SHG Value Notes - David J. Dell, Ph.D Senior Vice President

Breaking Owner Gridlock – To Unlock Value

At SHG we are often called in to help on business strategy and valuation only to find the first issue is various owners and stakeholders are cancelling each other out.

• We see it in large healthcare groups where doctors argue over brochures instead of practice growth.
• We see it in family owned businesses where arguments about business direction erupt as a way to fight about personal issues.
• We see it in investor -founder conflicts where different world views and experience end up in mutual contempt instead of synergy.
• And we see it in companies with multiple divisions or lines of business competing for resources.

It’s not just “too many cooks spoil the broth.” Egos, interpersonal conflicts, and different perceptions of self interest get in the way of business decisions. The results:

• enormous waste of time,
• poisoned relationships,
• and real damage to business value.

You can break “owner gridlock” when enterprise value is used as the guiding star.

7 essentials are needed:

1. Agreement there is a problem in making good decisions about the right issues.
2. Shared commitments to make meetings valuable for the company
3. An effective facilitator/leader to make sure that meetings are focused and productive
4. Definitions of what’s important for enterprise value
5. Sustained focus on key decisions that address risks and opportunities for value
6. Accountability for follow through on agreed decisions
7. Using business value improvement as the gold standard for success

To learn more about how our disciplined approaches to business value can help you, please contact Dr. David J. Dell.