accountant, 15
acquisition, 43, 63, 70, 109, 127
as step-change, 109
cancelling of, reasons for, 115–116
geographical considerations, 112–113
ignoring a deal, 115
post-acquisition review, 121–122
precautions during, 110
and pricing, 109
risks and liabilities, 119–121
asset, 9, 10, 33, 36, 43, 67, 73–74, 83
business, 1, 4, 13, 15, 17, 19, 27, 39, 41, 50, 52, 67, 73, 75, 88, 94, 106, 115, 127. See also controls; delegation; employee; people
asset, 9, 10, 33, 36, 43, 67, 73–74, 83
company meeting, 53
employee performance, 50
growth and social media, 60–62
illogical and non-linear, nature of, 7
industry, 8
inventory, 33, 34, 67, 117–118, 126
Opposing Forces, levels of, 45–46
overtrading, 31
Plateau Business, 1, 2, 47, 77, 93
and price, 31
risk, 14
shareholder, 19
value, 9, 18, 41, 73, 109, 122
Change, 5, 10, 16, 24, 39, 44, 55, 75
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), 16, 17, 19, 51, 106
Chief Operating Officer (COO), 19
controls, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 127
and chaos, 83
and rules, 85
corporation, 29
cost(s), 22, 24, 29, 33, 42, 63, 65, 70, 114
80/20 rule, 28
reference agency, 28
customer service, 16
customer(s), 16, 22, 24, 25, 27, 32, 36, 70, 75, 79, 80, 94, 110, 126
as salesmen, 79
loyalty, 64
non paying, 33
and price, 39
deep discounts, 65
delegation, 49, 83, 84, 87, 88, 89, 101, 127
and accountability, 86–87, 88, 101, 127
rule of seven, 49
disruptive innovation, 26, 56–58
diversity, 4
Drucker, Peter, 77
employee, 14, 86, 91, 98, 99, 102
accountability, 86–87, 88, 101, 127
and customer satisfaction, 94–95
self-measurement for, 101
employment, 14
entrepreneur(s), 7, 69, 75, 109
finance, 67
government loan finance, 67
growth, 9, 11, 17, 44, 63, 83, 93, 126, 127. See also acquisition
and Plateau Business, 77
Harvard Business Review, 91
Health & Safety, 4
Honnold, Alex, 98
Hsieh, Tony, 94
income, 4
incremental, issues with, 24–25
inventory, 33, 34, 67, 117–118, 126
Invisible Opposing Forces
calmness, 98
and fear, 98
sense of fairness, 99
invoice
discounting, 32
factoring, 32
Jobs, Steve, 13
just in case (JIC), 13, 14, 34, 36, 50, 71, 111
law of comparative and absolute advantage, 72
lifestyle, 1
low value-added work, 18
rule of seven, 49
margin, 29, 30, 33, 40, 86, 111
marketing, 17, 29, 46, 60, 65, 116, 121
money, 31, 39, 42, 56, 63, 71, 81, 114
government loan finance and alternate funding, 67
inventory and stock turn, 32–34
inventory supplier and restocking charge, 34–36
invoice discounting (confidential), 32
invoice factoring, 32
non-recourse terms, 32
overstock, 34
overtrading, 31
price, 31
80/20 rule, 34
spare capacity, 33
Opposing Forces,
definition, 45
identification of, 45
levels of difficulty of, 46–48
organization, 15, 17, 40, 85, 91
overstock, 34
overtrading, 31
people, 11, 13, 18, 36, 69, 78, 86, 110, 127
company meeting, 53
employee value, 14
entrepreneur/entrepreneurial, 7, 69, 75, 109
performance and tolerance, 50
personal accountability, 50–51
Plateau Business, 1, 2, 47, 77, 93
Plateau Busters
hiring for new customers, 78–80
international customers, 80–81
reasons for illusive growth, 77
price(ing)
bargain price, 109
cash with order price, 81
customer acquisition strategies, 63
deep discounts, 65
dual sourcing, 39
fancy price, 109
and marketshare, 39
review, 40
trade price, 81
processes, business, 69–70, 94
decision to ignore, 70–71, 110, 115
product, 21, 25, 32, 39, 79, 126. See also business; money; price(ing)
disruptive innovation, 26, 56–58
first-mover advantage, 24
incremental innovation and issues, 24–25
innovation, 23
original vs. innovative, 21
restocking charge, 35
salesmen 79
rainmaking team, 15
resource neutral, 5
resources, 5, 9, 11, 31, 44, 77
restocking charge, 35
return on investment (ROI), 46
Ruba Goldberg output, 3
sale(s), 16, 17, 22, 27, 30, 33, 34, 40, 41, 42, 61, 74, 78, 79, 85, 110, 116–117
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), 61
service-level agreement (SLA), 34
SMART goals, 91
Smith, Adam, 72
spare capacity, 33
stagnation. See Plateau Business
step-change, 16, 24, 25, 26, 78, 109
stock. See inventory
Stop, 4, 17, 24, 30, 43, 44, 45, 77
supply chain, 111
value, 9, 18, 41, 73, 109, 122
Walton, Sam, 102
work/life balance, 20