The document discusses eight simple questions inspired by successful Canadian companies that can help navigate business challenges. It emphasizes the importance of clarity, focus, and simplicity in different aspects of business such as mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and attracting talent. Each question provides insights from real case studies, demonstrating how simplicity can lead to significant success.

1. 8 simple questions
Inspired by 20 years
of celebrating Canada’s
Best Managed Companies
#BestManaged

2. Thinking like one
of Canada’s Best
Managed Companies
is surprisingly simple.
That’s what makes
it so hard.

3. Simplicity leads to clarity.
Clarity leads to focus.
Focus leads to success.
Canada’s Best Managed Companies
cut through today’s complicated business
landscape with simple questions.

4. We’ll show you how some of Canada’s Best Managed
Companies responded to their challenges with simplicity,
discipline and focus.
Hopefully, they’ll inspire you to do the same when you
face challenges in these areas.
Let’s look at simple questions for 8 aspects of
business inspired by our book, Power of the Best.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Innovation
Attracting Talent
Productivity
Strategy
Leadership
Globalization
Raising Capital

5. A struggling discount brewery in
Saskatchewan recognized that the beer
market had changed.
• Young people were drinking less beer
• Quality beer became more important
than cheap beer
• Many of the ‘authentically Canadian’
breweries were purchased by
foreign companies
The CEO knew they had to change, but
the company had been doing things the
same way for 30 years.
Strategy
1. Does everyone buy into the plan?

6. Rather than imposing his 6-point plan on his
people, the CEO showed them what the result
of the plan would look like.
• A new flagship brand that honoured the
company’s heritage
• A return to authentic Canadian brewing
techniques that could make them feel proud
With everyone on board, from the assembly
line staff to the sales teams, the brewery
reversed its fortunes in just three years.
1. Does everyone buy into the plan?
Strategy

7. 1. Does everyone buy into the plan?
It’s easy for your people to lose sight
of goals in a sea of ‘action items’.
Strategy

8. It’s easy for your people to lose sight
of goals in a sea of ‘action items’.
Make sure everyone in your
organization knows your strategy,
understands it and believes in it. The
more buy-in you have, the greater
chance you have of success.
1. Does everyone buy into the plan?
Strategy

9. An oil & gas distribution company was growing
quickly due to an aggressive M&A strategy.
• These acquisitions essentially meant they
were hiring people they had never met
• They were inheriting corporate cultures
that might not have aligned with theirs
• They had more staff but fewer people to
lead them
They knew they needed more leaders,
but weren’t in the position to identify them.
2. Are your natural leaders leading?
Leadership

10. Rather than look for leaders within their
organizations, they help budding leaders
come to them.
• Their financials are transparent to all
employee so anyone can put forward
a well-informed proposal
• With an operational mantra of ‘the person
doing the job knows best’, they give
everyone an opportunity to lead
By giving employees the tools to be
proactive, the company can more easily
identify and support its natural leaders.
2. Are your natural leaders leading?
Leadership

11. 2. Are your natural leaders leading?
It’s easy for natural leaders to get
lost in a company’s process.
Leadership

12. It’s easy for natural leaders to get
lost in a company’s process.
A clear path to leadership, and a
company-wide commitment to
empower people who take that
path, make identifying the future
leaders of your company easier.
And it makes the future health of
your company stronger.
2. Are your natural leaders leading?
Leadership

13. A toy company was about to pitch for the
global licensing rights for ‘Monsters 2’.
• They were strong in North America,
but not as strong around the world
• Outside North America, they were
reliant on local distributors to make
deals for them
• They were unable to communicate
directly with those distributors
and retailers
They needed a more local presence
around the world to effectively manage
the opportunity.
3. Where do you need to be?
Globalization

14. Rather than remain a Canadian company that
sold products globally, they invested the money
to become a global company.
• They opened branded offices across the globe
• They developed an IT system to connect
them directly with retailers and distributors in
real time
With a physical presence around the world,
they had more control of their operation, knew
more about their global inventory and could
better service their retailers.
And they won the Monsters 2 pitch.
3. Where do you need to be?
Globalization

15. 3. Where do you need to be?
It’s easy to say you’re a global company.
Globalization

16. 3. Where do you need to be?
It’s easy to say you’re a global
company. Just because you sell
global doesn't mean you are global.
Globalization

17. It’s easy to say you’re a global
company. Just because you sell
global doesn’t mean you are global.
The more places you can be, the
more control you have, and the more
successful you can become.
3. Where do you need to be?
Globalization

18. 4. How much do you have and how much do you need?
A refueling company needed more money
to continue its strong growth momentum.
• Their line of credit was maxed out
• They wanted to avoid spending more
borrowed money
• They wanted to move quickly
They knew they had to find an innovative
way to raise capital.
Raising Capital

19. Rather than look to alternative sources,
they looked to their own receivables.
• They adjusted the payment terms on
their invoices to get paid sooner (from
34 to 25 days)
• This saved them close to $10 million
in monthly operational costs
Instead of borrowing more money, they
took back money their customers were
essentially borrowing from them.
4. How much do you have and how much do you need?
Raising Capital

20. 4. How much do you have and how much do you need?
It’s easy to spend someone else’s money.
Raising Capital

21. It’s easy to spend someone else’s money.
But before you borrow, take a look at how
you manage cash flow. You may already
have what you need.
4. How much do you have and how much do you need?
Raising Capital

22. 5. How do you fit into the company you’re buying?
A veterinary management company
was purchasing or partnering with vet
clinics across the country.
• Pet owners like the experience
of going to a local vet
• The idea of going to a vet chain
would have been widely rejected
• No one who worked for the vet
management company was actually
a vet or had any vet training
The company had to find a way to
integrate themselves into the clinics
without devaluing them.
Mergers and Acquisitions

23. Rather than assuming control of the
companies they purchased, they played
a supporting role.
• Their company name is not visible
in any of the clinics they own
• They let the vets manage the
day-to-day operations of the clinics
• They have 97% vet retention in
their clinics
They were humble enough to recognize
their place.
5. How do you fit into the company you’re buying?
Mergers and Acquisitions

24. It’s easy to walk in to a company you buy
and immediately put your stamp on it.
5. How do you fit into the company you’re buying?
Mergers and Acquisitions

25. It’s easy to walk in to a company you buy
and immediately put your stamp on it.
By understanding what you’ve
purchased, you may find that being a
silent partner (even when you have a
majority stake), is the best arrangement
for success.
5. How do you fit into the company you’re buying?
Mergers and Acquisitions

26. 6. When is doing nothing riskier than doing something?
In 1998, after years of unpopularity, eggs
were making a comeback and one egg
farm wanted to lead the way.
• Cholesterol fear is what drove the
market downturn
• Another downturn could easily
happen again
• Every egg farmer that survived would
have their own plan to make up for
lost profits
The egg farm knew it had to stand out in
what would be a very loud marketplace.
Innovation

27. Rather than continuing to produce the same
old eggs, they altered the biological make-up
of eggs – something that had never been done.
• They infused their eggs with Omega-3
fatty acids to make them healthier
• They created the first on-the-shelf
egg white product
• These and other innovations led to
13 Canadian Product of the Year wins
Their eggs are now endorsed by the Heart
and Stroke Foundation’s Health Check Program.
6. When is doing nothing riskier than doing something?
Innovation

28. 6. When is doing nothing riskier than doing something?
It’s easy to maintain the status quo.
Innovation

29. It’s easy to maintain the status quo.
But if you’re not dreaming big, one of
your competitors is. And if you’re not
coming up with the next great thing,
they are.
6. When is doing nothing riskier than doing something?
Innovation

30. An energy company was having trouble
finding men who wanted to be electricians.
• The‘90s downturn sent many aspiring
electricians on different career paths
• Many boomers who took up the trade during
their time were approaching retirement
• The trade colleges in the company’s province
were in remote, inconvenient locations
They knew they would be facing a labour
shortage if they couldn’t attract and retain
skilled people.
7. How are you finding the best people?
Attracting Talent

31. Rather than continue searching for more
men, they invested in women; an untapped
source of human capital in the industry.
• They created an on-site training program
for women
• Their female electricians led by example
and recruited others
• Only 1% of the province’s electricians are
women, but this company employs 15%
of them
They also have a successful aboriginal
employment outreach program.
7. How are you finding the best people?
Attracting Talent

32. It’s easy to think there’s only one
‘right kind of person’ for a job.
7. How are you finding the best people?
Attracting Talent

33. It’s easy to think there’s only one
‘right kind of person’ for a job.
Keep an open mind and instruct
your hiring managers to do the
same. It can lead you to valuable
human capital you may have
never considered.
7. How are you finding the best people?
Attracting Talent

34. 8. Are there redundancies in your process?
A countertop company recognized a
flaw in their process – and in the industry
as a whole.
• Installers would measure a space, cut
a Cardboard template, then drive the
template to the workshop
• The stone-cutters would then cut the slab
to match the template
• They were measuring twice to cut once,
while also wasting time and fuel
transporting cardboard
They knew they could be more productive
by eliminating the cardboard template.
Productivity

35. Rather that doing away with the template
altogether, they digitized the entire process
to ensure more precision and increased
productivity.
• They invested in a mobile device that
linked installers directly to the workshop
• They significantly reduced the time it
took to complete a job
• They reduced opportunities for error
by 50%
They reported a 33%-50% improvement
in productivity.
8. Are there redundancies in your process?
Productivity

36. It’s easy to stick to the process
you’ve always known.
8. Are there redundancies in your process?
Productivity

37. It’s easy to stick to the process
you’ve always known.
Standing back and evaluating it
once in a while can lead you to
opportunities you might not have
seen, technologies you might not
have thought were possible, and
improvements you might not have
considered.
8. Are there redundancies in your process?
Productivity

38. As you can see, it’s the simple questions
that often lead to the best solutions.
We’ve been working with Canada’s Best
Managed Companies for 20 years and
they consistently demonstrate the power
of simple thinking.
We can help you succeed like they do.

39. To learn more about Canada’s Best Managed Companies
and how to become one, contact us at:
bestmanagedcompanies@deloitte.ca
Professional coaching throughout the process makes applying
to become a Best Managed company a benefit in itself.
Let’s talk about your strategies for success.
JOIN THE #BESTMANAGED CONVERSATION
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40. Want to read more?
Our “8 simple questions” were
inspired by stories in the best-selling
business book, Power of the Best:
Innovative Strategies from Canada’s
Best Managed Companies.
In Power of the Best, authors
Peter Brown and John Hughes delve
into the key themes that are essential
to business success, illustrated by
front-line examples from owners and
executives of Canada's Best Managed
Companies.

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