I am often asked “when is the best time to take a business to market?” – be that to sell, raise capital or acquire. My answer has changed over the years. 20 years ago, the answer was “when the market conditions are optimal for your proposed transaction”, 10 years ago it was “whenever your counterparties are ready for it”, and now I would add “when you and your organisation have maximum energy”.
Energy is a massive driver of value. Trying to sell a business because you are done and out the door can be sniffed by a buyer, as opposed to when you are brimming with enthusiasm and options, selling “the dream”.
Energy is the force that drives every business from head to toe, be that the founder CEO or an enthusiastic new data programmer. Managing yourself and your people, let us call it human capital, is critical. So how can we build energy?
Being a mission-driven organisation is top of the pile for millennials, a belief in a purpose, a reason for being and a clear direction of travel with a common purpose. All great teams win together and lose together, so be ruthless with team members who suck energy, however senior or longstanding: they need to be coached to sort out their attitude or ultimately move on. Inevitably when they change or leave, the rest of the team gives a sigh of relief and everyone’s energy rises.
Let us look at how our government is currently being hit by wave after wave of negative news – it is reducing trust, belief and confidence in our country’s leadership. The team that is the United Kingdom needs leaders who provide a purpose and a clear vision. Much as I disagreed with Brexit, there was no doubt that the clear message and clearly positioned benefits (real or illusionary) really struck a chord with many people. In a similar vein, we need energetic, focused and untarnished leadership to thrive across all aspects of our lives.
As always, a selection of blogs from the month can be found in the section below. This month we have taken a look at the exciting new developments in nuclear fusion, TV trends for advertisers, the circular economy and much more – take a look below if you fancy reading.
