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How do you choose between very different orders? A client received two attractive orders. They are a very different size!  Delivery dates overlapped. One is very large and will occupy the majority of their team. They want this in order to grow; they have completed similar orders before. The other is smaller, more challenging, the founder must […]

Using a 10% increase in key metrics for significant profit. Entrepreneurial business strive to continually increase sales. As a minimum the cost of business inputs increase so in order just to “stand still” revenue must increase. But, did you realize it is possible to work on a 10% increase and convert it to a 72% […]

We often hear the debate over how much of what we become in life is the way we are “made” and yet how much is what we are “made into”.I.e. what is inherent characteristics (wiring) and what is influence and external (experience, social influences, environment). My children are perfect examples.They could not be more different […]

A calm, practical guide for CEOs who need to steady the ship, recover momentum, and build lasting resilience. Every founder is rightly proud of what they’ve built. Growth takes grit, creativity, and long hours. Still, even strong companies hit sudden, painful setbacks: project overruns that drain cash, customer disputes that stall payments, theft or fraud […]

Business advice given to all entrepreneurs and managers is that business growth is essential. Fast is Best. Do NOT follow it. Do NOT grow fast. It is the worst thing for your business. The advice you receive is usually to serve the interests of investors, someone’s ego, or other ill-guided purposes. Told that the growth needs […]

Move from being the default firefighter to a leader who builds systems, teams, and predictable growth. You’ve reached a milestone: repeatable sales and a functioning product. Yet you still find yourself pulled into every decision. That’s common! And fixable! Why stepping back matters When the CEO is the bottleneck, decisions slow, managers don’t develop, and […]

Move from firefighting to calm, predictable operations with a few practical habits. Many leaders wait until problems become urgent before acting. That pattern is costly: expediting fees, lost margin, team burnout, and the desperate scramble for emergency funding. The good news is you can change the pattern with a few simple routines. We believe in […]

Most leaders misunderstand what a business turnaround really is. A well-executed turnaround is not about fixing “bad” decisions. It is about redesigning a business that has outgrown its own structure. Leaders imagine crisis management, cost cutting, or going back to basics. In reality, the most effective turnarounds do so much more. It is not a […]

Every successful business has good times and bad. Cycles. How do you handle the heat?  I like some element of heat. I work in the heat frequently. But the cool down is where the value then pays dividends. I am referring to heat, challenges, frustrations, hard times in your business. Revenue increase but profit decrease? Higher […]

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”Charles Darwin We hear the statistics … the majority of companies fail (or just give up) within three to five years of incorporation. Cash flow takes companies out of business in most cases. In a […]

Are You Waiting for Change? Or Are You Creating It? The past few years have had fascinating weather in different parts of the world. “Uncharacteristic”. Really variable.Significant variation even within small geographic areas. Is this the impact of environmental damage or something else? (A topic for another day.) When experiencing change such as this there […]

If you are running a small or medium sized business, you may have grown to where you are considering adding an extra manager to help you handle all of the work. But do you add a financial manager (potentially a CFO) or an operations manager (potentially a COO)? Do you need help managing your finances […]

A fractional COO, or Chief Operating Officer, is a professional who provides part-time or project-based operational support to small and medium-sized businesses. But what exactly do they do, and how can they help with various aspects of the business? In this post, we will explore the role and benefits of a fractional COO, and when […]

When you need senior finance leadership without the full-time cost but with the measurable outcomes that follow. A fractional CFO brings senior financial leadership on a part-time or project basis. They turn financial data into decisions, reduce risk, and create the clarity that lets a company scale with confidence. What they do (practical outcomes) How […]

Practical clarity for CEOs who want cash to be an engine, not an anchor. Working capital is the engine room of your business: cash, receivables, payables, inventory. But the real question is not the definition. It’s whether that capital is working for your business, or you for it. Too often capital sits idle or is […]

I have seen several companies recently that, after years of operating without a strong financial partner to maximize their success (but that is a topic for another day!), decided to appoint a Chief Financial Officer, or a Fractional CFO, only to be seriously disappointed. These are companies on the smaller size. The one today $25 […]

Have you stepped on a lion’s tail in the African bush? My family was on walking safari in South Africa.  Enjoying the fantastic experience of walking as a group, single file, silently, through an African early morning. Innumerable dangers around but an experience that is hard to match.  Peaceful, cool, magnificent. Suddenly the lead game […]

Defining Growth The common definition of growth is “to increase in physical size” i.e. get bigger, heavier, stronger. Of course it can also mean increasing, developing or maturing an intangible.  Like knowledge. Children are excited to measure how fast they grow.  It certainly has advantages, like qualifying for “big and scary rides” in the theme […]

When does the most profound PERSONAL GROWTH happen?  In business and personally? Reading a book? Learning from someone else’s errors? While meditating? During formal education?It happens through personal experience and especially when challenged. In the throes of frustration.  When overwhelmed.  Afraid.  Confused.   Angry or embarrassed. It happens when you are doing the same thing and […]

Think you can? Know you Can! “I—think—I—can, I—think—I—can.” Like the Little Engine said. Often pulling your business for ongoing growth and success is hard. But You-Can-Do-It! You will do it … If you want to. When the going gets tough only the best get going because they do it right, they find a way, or […]

A recommendation? This week I happened on a recommendation someone had posted.So?! You are probably saying.  What is so impressive about that?  Many people post recommendations and thank others for assistance they had provided. Many recommend a service provider that has delivered a great experience. Not unusual.What struck me here was not the fact it […]

We last week went into a new version of pandemic lock down. The increase in hospitalization attributable to the Delta variant was projected to overwhelm health capacity.  This has people again asking what the true meaning of risk is and how does one prioritize. Risk can be defined broadly as:A condition in which there is […]

Wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’Plannin’ and dreamin’ each night    …. Nothing in life is certain and nothing is known before it happens.  Unfortunately perhaps! We can plan, or expect, a specific situation but the reality usually is different, even if only slightly.  After all that is exactly what keeps life interesting.  It keeps […]

In the world of entrepreneurship, you’ll hear about the hustle and the hard work, the thrill of success and devastation of failure, and of course the guaranteed millions the ultimate Big Idea will deliver, and how fast it will be! You encounter a lot of people sharing their Big Idea with anyone who will listen. […]

Enviable Business Success … and Then What The road to success is filled with challenges for all companies.  But it does start feeling like less of a struggle and hustle: there is more flow, the sales pipeline starts filling and producing a consistent increase in revenue, the marketing is delivering brand awareness and visits, the […]

Turn data and daily work into predictable profit, cashflow, and momentum. Your business is doing well AND it can do better. Success looks different for every company, but most leaders share the same questions: How do we increase profit? Free up cash? Remove obstacles to growth? Make operations smoother? Delight customers more consistently? The answer […]

A calm, practical roadmap for CEOs who want growth that’s profitable, predictable, and less chaotic. Growing a company is energizing, but it is also demanding. Early momentum often comes from passion, innovation, the founder’s “Manual Heroics”, but there comes a point where complexity outpaces the structure that support it. This is when even healthy companies […]

On an interview recently we identified three important characteristics that indicate longer-term success of a business or investment (the “FIT” qualities): Finance – structured, efficient cash, and financial management.Idea – the product or service idea is desired and valued by potential customers and is, or has the potential to be, widely distributed or have high demand.Team […]