No Man’s Land by Doug Tatum |Book Brief

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• sieepvvalk06/03/08 Report as spam
  1

  Missing the point?

  Maybe I'm missing the point, but did he just say that "once you've relized the other 3 M's, lenders will recognize that you're on your way out of no mans land and will be more likely to lend you money"?
  
  How am I going to hire top-tier management, realign my firm in the market, and update my business model without any capital? And, if I do have the capital to do these things, I have no reason to go to a lender.
  
  Anyone have actually useful ideas on how to get the capital to FUND the organizational changes to push through this tough time, rather than what Doug Tatum seems to believe, which is that you can get the money after the fact?

• JSammarco06/06/08 Report as spam
  2

  Don't Look to the Bank First

  I think Doug is suggesting things that could, but don't have to, take a lot of capital. Hiring top-tier management can be done with less capital if you are willing to use equity and stock options. Realigning the firm in the market and updating the business model is about business planning and adapting along the way (using some of those new managers you just hired). It doesn't have to be a "hard right turn". Of course, all this is easier said than done -- i recognize that because I'm in the midst of it myself. I'm just trying to suggest that you will have to attack his recommendations with the same entrepreneurial spirit that you had when you started the business and as always be prepared to do that while you still have everything else that needs to get done.

• pgood@...06/16/08 Report as spam
  3

  Missing the Point?

  You've missed the point if you don't think there are things you can do now.
  
  Spend the time and develop a plan on what type of key people you need to hire, the objectives of their positions and how you will measure their performance. Include in the plan what infracture you plan on developing and the what the expected results and benefits will be and how you plan on measuring them.
  
  If you don't have the time or inclination to develop a plan with meaningful measurements, you can bet the bank won't have the time or inclination to lend you any money either. Saying you're going to make good choices, but not having a track record that shows you do or a plan that shows you will won't get you any capital. It doesn't take capital to put your thoughts or plans down on paper and forecast out on a spread sheet what the financial results will be.
  
  But the other thing you're missing the point on is that you need to make good decisions that fall in line with the three "M"s with the money you are generating now. Many companies can't articulate their value propisition or figure out what they need to do to transfer the knowledge or skill to others within the organization to build success. This is a good place to start thinking, planning and making sure your current employees understand what makes your products/services successful. Only then can they start thinking and contributing to building on that success, instead of just doing their job.

• findme4favour@...06/03/08 Report as spam
  4

  RE: No Man’s Land by Doug Tatum |Book Brief

  i think it will be very good to read this book...especially for those who go into foreign investment