The information, examples and data in this booklet has been acquired from several sources including more than 20 years of work experience with start-ups to fortune 500 companies, interviews with colleagues and business leaders.

1. NOT EASY CHOICES
THE BUSINESS OF MAKING STRUCTURAL CHOICES
ALAN
McCAFFERTY

2. Copyright © 2011, 2012, 2013 Alan McCafferty
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or an information storage and
retrieval system without the express written permission of the author. The author however does grant the
sole exception for brief quotations along with full recognition for the author.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan McCafferty’s was educated in several Canadian and US, Universities, Colleges and Professional
Schools in engineering, business, Integrated logistics support and risk management. His career has
been in Aerospace, Technology, Defence, Construction, Services and Healthcare. As a seasoned
business executive with more than twenty five years of hands on experience he is an advocate of
continual learning. Alan built a successful business and has been an active member of leadership teams
responsible for strategic planning for projects exceeding a billion dollars and responsible for the
execution of these programmatic initiatives.
Alan McCafferty
alan.mccafferty@rogers.com

3. SIMPLE
IS NOT THE SAME AS
SIMPLISTIC
As you read this book you will come across simple business concepts and models,
although simple they are not simplistic. In the purest sense the concept of simple =
deep and fast and simplistic = shallow and fast.
An example of simplistic would be “experience is the best teacher”. On the surface a
truthful statement however if we examine it further we quickly discover this is only a
half truth. All experience teaches us something but teaching without context or new
skills does not necessarily make us wiser or smarter, just the benefactor of
experiences.
An example of simple is E = MC2 although simple in its components the result is
undeniably equal to years of study, numerous skills and layers of experience.
Therefore a statement such as simply lead is the result of education, skills and
contextualized experience.

4. NOT EASY CHOICES
PREFACE
This book is what I refer to as the little book of business and I’ve attempted to create what I believe is an explanation and exploration of
the main concepts with regards to how to structure a successful business. The information, examples and data in this book has been
acquired from several sources including more than 20 years of work experience with start-ups to fortune 500 companies, interviews with
colleagues and business leaders, research in libraries, the Internet, whitepapers and articles.
The book is divided into four unique parts that can be used as independent tools and knowledge or collectively as a guidebook or road
map i.e. skills. Part one deals with common things you need to know in business although some people might find this redundant,
however for the majority it can be viewed as checklists for benchmarking the business. Part two is structural business models that can
be used as a transference of knowledge by explaining the different structures you find in different size businesses. Part three is a series
of formulas that every business should take advantage of so that they gain further insight into the business. Finally part four is a simple
yet highly powerful predictive modelling tool that allows for the determination of things like if a business is stalled, on a successful
growth path or destructive growth path and much more.
In the end this book is somewhat representative of the path I’ve taken in my career and have attempted to transcribe these experiences
and knowledge into a series of tools and models. More than once during that time managers and owners have approached me and
asked for advice examples and tools to help them get over a hurdle or issue that had stalled their department or business. I strongly
believe that this book can be used as a tool by three unique groups of readers. The first would be a new business owner, the second
would be a manager or director going through change and the third would be the established business owner looking at what the future
holds.
I wish you all the luck on your journey and hope you’re blessed with the good fortune that I have been given.
Best Regards
Alan McCafferty
|4|

5. NOT EASY CHOICES
Things you need to know
PART 1
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS
|5|

6. NOT EASY CHOICES
BUSINESS
WHAT IS A BUSINESS?
A business by definition is to undertake a venture with the purpose of selling valuable goods or
services also known as your products to customers with the goal of increasing wealth. The
process of doing business or being in business is the result of an organized approach of
acquiring assets in the form of products and services, transforming the said assets to increase
their value such that the customer will purchase them.
TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
A business does not immediately translate into success and prosperity
A business is simply a means of transferring wealth from the customer to the
business
In a business cash is king, just remember rainy days will happen
In a business cash can come in many different shapes and sizes
Every business has a particular culture that involves people and processes
Business growth is a proportional result of trustful delegation
Business failures can be just a beneficial as a business successes
The best business decisions are made as close to the customer as possible
A business partnership is easier said than done
Responsibility starts and stops at the CEO’s desk
Describe your business in the space provided.
Things You Need to Know
|6|

7. NOT EASY CHOICES
MARKETING
WHAT IS A MARKETING?
The process of creating and describing an organization’s value proposition in order to be
successful in selling a product or service that people not only desire, but are willing to buy.
The process is supported through research into anticipating the customers' future needs and
wants, which are often discovered through demographic and geographic research. Therefore
good marketing must be able to create a "proposition" or a set of “benefits” for the customer
that delivers “value” through products or services.
TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MARKETING:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Effective marketing is engaging, emotional and addresses customer need
Marketing ≠ Advertising ≠ Sales
Market product and service benefits and not features
Relevant, meaningful and helpful content is king, (narrow instead of broad)
Every employee regardless of what they do will represent your brand outside
so make sure they understand how to communicate your message
Focus on a reaching and engaging an initial group of highly motivated
customers so they act as advocates and champions for your business
Incorporate customer feedback using up to date methods and technologies
Think relevant mobile, how many customers are on the move and connected
The CEO must be deeply committed, involved and take full responsibility for
marketing
Change is the only constant in marketing
Summarise your marketing in the space provided.
Things You Need to Know
|7|

8. NOT EASY CHOICES
SALES
WHAT IS SALES?
A systemic approach to identify, capture, manages and executes a mutually beneficial
interpersonal exchange of products and services for equitable value. For the most part selling
is concerned with discovering a customer’s existing product or service pain and how best to
overcome that pain. Therefore a good sales person is an expert at establishing a relationship
of trust and integrity while communicating the benefits applicable to the customer.
TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SALES:
1. Sales ≠ Business Development
2. Rank your customers, then target prospects that resemble the highest ranked
customers
3. Address a prospect’s pain with a solution instead of delivering a sales pitch
4. Develop and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your sales cycle
5. Always listen to your customers’ and integrate it into a business feedback loop
6. Understand your customers’ purchasing timelines and align your sales cycle to
then
7. Train, train and train your team again on to overcome objectives
8. Your sales methods, needs to match your pricing strategy
9. Match your selling methods with your customers purchasing preferences
10. Sell yourself, at the end of the day your business is your product
Compare your selling methods to your customers’ purchasing preferences in the space provided.
Things You Need to Know
|8|

9. NOT EASY CHOICES
FINANCE
WHAT IS CORPORATE FINANCE?
Corporate finance is a discipline of acquiring and managing capital that can be divided into
long-term and short-term planning decisions that businesses make to maximize shareholder
value. Numerous strategies are used for capital acquisitions, investments, banking and the
management of capital.
TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CORPORATE FINANCE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
The playing field in never level within your industry
Investors are not only willing to rent you money
A successful business keeps its cash flow and analysis up to date
A business will use financial ratios and break-even analysis to understand
corporate financial health
Owners and managers should understand the rule of 72
Understand that future money always has a net present value
Investors to do not invest in good ideas but in people and products
Institution money (senior debt) is in last and out first
Corporate finance must be included as part of your tax planning
The best time to raise money is when you don’t need money
List the corporate finance options you have in the space provided.
Things You Need to Know
|9|

10. NOT EASY CHOICES
ACCOUNTING
WHAT IS ACCOUNTING?
The tools and systems used for the primary purpose of recording, summarizing, maintaining
and preparing statements concerning the assets, liabilities, and operating results of a
business. Secondary purpose also includes the process of analysing statements for the
determination of financial viability of a business.
TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ACCOUNTING:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
The three major elements of accounting includes assets, liabilities and capital
Accounting is a historical record of transactions not a prediction of the future
The accounting process is to identify and analyse transactions, record them in
journals, post them to the ledger, determine trial balances and financial
statements
Accounting ≠ bookkeeping
Accounting along with research and a pro forma budget allows a business to
predict one or more versions of the future
A budget is a management tool that should be updated every 30 days
Business is about the transfer of wealth or the flow of money and accounting
measures the flow
Accounting records require higher levels of security than other corporate data
Accounting tools and systems grow proportionally with the business
Efficient accounting is only one aspect of tax planning
List your accounting tools in use in the space provided.
Things You Need to Know
| 10 |

11. NOT EASY CHOICES
DOCUMENTS
WHAT IS DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT?
Document management is an organized and systemic approach to create, track and store
electronic documents. This involves the coordination and control of the flow (storage, retrieval,
processing, printing, routing, and distribution) of electronic and paper documents in a secure
and efficient manner, to ensure that they are accessible to authorized personnel as and when
required.
TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
A business is never too small for Document Management
Document management evolves proportionally with business growth
Document management systems tightly integrate with business applications
Workflow is an added value for lower document management costs
Document management is a critical component of effective disaster recovery
Document management simplifies and improves customer service
Document management reduces the strain of audits and assessments
Document management is a key component of your risk management
processes
Document management reduces the risk of intellectual property loss
Document management has a positive impact on your business ROI
Describe how your documents are managed in the space provided.
Things You Need to Know
| 11 |

12. NOT EASY CHOICES
Structure
PART 2
STRUCTURAL BUSINESS MODELS
| 12 |

13. NOT EASY CHOICES
• BUSINESS DEFINED BY SALES
• A business can be defined in several ways however I’ve found that by using annual gross revenue (sales) you can group
common business features and structure around these sales bands:
• SMALL
$0 to $5M
A note about relativity: It’s important to remember that this information is relative
• SMALL – MEDIUM
$5M to $25M
to specific industries and should be scaled appropriately. As an example, $25M in
annual sales for a house cleaning business may be considered large however $25M
• MEDIUM – LARGE
$25M to $100M
for certain defence contractors would be considered small .
• LARGE
$100M+
• VALUE PROPOSITION
• A business should define the total transfer of benefit of it’s products and services to the customer by a value proposition
that falls into one or more of these categories:
• B to B: Increase in Sales and/or Decrease in Costs and /or A Reduction in Customer Churn
• B to C: Increase in Pleasure and/or Decrease in Pain and /or A Reduction in Product/Service Churn
• PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
A. Your products and your competitors do not address your customers needs
therefore your value proposition has no value for this customer.
YOUR
PRODUCTS
AND
SERVICES
A
COMPETITORS’
PRODUCTS
AND
SERVICES
B
C
D
YOUR
CUSTOMERS’
NEEDS
Structure
B. Your products and your competitors products are equal and address your
customers needs, therefore your value proposition is price sensitive and
challenged by the competition.
C. Your products address unique customer needs without competition,
therefore your value proposition is without price sensitivity. This
allows you to establish the entry level price and to develop the niche
inside the market.
D. Your competitors products address unique customer needs without
competition, therefore upon entry into this niche your value proposition will
need to address this barrier to entry
| 13 |

14. NOT EASY CHOICES
A company, business or organization will naturally evolve through several stages of growth regardless if you want to or not. The
challenge for an owner or manager will be to identify when you reach a threshold and need to change. At each threshold a business
needs to change: Management, Communication Style, Tools and Skills
Up to
$1-$5M
SMALL
$5 to $25M
$25 to $100M
SMALL, MEDIUM
Inventors to Managers
MEDIUM, LARGE
Managers to Creators
$100 to $500M
LARGE
Creators to Innovators
Managing Sales: A process that establishes measurable points of reference through the use of Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) based on items to establish realistic assumptions, objectives and strategies
Chasing
Money
Managing
Money
Process Centered
Financial Strategies
Process Managed
Financial Strategies
Market
Dominated
Financial
Strategies
Managing The Organization: The leadership and tools used to get people to achieve a collective desired goal
where a Successful Business = A Healthy Business + A Smart Business.
- Healthy Business = Leadership + Clarity + Communication + Training + Avoiding Bureaucratic Spin
- Smart Business = Forecasting Tools + Accounting Tools + Customer Relationship Tools
Person to Process
Structure
Process to layered
Layered to Regionally
integrated into an Enterprise
| 14 |

15. NOT EASY CHOICES
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
•
The first part of corporate sustainability is defined by the sale of products and services. Sales is the result of an
organized and managed process that leads to the discovery of customer needs and pains and matching those needs
and pains with your products and services. It’s the transfer of your products and services that represents the value to
the customer. Once discovering the needs and pains the major challenge is to define the most appropriate price.
•
Product and service pricing is the result of understanding customer needs and pains along with market knowledge and
trends
PRODUCT PRICING:
•
There are only three prices in the world for every product and service created and yet to be created:
•
Price is equal:
You compete on equivalent features and services
•
Price below or above:
You compete on equivalent features and services with a
measurable difference in one or more
•
Price is a submarine:
Your price is so low you’re attempting to disrupt a market
based on price only
PRICING WITHIN A MARKET SEGMENT:
•
Identify the market segment your product fits into, you want to find an under serviced niche in that market this allows
you to establish the initial price point.
•
Deliver your product into the niche with the highest price possible that allows you to capture the largest share of the
market in other words you want to drive your product deep into the market.
•
Once you’ve established that your product is the standard in the niche now go wide with other complimentary products
and services. Using this technique you will be able to establish the product price across the entire market by leveraging
your deep niche.
THE FIVE MISTAKES MOST COMPANIES MAKE ESTABLISHING PRICES:
 Base their prices on their costs, not their customers’ perceptions of value
 Strive for the same profit margin across all product lines
 Fail to segment and rank their customers
 Fail to establish sale KPIs and assign sufficient resources to monitor them
 Change pricing without notice or hold pricing too long without understanding the market’s reaction
Structure
| 15 |

16. NOT EASY CHOICES
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
•
The second part of corporate sustainability is your financing in this case its not how much you make but how
much you keep and this is can be the more difficult one of the two.
•
Every decision you make in your organization has financial implications, and any decision that involves the use
of money is a corporate financial decision. The basic corporate finance terms and definitions are as follows:
•
Firm = Any business selling products or services
•
Assets = Investments (both fixed and current)
•
Assets in place = Assets the firm has already invested
•
Growth Assets = Assets the firm is expected to invest in the future
•
Debt = Raised money with an interest payment component
•
Equity = Residual claim on cash flow i.e. left over after interest payments are made
BAD
BETTER
CASH IN < CASH OUT
CASH IN = CASH OUT
CASH IN = Single source of revenue
or no defined source of revenue
CASH IN = Normally 2 independent
sources of revenue
This organization is not sustainable
Two cases when this is ok:
• A start up
• The launch of a new product or service
To fund this you need an asset that you
can back stop the debt that will be created
Rules of thumb:
Debt to Asset = 1:4
Debt to Equity = 4:1
Asset Value = loan + payments + fees
Loan payment = net new revenue
Structure
This organization is balanced or revenue
neutral but is not yet sustainable, change is
still recommended. Experience has shown
that if you maintain this position for to long
you will default back to the first and not the
third because of being blind sided by a
competitor.
Rules of thumb:
• Balance leads to complacency
• Competitors seek your complacency
• Complacency quite often leads to being
blind sided by the competition
BEST
CASH IN > CASH OUT
CASH IN = Normally 3 or more sources of
revenue that are mutually significant yet
independent
This organization is net positive and
should be sustainable however growth
should not be derived from arrogance. The
tendency is to hire and expand at all costs
to own market share the result can be a
quick boomerang to the first position.
Rules of thumb:
• Product or service independence can be
hard to prove and is often misread
• Market dominance leads to arrogance
• Arrogance creates a boomerang effect
| 16 |

17. NOT EASY CHOICES
CORPORATE FINANCE VERSUS ACCOUNTING
•
Assume you are looking at the same company from two different points of view
•
Note the contrast between this Corporate Finance Balance Sheet and a conventional Accounting Balance Sheet
•
An accounting balance sheet is primarily a listing of assets in place, though there are some circumstances where growth
assets may find their place in it
CORPORATE FINANCE BALANCE SHEET
ASSETS
Formulas to Remember
Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s Equity
Resources
(Claims or Resources)
Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity
+ Revenues
- Expenses
+ Gains
- Losses
+ Contributions
- Withdrawals
Existing Investments that
generate cash flows today
Includes long lived (fixed) and
short lived (working capital)
assets
LIABILITIES
Assets in Place
Growth Assets
Expected Value that will be
created by future investments
Present Value:
C1 = Cash flow at period 1
r = rate of return
n = number of periods
Debt
Equity
LIABILITIES
Long Lived Real Assets
Fixed Assets
Short Lived Assets
Current Assets
Investments in securities and
assets of other firms
Financial Investments
Assets which are not physical,
like patents and trademarks
Structure
Residual Claim on cash flows
Significant Role in management
Perpetual Lives
ACCOUNTING BALANCE SHEET
ASSETS
Net Present Value:
-C0 = Initial Investment
C = Cash Flow
r = Discount Rate
T = Time
Fixed Claim on cash flows
Little or No role in
management
Fixed Maturity
Intangible Assets
Current Liabilities Short term liabilities of the firm
Debt
Debt obligations of the firm
Other Liabilities
Other long term obligations
Equity
Equity investment in firm
| 17 |

18. NOT EASY CHOICES
COPORATE CULTURE
Corporate Culture is the energy that permeates the employees' psyches, bodies, conversations, and actions. Its comprised of what
employees experience, what customers experience and starts and ends with the owner or senior management team.
Every company has a culture regardless if you think so or not and can be divided into 5 categories:
1. Pathological: Behaviour that is habitual and compulsive
2. Bureaucratic: Rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure
3. Reactive: Tending to be responsive or to react to a stimulus
4. Proactive: Acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory
5. Generative: Having the ability to originate, produce, or procreate
Up to
$1-$5M
SMALL
REACTIVE
$5 to $25M
$100 to $500M
$25 to $100M
SMALL, MEDIUM
MEDIUM, LARGE
REACTIVE to PROACTIVE
LARGE
PROACTIVE to BUREAUCRATIC
Pathological Approach
Generative Approach
CEO/Owner/Manager: This
person is a doer, hands on and
will most likely do the work
prior to delegating.
The Entrepreneur
CEO/Owner/Manager: This person is
a mover, they focus on motivating
and managing people to move with a
common goal.
CEO/Owner/Manager: This person is a leader and
communicator that inspires an organization, they
focus on selecting and managing an executive team
which is delegated to accomplish corporate goals.
The Professional Manager
The Seasoned Executive
Notes on Leadership:
1. Assign tasks and you get followers
2. Assign authority and you get leaders
3. Engaged employees require three things the safety to think, feel and act
Structure
| 18 |

19. NOT EASY CHOICES
COPORATE CULTURE
Corporate Culture in any organization starts at the top. The CEO will establish a healthy on unhealthy culture.
CEO
Departments
Managers
Delegate Tasks = Followers
Delegate Authority = Leaders
Communication Channels
Communication Layers
Executives
As the CEO/Owner you establish the
lead with regards to the corporate
communication and delegation
Supervisors
Employees
Raw Material
+
Products
+
Services
Structure
• 77% of Total Cost
• Cultural foundation is here
• Engagement starts with employees
Products
+
Services
= Value
| 19 |

20. NOT EASY CHOICES
CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE
Corporate knowledge can be defined as the sum of all information, data and processes – knowledge – retained within a corporation
as a business system, that has the ability to act upon it with the purpose of attaining specified business goal.
Up to
$1-$5M
SMALL
$5 to $25M
$100 to $500M
$25 to $100M
SMALL, MEDIUM
MEDIUM, LARGE
A
A
Owner’s
Commitment
LARGE
Executive
Commitment
Face to Face
Approach & Delivery
B
Management Tools &
Processes: Discrete & Sporadic
Systemic
Approach & Delivery
C
Management Tools &
Processes: Formalized
A
Corporate
Vision
B
Systemic
Approach & Delivery
C
Management Tools &
Processes: Integrated
B
C
A
Decisions are based on:
• Increasing sales
• Managing overall costs
Decisions are based on:
• Increasing sales
• Decreasing costs
• Managing customer churn rate
Decisions are based on:
• Increasing sales
• Decreasing costs
• Lowering customer churn rate
B
Knowledge and information is normally
transferred face to face on an adhoc
basis as a need arises.
Knowledge and information takes
more of a formal approach and is
documented in emails, memos,
checklists and forms that are used
with understood processes and
procedures.
Knowledge and information is transferred
using documents such as contracts,
emails, various business plans, meeting
minutes, project plans and several other
methods that are captured throughout the
organization.
Email is the most formal tool used and
new ones are created as a crisis or
problem arises, data about products,
costs and customers normally involves
spreadsheets, discrete CRM and
accounting.
The organization adopts more
formal approach to capturing and
maintaining data about products,
costs and customers this normally
involves relational databases,
integrated CRM and accounting,
typically an MRP or ERP.
Tools are normally integrated across the
organization and decisions are processed
from the results of P&L lines, costs and
customers data. This data is managed in
centralized databases and synchronized
with regional offices or sites, typically SCM.
C
Structure
| 20 |

21. NOT EASY CHOICES
CUSTOMER FOCUS
PAIN
NEEDS
WANTS
• Marketing, sales and financial plans i.e. the Business Plan can then be traced
back each and every time to the resolution of a requirement regardless if it’s done
today or in the future
PLEASURE
PAIN
Definition of each
pain from the
customer wheel
Structure
1. A customer centric model starts with the customer at the center of a circle looking
out and defining all of their Pain, Wants, Pleasure and Needs (requirements).
2. A table is created to describe each requirement in detail
3. A limited number of solutions are identified on how to solve all of the
requirements. The number is limited because when a customer is faced with too
many choices their decision is to make no decision. As an example a customer
will make a selection upon first glance if the choice is between three types of jam
but will delay the selection if the choice is between 10 types of jam
4. Each solution is broken down into the appropriate products and services needed
to create that solution
5. For each solution based product and/or service an economic decision is made to
define if the product and/or service should be:
• Build i.e. do we have the resources
• Buy i.e. can we buy it and add value for the customer
• Partner i.e. can we find a third party with the product or service and
together add value for the customer
SOLUTION
A description of the
solution required to
alleviate the pain
PRODUCT
What product(s) is
needed for the
defined solution
B or P
Build, Buy or
Partner for the
delivery of the
product
SERVICE
What service is
needed for the
defined solution or
needed to enhance
the product
B or P
Build, Buy or
Partner for the
delivery of the
service
| 21 |

22. NOT EASY CHOICES
SUMMARY
Use this page to summarize your business
REVENUE
Description of your value proposition:
Description of your marketing strategy
Description of your sales strategy
Notes:
Structure
| 22 |

23. NOT EASY CHOICES
PART 3
FORMULAS FOR DAY TO DAY USE
Formulas
| 23 |

24. NOT EASY CHOICES
FORMULAS
•
General
•
•
•
•
•
Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Capital
Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity + Revenue - Expenses – (Draws and/or Dividends)
Liabilities = Assets - Owner's Equity
Owner's Equity = Assets – Liabilities
Breakeven Formulas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Profit = sales – variable costs – fixed costs
Target net income = sales – variable costs – fixed costs
Gross margin = sale price – cost of sales (material and labor)
Contribution margin = sales – variable costs
Pre-tax dollars needed for purchase = cost of item ÷ (1 - tax rate)
Price variance = (actual price - budgeted price) × (actual units sold)
Efficiency variance = (Actual quantity – budgeted quantity) × (standard price or rate)
Variable overhead variance = spending variance + efficiency variance
Ending inventory = beginning inventory + purchases – cost of sales
•
The Herfindahl Index measures market concentration, and is used by regulators to determine whether a company has
a monopoly on a market.
Where
Si = market share of firm i in the market
N = number of firms
Formulas
| 24 |

25. NOT EASY CHOICES
•
Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC): The firm's overall cost of capital considering all of the components of the capital
structure
•
Where
Re = cost of equity
Rd = cost of debt
E = market value of the firm’s equity
D = market value of the firm’s debt
E/V = percentage of financing that is equity
D/V = percentage of financing that is debt
Tc = corporate tax rate
•
RATIOS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Formulas
Leverage = Assets / Shareholder's Equity
Gross Margin = Gross Profit / Sales
Net Profit Margin = Net Income / Sales
Total Asset Turnover = Sales / Total Sales
Return on Assets (ROA) = Net Income / Assets
Return on Equity (ROE) = Net Income / Equity
ROE can be calculated indirectly as:
ROE = (Net Income / Total Assets)( Total Assets / Equity)
ROE can be calculated using DuPont analysis:
ROE = (Net Income / Sales)(Sales / Total Assets)(Total Assets / Equity)
ROE can be calculated bu multiplying three levers
ROE = (net profit margin)(total asset turnover)(leverage)
Liquidity Ratios
• Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities
• Acid Test = (Current Assets - inventory) / Current Liabilities
| 25 |

26. NOT EASY CHOICES
PART 4
PREDICTIVE MODELING MADE EASY
Predictive Models
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27. NOT EASY CHOICES
HOW TO USE THE DIAGNOSTIC TOOL
STEP 1: Establishing your pattern
• In combination with the text review your company and place a check mark in each of the appropriate boxes. The only
exception is the first row where you enter your annual revenue again using the text as a guideline and then placing it in the
appropriate category. The second exception is the last row simply answer the question has your organization adapted a
customer centric model?
STEP 2: Analysing your pattern
• If all your check boxes are in one column then the result is very straight forward
• If your check boxes are spread across all columns then you need to align them according to revenue
• If your company is in a growth period after revenue you should see management and culture lead first follow by tools and
processes
SMALL
SMALL, MEDIUM
MEDIUM, LARGE
LARGE
Revenue
Growth
Chasing Money
Managing Money
Process Centered
Strategies
Market Dominated
Strategies
Culture
Reactive
Reactive to
Proactive
Proactive
Bureaucratic
Pathological
Pathological /
Generative
Generative
Generative
Owner is
Committed
Executive
Commitment
Executive
Commitment
Corporate
Vision
Face to
Face
Face to Face to
Systemic
Systemic
Systemic
Discrete and
Sporadic
Formalized
Formalized with
Integration
Integrated
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Cultural
Approach
Management
Team
Knowledge
Transfer
Tools and
Processes
Customer
Centricity
Modelling
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28. NOT EASY CHOICES
SAMPLE PREDICTIONS: Three examples of how to read the predictive model patterns
The Business is Maturing Properly
In this model management has taken the lead and has matured or changed as
the company has grown. The management team at each stage of growth has
maintain a focus on customers and continues to drive the message throughout
the organization. Tools and knowledge transfer has matured as well normally
just behind management changes, this is the result of the new management and
skills that they have brought to the organization.
TIME
The Business is Expanding to Quickly
In this model the organization has expanded to quickly. Although the expansion
can been rapid it is not sustainable. First and foremost the organization will
loose its customer focus because without the right structure in place too much
energy will be required to control cash flow. Also there is a misconception of
market dominance, because without structure the organization’s competitors
will move in and displace it.
TIME
The Business is Over Structured an will Stall
In this model the organization is expanding its infrastructure faster than its
required. The result of developing a company this way is that revenue can stall
prior to management noticing even with all the additional infrastructure. The
other situation is that to much infrastructure makes the organization very
inefficient and is unable to respond to competitive pressures because of the
lack and management experience and expertise.
TIME
Modelling
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