The Payoff At the end of this process, whether you choose to sell your company or keep it, there is a huge reward. I call it the EOS Life: The chance to do only the work you love to do Doing it only with people you love to be with Making a significant difference in the lives of others you touch Being well paid for your efforts and risk Having the time for other passions in your life What a life! If you owned a business that allowed you to live that way, you might not want to sell it! But if you did, you can be sure it would fetch a premium price.

1. To Building a
High-Value Company
TEN STEPS

2. Two entrepreneurs started businesses ten years ago.
• same industry
• same market
• same bootstrap financing
• same economy
• same opportunities
• same luck – both good and bad
WHAT HAPPENED?
Company A is now poised for multi-million dollar sale.
Company B is worth next to nothing.

3. Company A was led by an entrepreneur who:
• learned what strategies would build his company’s value
• surrounded himself with a leadership team that could help him
execute his plan
• Went beyond the “Six Key Components™” to be ready when
opportunity arose
Company B’s leader was too busy with the day-to-day to get
around to building a complete team that could do more than he
could do alone.

4. STEP 1:
Decide NOW to be an
equity-growth company,
not a “lifestyle” business.
You can’t use your business as a personal piggy bank and build
value at the same time.
• No hiding personal expenses in your P&L
• Consider yourself a steward of other people’s money
• Keep money in the business to boost its value
• Think MULTIPLIER in the long run of deferred gratification
VALUE IS EASY TO PROVE WITH HIGH PROFITS

5. STEP 2:
Get serious about taking the
time to become a great
hiring company.
Strengthen your people component. You can’t reach greatness
without the right people in the right seats.
• Hire based on core values and not on qualifications alone
• Read Good to Great by Jim Collins
• Use screening tools like Strengths Finder, Kolbe, DISC
INVEST IN PEOPLE AS CAREFULLY AS EQUIPMENT

6. STEP 3:
Read, believe, and practice the
disciplines in The Four Obsessions
of an Extraordinary Executive.
Strengthen your vision component.
• Obsession 1 Maintaining a cohesive leadership team
• Obsession 2 Creating organizational clarity
• Obsession 3 Over-communicating the vision
• Obsession 4 Reinforcing organizational clarity through
human systems
ANSWER THE V/TO’s “EIGHT QUESTIONS”, SBA

7. STEP 4:
Use metrics to
drive EBITDA.
Strengthen your data component.
• Annually plan for EBITDA driving programs, strategies.
• Every department has a scorecard, executive team, too.
• Every employee is responsible for a measurable
• Scorecards are reviewed every week
ANNUALLY MEASURE “NORMALIZED EBITDA”

8. STEP 5:
Address your
problems head-on.
Strengthen your issues component.
• Stop turning left at Fear Junction – ignored problems
WON’T go away
• Treat the root cause and not just the symptoms
• Make it SAFE to call out the issues & hold one another
accountable
IGNORED PROBLEMS ARE A TRACTION KILLER

9. STEP 6:
Document your
core processes.
Strengthen your process component.
• Write them down so everyone sticks to the same method
• Be detailed with your explanations, but distill them into simple
checklists and charts
• Repeatable processes simple to understand, boost
company value immensely
THIS IS HOW WE DO THINGS HERE

10. STEP 7:
Build value-driving principles into your
leadership team’s planning cycle and
accountability system.
Strengthen your traction component.
• Your team must know what drives value and be held
accountable for the part they play in it.
• EOS provides a corporate-style planning cycle so make
sure it is so ingrained into the culture people are mad if they don’t
get quarterly and annual planning retreats.
“YOU CANNOT OVERCOMMUNICATE CLARITY”

11. STEP 8:
Get your work/life
balance in order.
Take regular clarity breaks.
• Leave the trees so you can see the forest.
• Personal free time away from work is a requirement, not a
reward.
• Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach discusses “Focus
Days, Buffer Days, Free Days”.
GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS TO WORK ON THE BUSINESS

12. STEP 9:
Build a case for value and be ready to
share it an any time.
Document your key metrics – revenue growth, earnings
trends, churn rate, list of top customers, percentage of market
share, etc.
• You can miss a golden opportunity if your case isn’t ready
when it comes along.
• Hire a CFO to build your case for value. Even small
companies can afford the services of a fractional CFO.
• Consider Investment Banker / Business Brokers
relationships a year or more before you need them
BE READY WHEN THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY ARRIVES

13. STEP 10:
Align yourself with advisors that know how
this works and will hold you accountable.
YOU CAN’T DO THIS ALONE
You will need:
• Strategic execution coach = Your EOS Implementer
• Staffing Firm for key hires
• CPA
• Fractional CFO
• Attorney
• Investment banker

14. THE END RESULT
Even if you choose not to sell your
business, you’ll be living The EOS Life:
YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO SELL A BUSINESS LIKE THAT!
• Doing only the work you love
• Working only with people you love to be with
• Making a significant difference in the lives of others
• Being well paid for your efforts
• Having time to do other things you’re passionate about

15. QUESTIONS?
Case Studies / Q & A