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I know Mike wrote a post about spending time with Paul after our first meeting but we just finished our second day long strategy session with him and he is an incredibly smart guy. If you have the opportunity at a conference or thorough his services to interact with him I highly recommend it.

So what did we take away from this meeting you may ask?  I can’t say that we walked out with any secrets that are going to change our business but I can say it was time well spent.

Paul has a fantastic understanding of the industry and growth trends that are taking shape and it was great to use him as a sounding board for our future plans.

Big takeaways from our time together:

1. There are very few strategic buyers in our marketplace so the acquisitions happening are finance buyers. what does this mean? Well, it means if you are acquiring, selling, or planning to do either you better be paying close attention to managing your P&L.
2. Compensation plans for your service team need not be as complicated as we make them in our heads. Create plans tied to gross margins and performance (fill in the top three key metrics for your team here) and get the plans rolled out. We spent time around structure and percentages of incentive pay but the most helpful part of the day was the realization that this stuff doesn’t need to be complicated.

Anyway, as Mike said last time we spent time with Paul, he is not cheap but he is a great resource to have in your corner as you continue to grow.

JC

The stories we tell ourselves…

Somebody used this expression the other day, meaning that we tell ourselves stories so frequently and consistently that we start to rule out any possibility that isn’t consistent with that story - it then becomes our destiny.

Everyone does it, whether you realize it or not.

“Starting a business is too risky.”

“Most businesses fail.”

“Managed services is a pot of gold.”

“Managed services is a very difficult business to make money in.”

We’ve each got our own story running through our head, shaping how we view everything. At Everon, we had a story in our collective heads about what kind of gross margins and net margins we should expect to achieve. Then we met with Paul Dippell, and he told us about the people in our industry that were kicking Everon’s ass in terms of margins.

Well…the good news is that awareness is curative!

One thing that I love about our team is that when you stick a goal in front of them they get completely focused on achieving it. Now that we know what’s possible, we have a new story that is much more exciting and lucrative! I have no doubt that we’ll be giving anyone in our industry a run for their money by the end of 2008.

So what kinds of margins are realistic? I know that most companies in our industry operate in the low single digits in terms of net margins. I also know that many are operating around 20% net margins. I know which ones we are shooting for.

What stories are you telling yourself? What can you do to get a different perspective?

MRC

This weekend Josh and I are skiing with Trent Dyrsmid, the owner of Dyrand Systems of Vancouver, Canada.  The sun is shining and Breckenridge has over 30″ of fresh snow in the last week (ahhhh…Colorado)!

It’s always nice to get together with somebody else in the industry to learn from each other and share war stories.  Trent is a smart and ambitious guy; we always have a good time and learn something from each other.

I’m a big believer in learning from others.  I know of two resources that people have told me are very good - you should look into them:

• True Profit Groups (I think I’ve linked to the correct website…but I’m not sure.  They need some help with their web presence!)
• Service Leadership Executive Peer Groups

Both of these organizations run peer groups that allow you to confidentially discuss financial performance, business strategy, etc. - a great idea!  I can vouch for Service Leadership.  This company is run by Paul Dippell, who is probably the smartest guy I’ve met in our industry.  I’m pretty sure I learned some stuff just by sitting near him at a conference once!

MRC