by WebAdmin | Apr 7, 2020
Ten guidelines for making tough decisions in tough times The world has changed. We have pressure from all sides. What are some guidelines to help you make decisions in these tough times? I have compiled a few that have helped me and my clients over the years. 1) “When the terrain varies from the map, go with the terrain every time.” General David Grange. It’s time to create a new map! 2) Go back to who you are. Who are you? Do you have a set of guiding principles that serve you and your organization? 3) Always go back to WHY you exist. What’s your vision? Does it give you direction? Never make a decision that would violate your vision (unless your vision is outdated, and you need to adjust course and create a new one). 4) Know who you serve. Your customers/clients are watching how you are handling tough times, they want to see what you are made of. What decision would make them proud? 5) What is your brand promise? My branding hero, Stan Richards put it this way… “Your brand is your most valuable asset. Don’t be tempted to the need to violate it in tough times or to meet some short term business need. Wear it well and it will serve you well.” What is your brand promise? 6) Go back to your values. What is the right decision based on your values? Employees want to know you believe in your values and will stick by them in tough times. If you are not going to make decisions by them, then they are not truly...
by WebAdmin | Mar 16, 2020
CEO Forum – March 2020 Leadership & Business Growth Series Speaker: Brendon Schrader Thursday, March 19, 2020 – 7:30 am to 9:00 am7:30 am to 8:00 am – Registration and continental breakfast (sponsored by SURGE)8:00 am to 9:00 am – Speaker presentation and Q&A Brookview Golf Course – Community/Conference Room316 Brookview Pkwy SGolden Valley, MN 55426 Brendon Schrader Brendon Schrader is the Founder & CEO of Antenna, a Minneapolis based company that is changing the way people work. Schrader’s insights on independent consulting, the gig economy and the changing nature of work, have been highlighted in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company and the Huffington Post. He holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management, an M.Ed. from the College of Education and Human Development and a degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. He has also studied leadership, strategy and innovation at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER For more information, please visit www.hennepin.us/ceonext. Or you may call 612-348-9812 or email Mary.Matze@hennepin.us....
by WebAdmin | Mar 10, 2020
Anatomy of an M&A deal: Selling a business is harder than you think Event Photos click on an image to view larger CEO Richard Sweat, the longtime owner of .decimal in Sanford, FL, and maker of custom patient-specific and treatment planning software used in radiation oncology, recently sold a sister company called ProKnow. At the time he told his merger and acquisition (M&A) attorney the sale of his business, Proknow, was going to be one of the easiest ever. After all, Sweat had been in this industry for more than three decades and he knew which companies would be most interested in ProKnow and its transformative technology as a treatment planner for advanced radiation therapy. It was merely a matter of approaching the two largest competitors in the industry , encouraging them to bid against each other, agree on a price, sign the documents and celebrate. Today, Sweat knows better. Yes, he successfully sold his business last year. But, the process was not easy. Elekta AB, the world’s second-largest radiation oncology company, purchased ProKnow in August 2019. The multinational company did its due diligence and looked at every possible angle to make sure the price was right. Sweat, ProKnow co-founder and sole investor, told business leaders at a recent CEO Forum that this sale changed his life and gave .decimal beneficial cash reserves. He had no regrets about the exit. Sweat is still the owner of .decimal. Our congratulations to Richard Sweat for making it through the process. He can chuckle about the pain now, but he said the exit process was longer than he expected. He described the...
by WebAdmin | Mar 3, 2020
CEO Forum: Central Florida Anatomy of an M&A deal: .decimal, ProKnow and Elekta March 10, 2020 | 6pm – 8pmRollins College (Galloway Room)Kathleen W Rollins Hall, 3rd FloorLocated at center of Rollins Campus, facing common areaWinter Park, FL 32789 (View Map) Featured Presenters:Richard Sweat – CEO, .decimalDoug Starcher – Managing Partner, Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel Richard Sweat was the sole investor and a Co-Founder of ProKnow, LLC, a cloud-based, big data analytics software platform used in radiation oncology. ProKnow was sold in August, 2019, to Elekta, the second largest radiation oncology company in the world. Richard now owns .decimal, an internet-based manufacturer of custom, patient-specific medical devices and treatment planning software used in radiation oncology. .decimal was founded in 1986 and holds 5 patents on both the automated, internet-based manufacturing process, as well as unique medical devices used in electron and proton therapy. To date, .decimal has manufactured nearly 400,000 devices for ~80,000 cancer patients. Doug Starcher is the Managing Partner of the Orlando office of Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel. He is also team leader for the firm’s Florida Corporate/M&A practice. Doug has practiced corporate law in Orlando for over 30 years, primarily walking along side entrepreneurial clients through formation, capitalization, growth and exit. Doug views his role as M&A counsel as being an educator, protector and facilitator for clients who are about to enter the unknown for perhaps the most important transaction of their business lives. Registration Cost: $15 Register Here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ceo-forum-central-florida-march-2020-tickets-94745471255?aff=CEONexus...
by WebAdmin | Mar 1, 2020
Mindset: The Key to Building a Culture of Innovation Event Photos click on an image to view larger Mission Inn fountain John Sweeney Phil Hayes CEOs who desire to build or preserve a culture of innovation need to prepare to be uncomfortable, according to John Sweeney, keynote speaker at the annual CEO Nexus conference and retreat. He noted that trusting your brain may lead you astray. “Don’t trust your brain, your brain will always take you in the direction of being safe,” Sweeney said. “To grow and innovate, you have to learn to be uncomfortable. Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable means not letting your brain get in the way. That’s one of the keys to the process of innovation.” Sweeney owns an executive training and development company serving Fortune 500 companies. His corporate training practice was born as an offshoot of the Brave New Workshop, America’s longest-running comedy improvisational theater in Minneapolis, MN. After years of performing and applying the principles of improvisational theater, Sweeney realized that many of the skills used by successful stage performers could also work offstage in business. The BNW Business Workshops were born. Sweeney’s observations are supported by the academic work of Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., who has written extensively on a groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In her book, “Mindset – The New Psychology of Success,” she outlines how success in school, work, sports, the arts and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset — those who believe that abilities are fixed...
by WebAdmin | Feb 28, 2020
2020 Conference Agenda Event Photos click on an image to view larger John Sweeney Phil Hayes I want to thank all of our members who attended our annual conference and retreat at the Mission Inn Resort this week. A special thanks to the speakers for their outstanding and thought-provoking presentations. Starting next week, we will share a sample of the information presented. Many of our members agree that this has become a can’t-miss event, not just for information on best practices and trends, but for the opportunity to connect and communicate with fellow CEOs. I know new friendships were made this week, and a lot of business got done. CEO Nexus services growing, second stage companies. Our professionally facilitated CEO Roundtable Programs of non-competing businesses focus on strategy, operations, leadership and succession. To learn more visit CEO Nexus. Click here to view the conference...
