Half Time

This Saturday is June 30^th.  Unbelievable, I know, but it is.  The kids have finally all graduated from high school and summer is officially underway.  I seem to be going to a lot of graduation parties lately.  It’s fascinating to me to watch these high school graduates moving to their next stage.

I love these long days – we need to be energized, exercise and fuel our bodies properly so we can take full advantage of them. 

The year is half over.  As in sport, it’s halftime.  It is a great time to look at yourself, look at the scoreboard, assess your offense, look at your defense, and prepare to come out for the 2^nd half of the game - strong and ready to win.

I like to use this time right now to assess my situation, think a little, and develop a game plan for the 2^nd half of the year.  I do this with myself and my clients  - and it works.    

The time right now is perfect – use the July 4^th week for short halftime sessions with yourself.  Get your June 30 numbers as quickly as possible – then do a halftime review of your business’s performance with your team.

Assess your initial plans – what did you get done, what didn’t you get done, what went right, what could have been better? 

Assess your team – how are the players performing, do you need to work on developing any strengths and weaknesses? 

Assess the score and the statistics - How do the numbers and statistics look, how are you doing compared to how you thought you’d be doing?  How’s everyone else in your space doing?

Revise the game plan for the 2^nd half based on what you learned in the first half and engage the team to explode and deliver. 

I remember watching a Syracuse University girl’s lacrosse game last year against University of Connecticut.  My friend Gary Gait is the SU coach and my good friend’s daughter was an All Big East first team junior at UConn.   The two teams seemed well matched and went into half time tied at 6-6.  Right from the start of the 2^nd half, SU dominated the field in every way and wins 17-9.  My guess it wasn’t a rah-rah session at half-time, but Gary was able to assess his situation and develop a succinct approach to shut UConn down.  That is an example of excellent leadership in a non-business setting, but it’s the same approach in your business.

Take a halftime in your business this year, look at the scoreboard and your numbers, assess your situation, project the plan with numbers, then come out for the 2^nd half strong and shut the competition down and win.  

Timely Financials - Know the Score

I have worked with so many companies over the years, and it never ceases to amaze me how some can't or don't get their financial statements closed timely (let alone accurately) every month.

The financial statements are the most basic business scorecard.  Scorecards by definition keep you accountable, let you know how your doing, and push teams to excel and do better.   

I can't stress enough how important getting timely, accurate information is.  It helps you drive sales, profit and cash flow. Timely information also let's you spot trouble early and allows you to make better decisions. 

Also, most business owners focus completely on the income statement and almost ignore the balance sheet. The balance sheet is a key aspect to running an effective company and driving profit and cash flow.   

I push all my clients to speed up their financial close process.  Just think, GE closes its books in 2 days. Push to get the monthly financials done by the 5th day of the following month. 

So, the challenge is to push your bookkeeper, accounting manager, controller or CFO.  They may say it's impossible - we can't close any faster.  Blah, blah, blah.    

The key is to develop a month closing checklist.  Drop in each item that needs to occur, who is responsible, and what date you expect it completed.  Work backwards and focus to reduce each closing process.  A slow process means things aren't automated and accurate all the time. That is the expectation.  Can we run a weekly P+L?  If not, why not.  You get my drift.

And now that you have you financials, review them and get you leadership engaged with the numbers.  Shouldn't they know the score?