixed costs. Move as many costs as possible from fixed to variable. Evaluate what is your core competency and outsource most non-competencies.

What does your web presence look like?  Can you use it better and provide services online?

What does your collection rate look like and can you discuss with your customers how to  speed up payments?  How about on the accounts payable side?  Be careful, but have a conversation with your vendors as well.  Vendors and suppliers do understand the current economic situation and you can get almost always some better terms with the proper dialogue.

Analyze your inventory and make sure what you have is not obsolete and overstated in your books. Can you eliminate or lower inventory levels on lower turning sku’s?

Lastly, increase customer service, give your customers extra attention and demonstrate how you can be of increased value to them in multiple ways.

The session ended with additional Q&A from the enthusiastic CEOs in the room and hand outs appropriate to the topic.

Please join us for our next CEO Workshop, Thursday, Nov 17 at the Foley Hoag Emerging Enterprise Center on the topic of “How to Gain Access to Capital Markets“.

The article reaches out to a group of experts, including Rudi Scheiber-Kurtz, CEO of Next Stage Solutions. NSS works closely with Investment Bankers and M&A Advisors representing the business as CFO or Internal Financial Advisor during this transaction.

The article includes many excellent tips.  To read the full article, click on the link MirusCapitalViewpointSept2011

How to Build and Retain Value for Your Company in a Slow Recovery!

Wednesday, Sept 28 2011 | 7:30am-9:30am

Host Place: NENS, New England Networking Solutions, 1 Presidential Way, Suite 104 B, Woburn, MA 01801

Click here to register!

Moderator: Carol Kunik, Vistage Expert

Speakers:

• Dan Adams, NENS
• Ron Adams, Capstone Partners, LLC
• Beth Arnold, Foley Hoag, LLP
• Ben Weller, Next Stage Solutions, Inc.
• Steve Wishner, Corporate Director and Managing Director of Exigent

Host: NENS, New England Networking Solutions,  1 Presidential Way, Suite 104B, Woburn, MA 01801

Sponsor: Next Stage Solutions, Inc.

Value Creation Topics:

• The Role your Company Culture plays
• Identify Your Value Drivers
• Balance Variable and Fixed Costs
• Leverage Technology for Scalability
• Continuous Improvement Methodologies
• Leverage IP for new Revenue streams
• Assess Competitive Risk

Join our Panel of Experts in an interactive discussion how to build and retain value creation in uncertain times.  What is value creation and why should you care?  Value creation is achieved by positively affecting the valuation of your business and is an ongoing process.

Many CEOs are so busy right now working in the business, that they lose sight of the longer term goals. The workshop intends to lead you back to a longer term view focusing on value creation inside and outside your business. Our panel of experts will propose ways to maximize the impact value drivers can have in realizing success.

The uncertain economy demands disruptive innovation, yet that implies risk that is harder to achieve. Agility is more important than ever, you want to be a speedboat rather than an ocean liner.  We will discuss how to incorporate hidden values into your strategy and how to attain value short-term and for the future health of your company. Value creation starts at inception and gets more complex with maturity.

Who should attend?

Exclusively for CEOs, Presidents, Founders, Board Members and Investors.

By Rudi Scheiber-Kurtz, CEO of Next Stage Solutions. Inc.

Growing a company takes all the energy of a CEO and Exit Planning is mostly on the periphery.  Developing a long-term approach is essential in achieving a successful exit.  This will be the biggest game you will ever play and you want the end result to reflect that.  With this survey summary we want to showcase the necessary steps for you to consider.  Mitigate risk up front and consider early on an advisory team.

The EXPERT survey takers included prominent Investment Bankers, M&A Advisors, Attorneys, CPAs and Financial Advisors|CFO, Valuation and Management Consultants from the greater Boston area.

The summary and Benchmark Report represents the overall sentiment from the EXPERTS. Click to get the report: M&A Guidelines 2011

We want your participation in our Annual NSS CEO Survey. The survey is anonymous, so your privacy is completely protected. The information collected from this survey will be aggregated and only the collective data will be shared.

We are conducting this survey to better understand how you view the current and future state of your organization and what is of importance to your company in moving forward.

We have experienced one of the worst economic cycles in the nation’s history.  From today’s afflictions to tomorrow’s aspirations, the annual NSS CEO survey presents a number of options that will contribute to overcoming challenges. Rank what priorities you think are most important and then find out what your peers are thinking.

How will you prioritize the next steps for your organization?

Within the framework of present state, future state, challenges and resources, please review and rank the following questions. It is a forced rating, meaning that we ask you to choose from most to least.

To take our survey, please go to:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NLHHBP2

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Next Stage Solutions, Inc. 2011- Proprietary & Confidential

Contact Ben Weller, BD & CFO of NSS at weller@nextstagesolutions.com or call at 617-449-7728 ext. 710 for a consultation.

1. Let It Roll: Why more companies are abandoning budgets in favor of rolling forecasts by Russ Bangham of CFO Magazine, May 2011
2. Use a Rolling Forecast to Spot Trends by Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, March 13, 2006

Budgets and Forecasts represent two parts of a business management continuous improvement process. A successful enterprise must first have a clear understanding of its strategic plan. In fact Budgets and Forecasts are the financial GPS tools that carry strategy through to implementation.

How do you communicate and manage the goals for your team?

The workshop posed the following questions to our CEO participants;

• Do you see a budget as a Strategic or a Tactical tool?
• How can your budget reflect your strategy?
• Do you see your budget as more of a tactical tool, i.e. the performance yardstick for annual goals and compensation plans?
• Is the budget made up of strictly financial metrics?
• Where do you capture operational goals and performance measurement metrics?
• Is your budget implementation process a reflection of your company’s culture or is it a process within itself?
• Do you recognize your business and industry drivers within your budget?
• Does your budget have an expiration date, or do you keep it alive through continuous improvement forecasting?

Ben Weller, BD & CFO for Next Stage Solutions compiled the following check list as a hand out:

The measure of how you execute strategy is captured in the topic of Budget. But different areas of your business require different measurement criteria.

Budgets can refer to:

• Marketing Strategies
• Sales Plans
• Operational performance
• Human Resource development
• Capital Investment
• Financing Strategy
• Ownership Return

And can take on many measurement dimensions

• Fiscal
• Continuous Improvement goals
• Key Performance indicators
• Strategic Planning Milestones
• Benchmarked Metrics
• Customer Satisfaction

Budget Implementations can take on the personality of the organization

• Size of Company and distribution of authority
• Top Down versus bottom up management style
• Fiscal Micro management vs  Strategical Macro management
• Cash Flow is Primary Focus
• Performance vs External Expectations is a Priority

And all methods and uses need to focus on Business Drivers

• Variable Sales and Cost (Marginal Profitability)
• Fixed Costs
• Project Costs (New Product Introduction)
• Occupancy Costs
• Variable Energy Costs
• Headcount
• Average Selling Prices (Competitive Positioning)
• Efficiency (Labor and Machine Operations)
• Productivity

What Profiles of budget design fit with various industries

• Software
• Life Science
• Medical Device
• Manufacturing
• Food Production
• Professional Services

What are the various focuses of forecasting and where do they apply

• Traditional Rolling 12 Month forecast
• Sales Driven Top down vs trend based
• Cash Flow vs P&L
• Analysis vs Plan
• Current State vs Future State (This involves lean accounting and is a whole other topic)

If you are interested in this topic and would like to explore rolling forecasts further for your business, NSS provided a customized one-day workshop.

Contact Ben Weller, BD & CFO of NSS at weller@nextstagesolutions.com or call at 617-449-7728 ext. 710

If you are a service provider receiving this, please share it with your clients, a value add for you, thank you.

GPS for Budgets & Forecasts: What are your Value Drivers?

Date: Wednesday, 11 May, 2011 | 7:30am – 9:30am

Place: Bridge Bank | 1050 Winter Street | Suite 1000 |

Waltham, MA | light breakfast

The measure of how you execute strategy is captured in the topic of Budget. But different areas of your business require different measurement criteria, all of which fall under the subject of Budget.  In this workshop we will discuss and answer questions around value drivers and how to communicate and manage your goals within your business. We will also talk about the importance of aligning strategy to Budget.

Mail in or bring your questions to this interactive discussion with our very own NSS team:

Moderator:

Rudi Scheiber-Kurtz, CEO, Next Stage Solutions, Inc (NSS)

Panelists:

John Connolly, CFO, NSS
Steve Dance, CFO, NSS
Laurie Taylor, Controller, NSS
Ben Weller, CFO, NSS

Host:

Dick Sweeney, Partner, Bridge Bank

Discussion Topics:

• How can your budget enable you to execute your strategy?
• How does your organizational culture drive the way you design a budget?
• What are your business drivers and what methods and uses should you focus on?
• How do you integrate functional planning into your budget implementation process?
• What are the metrics dimensions of a budget?
• What budget profiles fit your industry?
• How can forecasting be a reality measure on your business strategy?

Who should attend?

CEOs and presidents of companies with $3MM+/- of revenue who are considering next steps for their company.

If you do not match the above criteria, please forward this email to clients and colleagues who are. They will appreciate it. Thanks.

About the NSS CEO Workshops Series:

Next Stage Solutions, Inc (NSS) is a financial consulting firm providing CFO and Controller support to growing businesses on an interim or ongoing basis. Through its extensive network, NSS began offering the workshops in 2010 exclusively to CEOs and presidents of growing companies.  These workshops are interactive in nature and encourage company leaders to explore new ways of tackling the complexities a 21st century business, to learn from each other and gain new and more effective tools in leading their business to the next stage.

Register today at info@nextstagesolutions.com or 617-449-7728