“What we do now, echoes into eternity.” – Marcus Aurelius (or Russell Crowe in Gladiator, your choice)
That’s pretty big, but the choices we make definitely have ripple effects.
In leading a business, there are some big ones: committing to location expansions, serving a very large customer, bringing in debt or equity capital, selecting vendor or JV partners. By no means an exhaustive list.
When setting ourselves up for critical decisions, we lead with planning.
If the goal is to maximize the value of your business, then these decisions must be considered in the context of long-term value creation.
Would you take on a new customer that becomes 70% of your total business? Is it worth taking on debt to accomplish expansion faster than you can fund internally? Does the influence of potential partners bring volatility to the strategic direction of the business?
Every business and situation is unique. For any of these questions, there may not be a clear cut right or wrong answer.
But if you keep long-term value creation at the forefront, you’ll have a darn good compass.
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