Acquisitive Growth – Workshop 1 (Business Assessment)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Acquisitive Growth is provided by Mr. Chicles Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 24 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
If you would like to view the Client Information Hub (CIH) for this program, please Click Here
Learning Provider Profile
Mr Chicles is an approved Certified Learning Provider (CLP) at Appleton Greene who is a business leader and strategist with broad experience in the global multi-industrial, aerospace and defense sectors. He is a seasoned operational leader of global industrial businesses, leading transformational strategies in highly competitive markets.
As a senior, C-suite strategist for multiple major industrial corporations he has led multiple mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings, as well as corporate break-ups and spin-offs. He has a distinguished track record of successful transformations of complex organizations in dynamic and uncertain market conditions while engendering the trust and buy-in of employees, customers, vendors, owners, corporate leadership and boards of directors.
A highly engaged leader at the personal and team level he has demonstrated the ability to engender effective senior teams and boards. He’s also an active mentor, teacher and community leader.
Mr Chicles is an active board member with AES Seals, global leader in sustainable reliability engineering, and Micro Technologies Inc, an electronics and advanced manufacturing company. He is a principal partner with ProOrbis Enterprises®, a management science consultancy with premier clients such as the US Navy and PwC, as well as the principal of Xiphos Associates™, a management and M&A advisory. Recently, he served as Board Director and Chairman of Global Business Development with Hydro Inc. the largest independent pump and flow systems engineering services provider in the world.
He was President of ITT’s Industrial Process / Goulds Pumps business segment a global manufacturer of industrial pumps, valves, monitoring and control systems, and aftermarket services for numerous industries with $1.2 billion in revenue, 3,500 employees and 34 facilities in 17 countries. Preceding this role he served as Executive Vice President of ITT Corporation overseeing the creation of a newly conceived ITT Inc. following the break-up of the former ITT Corporation to establish its strategy and corporate functions such as HR, communications, IT and M&A, building the capabilities, policies and organizations for each.
He joined ITT Corporation’s executive committee as its strategy chief in 2006 and instituted disciplined strategic planning processes and developed robust acquisition pipelines to respond to rapidly changing markets. Created successful spin-offs of 2 new public corporations Exelis Inc. and Xylem Inc. ITT Corporation was named one of “America’s Most Respected Corporations” by Forbes for exemplary management and performance during his tenure there.
Before joining ITT, Mr Chicles served as Vice President of Corporate Business Development and head of mergers and acquisitions for American Standard / Trane Companies, where he initiated and closed numerous transactions and equity restructurings globally.
Additionally, he created and led the corporate real estate function which entailed more than 275 real estate transactions around the world.
He began his career at Owens Corning rising through the ranks in various operational roles to Vice President of Corporate Development.
Recently, he taught advanced enterprise strategy at Stevens Institute of Technology as an adjunct professor and still supports start-ups through the Stevens Venture Center. He continues to be active as the Founding Board Member with several successful start-up technology businesses and non-profit organizations. A community leader, Mr Chicles has held the role of President of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tenafly, N.J., He also led trips abroad to Cambodia and Costa Rica to build sustainable clean-water solutions and affordable housing.
His formal education includes earning a Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelors in Finance from Miami University.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
Assessments can be incredibly valuable tools for organizations of all sizes. A comprehensive assessment methodology can help you evaluate your organization across multiple dimensions. But what are business assessments, what do they entail, and what are the benefits? Business assessments can help you identify areas of improvement and potential acquisitive growth. By taking a comprehensive approach, you can get an accurate picture of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Assessments can also help you develop actionable plans to improve your business. At their core, business assessments are all about providing clarity. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by the day-to-day details of running a business, it can be difficult to step back and get a clear picture of where your company is headed. That’s where assessments come in. By taking a comprehensive look at your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can develop a clear road map for success. Assessments are an essential part of any business plan. By evaluating your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can develop a roadmap for growth. Furthermore, assessments can help identify areas where your company may be at risk. By addressing these risks early on, you can avoid potential problems down the road. In addition, assessments can help you benchmark your company’s performance against others in your industry. This benchmarking process can give you valuable insights into areas where your company may need to improve. Ultimately, regular business assessments are a crucial tool for any organization that is looking to grow and thrive.
Objectives
01. Current State: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Analysis Tools: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Identify Stakeholders: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Core Competencies: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Market Differentiation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Mission/Vision Statement: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Mapping Future State: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Set Department Objectives: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Prioritizing Tasks : departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Set KPIs: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Create a Project Schedule: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Monitor Data over Time: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
Strategies
01. Current State: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Analysis Tools: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Identify Stakeholders: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Core Competencies: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Market Differentiation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Mission/Vision Statement: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Mapping Future State: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Set Department Objectives: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Prioritizing Tasks: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Set KPIs: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Create a Project Schedule: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Monitor Data over Time: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
Tasks
01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Current State.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Analysis Tools.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Identify Stakeholders.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Core Competencies.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Market Differentiation.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Mission/Vision Statement.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Mapping Future State.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Set Department Objectives.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Prioritizing Tasks.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Set KPIs.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Create a Project Schedule.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Monitor Data over Time.
Introduction
Referring to the original application and executive summary in the ‘Acquisitive Growth’ Client Information Hub, the first order of business is the “Strategy Development” phase. This is meant to be a self-assessment and evaluation of current strategic context and situation from which to determine if and where acquisitions fit and support a business’s aspirations. A very effective methodology that I may have shared with you prior is to use AJ Laffley’s book “Playing to Win” whereby a company assesses “Where they play” ( the products, markets and segments), “How the win” (the competitive differentiation and value proposition they offer), “Capabilities” (what combinations of people, process and technologies are required) and “Systems” (those foundational elements that a business stands on such as footprint, IT Systems, management systems, talent processes, etc.). By evaluating these elements, a company can then perform a gap analysis and create a strategy to get from current state to the future state they wish to achieve. For example, if a company was successful in the US making differentiated products for a certain set of endmarkets and wanted to grow, they would evaluate first if they could achieve their goals organically. If they cannot, then the likely reason would be a lack in one of these elements such as: a) Need to access new market segments or geographies, or b) need leverage their particular capabilities in new markets or develop new capabilities and so on.
It is through this work that a company focuses their acquisitive growth strategies to in essence fill the strategic gaps they have which practically cannot be filled organically. For example, if a US-Based industrial product company had developed a set of unique products and services that are winning in their existing markets, but found that as their share grows and the markets cycle they have challenges achieving sustainable growth. Suppose then through their strategy work that they identify a new geography/market where they would be able to take their competitive advantage and grow a whole new area of revenues. This methodology or approach would help them Identify this opportunity and to focus on what they need to acquire – new products, channels to market, brand recognition, technical capabilities, etc. In this example, it might be to acquire a similar business into which they instill their capabilities. Or it might be a matter of just acquiring distribution channels that meet certain criteria that would enable them to enter and win in the new market by flowing their existing products through them. Another example might be that in order to penetrate this new market, new products might be needed which in turn could be the focus of acquisitions.
So as you can see, the upfront Business Assessment part of this program is internally focused to determine the acquisition strategy as opposed to externally focused on targets once the strategy is articulated.
In this workshop, you will learn how to carry out a successful business assessment which will in turn, prepare your organization for acquiring growth through an acquisition or merger. It is an in-depth process which will highlight your business’ strengths and weaknesses and highlight areas where inorganic growth may be more effective and fruitful compared to trying to grow organically.
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works
How Strategy Really Works is a book about strategy, written by A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, and Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management. The book covers the “transformation” of P&G under Lafley and the approach to strategy that informed it.
This method evolved from Monitor Company’s strategic practice and then became P& G’s standard operating procedure. Throughout their professional lives, they strove to create a solid framework for their strategic approach, a means of imparting the ideas to others, and a process for putting it into practice in an organization. At the end of the day, this is a tale of choices, including the decision to establish a discipline of strategic practice and thinking within an organization. Having a strategic mentality can only help you in the business evaluation phase of acquisitive growth since it enables you to spot change chances and equips you with the skills and knowledge you need to seize them. This, in turn, increases market share and profitability, and makes your business more durable. Knowing where to focus acquisitive growth is vital. A business assessment will highlight which areas and departments would benefit most from this kind of growth, as organic growth may not have been enough for your organization to grow at the rate in which you desired.
The “Playing To Win” Methodology
A corporation will invariably fall short of making the difficult decisions and substantial investments that would make winning even a remote possibility when it sets out to participate rather than win.
But if you play to win, you risk being in error.
The Playbook
A winning aspiration, where to play, how to win, core capabilities, and management systems are the five options listed by the author as a coordinated and integrated set of five alternatives. The strategic decision cascade, the cornerstone of strategy work, and the focus of this book are the five options.
Specifically, the answers to these five interconnected problems are found in strategy:
1. What winning goals do you have? The goal of your business and what makes it inspiring.
2. Where do you plan to play? A field of play where you can realize that goal.
3. How will you succeed? how you’ll triumph on the selected field of play.
4. What requirements must be met? the combination and arrangement of skills necessary to triumph in the selected manner.
5. What management techniques are necessary? systems and policies that support and empower capabilities and choices.
Later in the course, we’ll go into more detail on these ideas and demonstrate how to use them in your business evaluation procedure. The foundation for effective acquisitive growth is laid by this process, which can be used to any business or project and which identifies areas where your company might gain from M&A to remain competitive and fill a niche you might find difficult to fill on your own.
As you can imagine, in small organizations a single choice cascade might exist, whereas in large organizations multiple “levels of choices and interconnected cascades.” Nested cascades means that choice happens at almost every level in the organization.
Winning Aspirations
Statements concerning the ideal future are known as aspirations. Later on in the process of acquisitive growth, a corporation attaches certain precise benchmarks that track progress toward those goals to those ideals. Over time, aspirations can be adjusted and changed. Though they exist to consistently align business actions, aspirations shouldn’t vary day to day and should be made to persist for a while. Future mergers and acquisitions should support these goals.
M&A Failure: Daimler-Benz and Chrysler (1998)
MBA programmes frequently highlight the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merger as the classic case study of how cultural differences would always result in a deal’s failure.
Some people have claimed that the two civilizations are too dissimilar to ever be combined.
Daimler-Benz made methodical decisions; Chrysler made creative, unstructured decisions. Daimler-Benz salaries were conservative; Chrysler salaries were much less so. And finally, there was the flat hierarchy that existed at Chrysler as opposed to the top-down structure at Daimler-Benz.
The result?
Within ten years, Daimler sold Cerberus Capital Management 80% of Chrysler for $7 billion, giving the cultural relativists a US$20 billion kick in the pants.
This M&A disaster is a prime illustration of how business disagreements may be disastrous. Always look to merge with or buy businesses that share your goals and beliefs in order to ensure a smooth and ultimately successful purchase.
Where to Play
Where to play and how to win define the precise actions of the organization—what the business will do, where it will do it, and how it will do it—in order to fulfill its goals. The winning aspiration broadly defines the scope of the firm’s operations.
The set of options that limit the field of competition is represented as where to play. The questions that need to be posed center on the markets, clients, consumers, channels, product categories, and vertical stage(s) of the industry in question where the company will compete. For instance, during your business evaluation, you might find that expanding through an acquisition or merger may enable you to enter the geographic regions needed for accelerated growth.
How to Win
The playing field is determined by where you play; the options for winning on that field are determined by how you play. It is the key to success in the targeted demographics, markets, channels, and so on. The decision of where to play is closely related to the decision of how to win. Keep in mind that the focus is on winning within the chosen where-to-play areas, not on winning overall.
A company must decide what will allow it to produce distinctive value and sustainably deliver that value to clients in a way that is different from the firm’s competitors in order to determine how to win during the business assessment phase. The exact way a company uses its advantages to provide higher value for a consumer or client, and as a result, superior returns for the firm, is what Michael Porter referred to as competitive advantage.
Excellent plans enable for a certain fit between where to play and how to win decisions that strengthens the business.
Core Capabilities
Two inquiries stem from and bolster the core of strategy: What competences must be there in order to succeed, and what management systems must be in place in order to support the strategic decisions?
Management Systems
The cascade’s last strategic decision is centered on management systems. These are the frameworks that encourage, underpin, and evaluate the approach. They must be specifically created to support the options and capabilities if they are to be truly effective.
Summing Up
During the phase of your business assessment, strategy is an iterative process in which all of the moving pieces impact one another.
Lafley and Martin claim that choosing where to play and working out how to win there is the essence of strategy.
What business are you in?
When asked what industry they are in, the majority of businesses would either describe their product line or the services they provide. For instance, many producers of mobile devices might claim to be in the business of producing smartphones. They probably wouldn’t claim to be in the business of facilitating communication at all times and all places. However, that is their actual line of work, and using a smartphone is merely one method.