How to Use Your Numbers to Make Better Complex Financial Decisions

WHAT:  July CEO Workshop

WHEN: Tuesday July 8, 2014

WHERE: Mallory Safety & Supply, Seattle

We all want to build a sustainable business that provides a return on our (or our owners’ investment). So, how much profit does it take to produce the real returns that you not only desire, but also require? The first step in the process is to answer the question: what is your breakeven sales annually, monthly and even daily? We will all first go through our Profit and Loss Statements to determine how our expenses “behave.” We will separate out our variable and fixed costs and then calculate the answer to the breakeven question. With this new structure we will be able to have a better understanding of which costs need to be focused on to improve the bottom line.

But nobody wants to just break even! We will also now be in position to project the future and determine useful strategies.

LUNCH

All who are attending the morning session are invited to join us for lunch. Please let Dave Shapiro or Michele Bosworth know if you are not able to attend lunch.

LUNCH & LEARN
Ann Amati will lead a lunchtime discussion about what B2B companies can learn from their customers, effective ways to solicit feedback, and why company leaders should stay engaged with customer issues. Look forward to tips that will help your company win more of the sales it pursues, revitalize dormant customer relationships and transition from vendor to partner with key customers.

MEMBERS

Members arrive at 7:30am for breakfast and check-in. 

MEMBER CANDIDATES

There will be CEO Potential Member Candidates joining us for this workshop.
Potential Member Candidates are invited to the workshop and lunch; 8:50 am - 1:00 pm.

EMPLOYEE GUESTS:  RSVP BY JUNE 30TH

Employee Guests are invited to attend the workshop and lunch; 8:50 am - 1:00 pm.

HOST

Shawn Murray of Mallory Safety & Supply

WHERE WE WILL MEET 

Mallory Safety & Supply, 5510 East Marginal Way S, Seattle, WA 98134

Click HERE for a map and driving directions

TITLE OF WORKSHOP

How to Use Your Numbers to Make Better Complex Financial Decisions

AGENDA

Click here to view the Agenda.

QUESTIONS THE CEO SHOULD BE ASKING

• How much profit do I need to reinvest in my company?
• How much profit do I need to pay back additional long term debt?
• How much profit do I need form y bonus and/or retirement plans?
• If I hire additional staff what will I need insoles to cover their costs and make more profit?
• If I add on to my building (take on more space or open a new location) what will I need in increased sales to make that a good investment?

TAKEAWAYS

• What does my company's cost structure really look like
• How can I use this knowledge to make better decisions for the future around issues such as: pricing, expense control and investments in projects, equipment and people
• Learn how targeting a specific profit to determine your sales goals.

PREPARATION: DUE JUNE 30TH

There are some key steps to complete beforehand to help you get the most out of this workshop: get familiar with the concept of breakeven, determine which of your expenses are fixed versus variable, and use that info to fill in the Questionnaire part of the worksheet. Your workshop presenter, Steve Abercrombie, will review the rest in class. The end goal: gain a great tool for better decisions using your own numbers!

1.  First, read the handout, Guide to Breakeven Plus. It will give you some background on  breakeven analysis and walk you through some sample case studies.

2.  Second, enter your sales and expense numbers into the2014 Breakeven Calculator.  Click to open the 2014 Breakeven Calculator and download it by clicking on the download button that appears on your screen.  Fill in the document and click save. 

You will find detailed instructions for how to do so on the first worksheet entitled “Instructions.”  You will enter your own numbers on the Questionnaire worksheet. You will need:

•  Current month–end Profit and Loss Statement 
• Year-to-Date Profit and Loss Statement
• The number of invoices/jobs and/or active customers for those same time periods

3.  You will first need to decide which expenses are fixed and which are variable (that’s where reading the guide first will come in handy). Because this work will take us beyond breakeven and into future “what-if” analysis, you might have to do some consolidation if you have a lot of expense categories. Once you get done entering your numbers, you are welcome, but not required, to practice doing breakeven analysis on the Calculator worksheet.


4.  Once you are finished, please print the Questionnaire and the Calculator pages and bring them with you to class.


5.  Save the worksheet using your company name and email it as an attachment to Michele Bosworth at michelebosworth@excellpugetsound.com by June 30.

We estimate that it will take you about one hour to read the materials and about 1-2 hours to fill out the Questionnaire worksheet. Some of you will want to work with your CPA/bookkeeper/CFO on this project and to invite them (along with your other key team members), to attend the July CEO workshop with you.Please be sure to read the handout guide yourself, though, so you are personally familiar with the concepts.

Steve won’t be sharing anyone’s individual financial data with the other members in the workshop. But, if you are willing to let him use your worksheet and calculator pages in class as a “live” case study, let me know when you return your pre-work and Steve will be in touch with you before the workshop.

Questions? Don’t get stuck! Contact Steve directly at 360.320.8770 or steve.abercrombie@profitsoup.com. He will be happy to help!

PRESENTER: STEVE ABERCROMBIE   

Steve brings passion and personality to company financial strategies. His life experiences as a banker, financial educator and business owner have shown him that having financial knowledge of your business model is in many cases the absolute key to success. His clients all say that Steve excels at taking the mystery out of the numbers with his common-sense approach and always-compassionate personal style.

He has a talent for rallying the troops behind improvement initiatives by organizing, understanding and appropriately communicating the financial story of the business to the management team and key staff. Then he integrates this connection to financial success with ongoing structure and support around company goals and strategic steps. With key players aligned and focused, everybody accomplishes more.

Steve has helped many clients prepare their businesses for the financial scrutiny of lenders and investors when financial restructuring or expansion is imminent. He understands the language of lending from his years in banking, where he has held roles from branch manager and lender to bank President and CEO. As President and principal of a leading financial training company, he mastered business expansion from the other side of the desk – with the perspective of owner and rain maker. He gained notoriety as a sought-after convention speaker for graduate schools of banking, corporations and associations throughout the US, Australia and England.

Steve’s clients include Choice Hotels, ProSource Floor Coverings, Graduate School of Banking of the South and Bright Star Franchising,

“I have had the good fortune to work with Steve Abercrombie at both ProSource and BrightStar. Both times, he provided these companies with top-shelf financial literacy training for our franchisees. I have found Steve to be not only well versed in financial management, but able to easily convey concepts to franchisees. His breadth of knowledge and ability to make financial concepts "real world" for franchisees is one of the things I most appreciate about Steve.”

Bob Lange, Vice President of Field Support, Bright Star Franchising

“Steve is exceptional at taking complex financial information and terms, and making it easy for people understand and use. Steve is one of the best professional speakers I've ever heard. Interesting, captivating and helps the audience truly understand and apply what he is talking about.”

Evan Hackel, President and Engage Consulting 

PROFIT SOUP

WWW.PROFITSOUP.COM

steve.abercrombie@profitsoup.com

LUNCH & LEARN PRESENTER: ANN AMATI

Since 1994 Ann Amati has helped companies across multiple industries use guidance from their own current and past customers to grow future sales. She has a track record of creating positive turning points in her clients' relationships with their customers and leaving a legacy of improved competitiveness and strong customer retention.

Work Your Business Plan

WHAT:  June CEO Retreat

WHEN: June 10, 2014

WHERE: Republic Services, Bellevue

June is our Members Only ~ Work Your Business Plan CEO Retreat 

We will meet at Republic Services, 1600 127th Avenue NE, Bellevue Washington 98005

Lunch & Learn: John Powers, Executive Director of KEDA (Kitsap Economic Development Alliance) will present on a regional vision and how Kitsap County can play a role in and help businesses across the Sound.

Management Methodology Matching

WHAT: MAY CEO WORKSHOP
WHEN: TUESDAY MAY 13, 2014
WHERE: UMPQUA BANK (formally Sterling Bank), MOUNTLAKE TERRACE

There are many methodologies for managing projects.  Matching the right methodology to the project is not always easy, but is critical to the success of the project.  Additionally, no one is likely to be adept at all project management situations; what can you do to adapt to unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations?

As a CEO, you either lead projects yourself or you lead people who are leading projects.  Doing so effectively can make the  difference between a successful company and an unsuccessful one.

Software construction was for years thought of as a predictable process, much like building construction, but recent learning has shown that methodologies for managing unpredictable projects do far better at managing software projects.  Knowing the type of project is often critical in its success or failure.

LUNCH

All who are attending the morning session are invited to join us for lunch. Please let Dave Shapiro or Michele Bosworth know if you are not able to attend lunch.

MEMBERS

Members arrive at 7:30am for breakfast and check-in. Please RSVP to Michele Bosworth by April 30th, 2014 if you will be bringing employee guests.

MEMBER CANDIDATES

There will be CEO Potential Member Candidates joining us for this workshop.
Potential Member Candidates are invited to the workshop and lunch; 8:50 am - 1:00 pm.

EMPLOYEE GUESTS

Employee Guests are invited to attend the workshop and lunch; 8:50 am - 1:00 pm.

HOST

Philip Sis

WHERE WE WILL MEET 

Umpqua Bank (formerly Sterling Bank)  6021 244th St SW, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043.

The workshop will be held in the conference room on the 4th floor.

Upon entering Sterling Bank, check-in at the reception desk.  At check-in you will receive a visitors badge which will grant you access to the elevator and the entire building.  Take the elevator to the 4th floor.  The conference room is on the 4th floor.

Click HERE for a map and driving directions

TITLE OF WORKSHOP

Management Methodology Matching

AGENDA

Click HERE to view the Agenda.

QUESTIONS THE CEO SHOULD BE ASKING

• Every company has projects to manage.  Many companies manage them poorly, and many projects fail.  Having more awareness of the types of projects and the methods of managing them can help more projects succeed.
• CEO's should be asking themselves these questions:
• Do I understand the various classes of projects and the various ways to manage these projects?
• Which ways of managing am I comfortable with and how will I deal with those with which I am uncomfortable?

TAKEAWAYS

• You will learn a useful way to categorize your projects by their "management personality," allowing you to manage them more effectively.
• You will learn about how methodologies for managing projects differ in terms personality assumptions. 

PREPARATION 

• Bring a list of a few systems in use and a list of a few projects underway at your company.

PRESENTERS: DOUG HANHART AND JOHN HELM

Doug Hanhart

Doug Hanhart is the managing partner of Executive TimeSlice, a local executive consulting firm, and is the Chief Information Officer for half a dozen local Seattle firms.  He believes that the integration of business and technology at a strategic level can help a company worry less and create more.  Doug’s specialties include executive technology assessments, aligning technology with business goals, getting projects unstuck, and technology compliance.

 www.executivetimeslice.com

doug@executivetimeslice.com

425-443-2159

John Helm

Dr. John Helm is a partner at Executive TimeSlice and brings a diverse set of experiences to the team, including a doctorate in nuclear physics, a professorship at Columbia University, experience on Wall Street, and service as the Chief Technology Officer of Drugstore.com.  John believes that suboptimal decisions are the root cause of most business disappointments, including ones expressed as technology issues, and that to make business better we must understand how the sequence of decisions that got us to now, were made.  Recently, John developed the Helm Framework, a methodology for choosing the right management approach to a system or project.  A paper on the Framework has been recently submitted for publication in the Harvard Business Review.

 www.executivetimeslice.com

john@executivetimeslice.com

917-362-2403

 

GET CLARITY™ FOR ORGANIZATIONS & TEAMS—SHIFT to ABOVE-THE-LINE CULTURE

WHAT:  April CEO Tools Workshop
WHEN: Tuesday April 8, 2014
WHERE:  SBW Consulting, Bellevue

Every company has a culture whether created intentionally or not.  Culture means having common traits, behaviors and patterns that tie people together.  The goal of most leaders is to create an environment that is energizing, productive and effective; where the employees are enthusiastic, accountable, committed and engaged. In this CEO Tools Workshop, you will learn how to create this type of culture referred to as an “Above-the-Line” culture, where:

• Thoughts are positively directed contributing to dedicated and trusting co-workers,
• Solutions are readily available to business challenges,
•  Collaboration happens naturally among teams,
• Employees are fully participating in the common purpose, resulting in peak experiences which lead to peak performance.

With an above-the-line culture, employees are happier, which according to recent research posted by the Wall Street Journal and the iOpener Institute results in:

• Employees stay twice as long in their jobs as their least happy colleagues,
• Believe they are achieving their potential 2x as much,
• Spend 65% more time feeling energized,
• 58% are more likely to go out of the way to help their colleagues,
• 98% identify more strongly with the values of their organization,
• 186% are more likely to recommend their organization to a friend.

An above-the-line culture is critical in order to address the energy crisis in companies. According to the State of the American Workplace: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. Business Leaders,"(Gallup, 2013), 70% of workers are disengaged. Studies done by The Energy Project shows that workers today are exhausted, emotionally depleted, unfocused, and lacking purpose. It is no surprise they are disengaged when:

• 59% don’t regularly get at least 7-8 hours of sleep and/or often wake up feeling tired,
• 69% have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time and are easily distracted during the day, especially by email, and
• 58% say there are significant gaps between what they say is important in their life and how they actually live.

So what does this mean for you as a CEO/Executive? It means something is “missing”, and the way we are working isn’t working. Consider this…

Do you or members of your team sometimes swirl in an eddy of negative thinking, focused on what isn’t working, only finding that you create the exact opposite result of what you want?

No one starts the day saying, “I am going to behave and act in ways that exhaust my energy and the energy of the people around me.” Sounds absurd doesn’t it? And yet, that is the net effect of what happens day in and day out in offices everywhere—people go home with their energy and enthusiasm drained and exhausted, having worked at less than optimal levels.

There is a secret to choosing to work with intention, passion and purpose. When we consciously choose thoughts that align all aspects of our work and life with what energizes us, we are more effective as leaders. The challenge is to have a process and methodology to keep you and your team intentionally focused and conscious throughout the day. Clarity’s Thought Changing System™ provides a simple, easy to use process to SHIFT your thought energy to be more effective.

In this workshop, we will explore what contributes to an above-the-line culture, create awareness around your personal leadership energy and the impact your thoughts and behaviors are having, while providing you with a practical methodology and tool to use daily to create a peak experience which ultimately leads to peak performance.

LUNCH

All who are attending the morning workshop session are invited to join us for lunch. Please let Dave Shapiro or Michele Bosworth know if you are not able to attend lunch.

MEMBERS

Members arrive at 7:30am for breakfast and check-in. Please RSVP to Michele Bosworth by March 31, 2014 if you will be bringing employee guests.

MEMBER CANDIDATES

Member Candidates are invited to join us for the workshop and lunch from 9:00am-12:00pm with lunch immediately following from 12:00 noon to 1:00pm.  Please arrive by 8:50am and wait in the lobby.   Dave Shapiro will come get you before the workshop begins at 9:00am.

EMPLOYEE GUESTS

Employee Guests are invited to attend the workshop from from 9:00am - 12:00pm. Please arrive by 8:50am and wait in the lobby.  Dave Shapiro will come get you before the workshop begins at 9:00am.

HOST:

Bing Tso of SBW Consulting

WHERE WE WILL MEET:

SBW Consulting; 2820 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98004

Click HERE for Google Map

TITLE OF WORKSHOP:

GET CLARITY™ FOR ORGANIZATIONS & TEAMS—SHIFT to ABOVE-THE-LINE CULTURE

AGENDA:

Click  HERE to view the Agenda.

QUESTIONS THE CEO SHOULD BE ASKING:

•  What is energy and why is this important in the corporate environment?
• What impact are my thoughts and behaviors having on my performance and in turn, what is the effect of my energy on my direct reports and the overall culture of my organization?
•  How can we create a culture of vitality and productivity that is sustainable?
• What can I do to create a culture of positivity/happiness that in turn produces favorable bottom-line results?

TAKEAWAYS:

•  Understand the business case for addressing the impact of “energy” in your company.
• Discover how your thoughts and behaviors impact your performance and the results of teams within your organization.
•  Create a process that allows you to improve the quality and outcomes of meetings and to address performance issues (self, others and organization) from a positive perspective.
• Practice skills that will support you in creating intentional and aligned thoughts and actions to achieve improved business results.
•  Identify one clear action step that will support you in sustaining an above-the-line culture.

PREPARATION:

1.  Invite a member of your Executive Team to join you at this meeting. This person will be your accountability partner around the commitments and daily practice that will be clarified during the meeting.

2. Take 10 minutes to complete a Personal Leadership Energy Survey.  
Click here for the survey.

PRESENTER: SHANNON BRUCE

Shannon Bruce is a Catalyst for Culture Change who uses her skills as a Team Coach, Facilitator and Trainer to save companies time, money and pain caused by unresolved conflicts and toxic relationships. As the Owner and CEO of StoryBridge™ she helps companies rewrite the story of ineffective communication and silos among teams to create an inspired story of team collaboration and peak performance. 

Shannon’s greatest strength is her ability to create a safe environment for individuals and teams to address “what’s not being said”. With a unique blend of compassion coupled with truth telling, she brings to light the unconscious negative thought patterns that hinder relationships and the performance of teams. Through active listening and evocative questions, Shannon reveals the unhealthy engagement patterns of teams to redesign new ways interacting as a team while getting the work done with vitality. The end result is highly engaged team members with healthy communication and effective conflict handling that improves both top line and bottom line performance.

Using the Get Clarity™ training “Shift to Above-the-Line Culture”, Shannon is improving the team dynamics of organizations to one of positivity with increased results. Her proven track record in working with several health care teams and a Call Center Department in the Pacific Northwest resulted in customer service level increases of 26%, reduced absenteeism that translated into a decrease of call wait times of 39 seconds and overall team improvements of 35% for positivity and 36% for productivity.

She has 20+ years of experience as a CPA, Auditor, regional and corporate Operations Manager and Entrepreneur. She holds a B.A. in Business from Washington State University and received her coach training from the Coaches Training Institute. She is credentialed through the International Coach Federation and also works as a mentor/supervisor for coaches going through the credentialing process. She is also a authorized and licensed facilitator of Team Coaching International.

Living in Bremerton, WA with her 13-year old daughter, Shannon enjoys quality time with family and friends in addition to reading, hiking and spending time outside.