This week, I’ve explained the Smarter Companies Process (SCP) and how it provides a clear methodology for Modelling, Measuring, Managing and producing results that Matter for your clients. In an earlier post, I made the case that you’re selling two kinds of outcomes from the SCP: building a better organization and telling a better story. My message was that your clients are buying results. In this post, I want to go deeper into the question of the results.

Focus on results is actually hard-wired into the SCP. The initial Matter discussion with your client is about goals and expectations. We use six big-picture strategic value creation goals to frame that discussion:

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These are pictures of cards from a game that we teach you to use. The value creation goals are the right place to begin the conversation as you are selling and designing an engagement. But they are also valuable touchstones to make sure that results from your engagement are visible—and that their impact on traditional financial metrics is clear.

Here’s how this worked with one of the companies featured in the course. The starting goal was to create a roadmap for Growth and Valuation to put the owner on a path to a successful exit. We modeled the value creation ecosystem and measured it using financial, quantitative (KPI’s) and qualitative metrics. These baseline measures identified specific opportunities and risks that were addressed through a number of initiatives:

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This graphic summarizes the intangible and tangible results and literally connects the dots between the initiatives undertaken and the results achieved. The client got growth in the short-term as well as other, deeper fixes that would increase future realizable value....

In this case, the company grew by 27% over the 18 months following the initial assessment, won a new bank line (after having been previously turned down) and improved its performance on several fronts. Since there was a clear trail of the modelling, measurement and management initiatives undertaken, managers and the staff understood the link between the intangibles and the financial results. That was good for the company. And, frankly, it was good for my firm because we were the guides to the process. The baseline assessment was unlike any information set this management team had ever seen. But it was intuitive and customized to their company. And there were clear findings that made it relatively easy to set management priorities and design a series of initiatives.

So my firm was a natural to help with the implementation of many of these initiatives. We had helped show the way. We knew the company in a way that no one else did. The company wanted to keep us around. We did a total of eight follow-on engagements before I stepped away to found Smarter-Companies.

The reason I started Smarter Companies is because I want to help you and your clients achieve results like this. I believe that there is so much potential for innovation and prosperity that is wasted because companies don't know how to optimize their intangible capital. With the SCP,  we have the potential of changing the world by unleashing the power of our collective knowledge.

I view this as both a powerful purpose and a profitable business opportunity for your consulting firm. Business is changing quickly and your clients need guides to adapt and thrive. With this course we hope to empower you as just such a guide for your clients to a more profitable and more prosperous future.

We’ll be opening the course in just a few days. Keep an eye out in your inbox for the chance to be part of our first on-line class. You’ll be able to complete the course on your own but you’ll also be able to interact with me and with other participants from around the world. In the meantime, please share any questions or comments below. And stay tuned…..!


Thanks, Mary Adams

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Comments

  • That is amazing and really clear! It sets up the linkage between financial results and business outcomes very nicely. These types of short discussions do a great job to help people understand the importance of the intangibles. Super!

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