Archive for the 'Management By Metrics' Category

Apple’s Cash Pooling

Published on May 7, 2012 in Business Growth, Business Management Tip, Business Process, Business Systems and Management By Metrics. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

Cash Pooling, Apple Tax, Apple Tax PlanningAs you know, I am a huge fan(atic) of Apple‘s products – haven been for more than 20 years. Of course with great products and market-leading valuations means Apple gets a lot of news coverage. This week it’s about it’s overseas tax planning strategies and cash pooling.

Even though they are legitimate and legal, the popular press is all over it because of their recent declaration of a share buy back and establishing a dividend payment to shareholders.

Even though it makes for great headlines and sells newspapers and now online advertising, the reality is that these strategies are impossible if you can’t do what financial managers call Cash Pooling.

It’s quite sophisticated and all multi-billion corporations do it. Simply put, it’s knowing where your cash is so you can place and use it in the most effective place which usually involves tax considerations. As a business owner, it’s just another reminder that the practices of the “big boys” still applies to small business – especially those in high growth mode. Knowing where you cash is and having it where and when you need it can be the difference between growth and believe it or not – going bust.

Many high growth businesses (even profitable) ones run out of cash due to irregular cash flows and their timing. If you’re struggling with Excel spreadsheets to figure out where your cash is, you might want to consider an online cash management solution that goes well beyond your accounting and bookkeeping tasks.

Disclaimer: I am currently LONG on APPLE stock. I figure with $100 Billion in cash reserves, they have more than enough cash to deal with any competitors and technological challenges that will come up.

Squash Videos A Case Study Of Management By Metrics

Published on November 25, 2009 in 1% Improvement, Business Growth, Business Process, Exponential Mindset, Management By Metrics, Managing By Metrics and Strategy. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

If you don’t already know, I am a competitive squash player, now ranked in the ‘top 20′ in the world in the Men’s 45-49 age category. I learned to play squash less than 10 years ago, have only played competitively for the past 5 years and have competed in less than 10 tournaments in my entire playing career. The reason I tell you this is because it’s an ‘easy’ analogy to use to explain what I call Management By Metrics.

Management By Metrics

Management By Metrics is about tracking and monitoring the things that change in your business that influence your results.

The squash analogy is that at the recent 2009 World Masters Games, where I achieved my personal best world ranking of 18, I filmed all my matches, analysing them and statistically assessing the winners and unforced errors I committed. In the 2009 Australian Masters Games where I reached a National Ranking of 12, I was playing too ‘safe’ – not making errors, but not playing enough winning ‘kill shots’.

With that in mind, I spent the last couple of weeks making sure I improved my shots and guess what? The difference was astonishing – I went from a ‘Top 50′ world ranking last year to the ‘Top 20′… In all my matches, more than 25% of my points won were winners – in one match it was more than 50%, from less than 10% in the previous competition less than one month prior.

The business lesson of this squash analogy is that by KNOWING what METRICS you want to manage – your ultimate success will be easier and much faster than you ever imagined.

On my Mindset Of A Champion Blog, I publicly stated that my goal for the 2009 and 2010 World Masters Squash Championships were a top 32 and top 16 finish – I achieved a ranking of 18 in 2009 and now am aiming at a Top 10 for 2010 – well ahead of my own expectations.

Management By Metrics is what it’s all about – tracking and monitoring what’s working and what’s not. By so doing, you can determine your Next Best Step and optimise your Pathways To Profits much more quickly and easily.

Want to learn to become a champion of business? Click on the hyperlink to atten a 3-hour Boardroom Briefing session to learn how Management By Metrics can help you get more out of your business – by working less than you are right now so you too can get back to your favorite sport, pick up a new one, spend more leisure time with friends and family or whatever fuels your spirit.