Empowering playmakers to build high value companies

I have been watching Northvolt’s slow but near-certain slide into bankruptcy. As a passionate advocate for maximizing value and using capital efficiently, I want to critically explore how $13B could be best used and how hype cycles like “sustainability” and “green” can distract from profitable business models. Let’s look at the reasons for Northvolt’s failure and what could have changed their trajectory.

1. Drama cannot be the prerequisite for deeper inspection.
2. What did $13 billion buy Europe? Battery capacity for 24,000 Teslas!
3. Lesson 1: Hyperscaling does not work.
4. Lesson 2: Company purpose is not wishful thinking.
5. Lesson 3: Brand associations are not skills or expertise.

I have been rediscovering how to frame what “good” looks like for one of the most critical institutions in our lives – companies. In this edition, let’s explore the overarching theme of the essence of “capitalism,” without which we will not be able to align on the underlying details.

1. Tour de France: Should we blame a tournament for the choices of dopers?
2. Blaming an idea for the ineptitude of its enactors is not helpful.
3. Money decoupled from value entices bad actors and behaviors.
4. What is value?
5. What is capitalism?
6. To dope, or not to dope. . . .

My contributions resonate with people who are focused on value and understand that reality is far more complex than soundbites. With that in mind, if you close your eyes and reflect on the heading, you already know everything I’m going to share. But then, why does it happen so often? Because you and I haven’t fixed it.

1. Politics vs. “Politics.”
2. Knowledgeable people staying silent creates a rationality void.
3. Macro-evolve to break up “empire building.”
4. Evaluate performance to limit “Fake it till you make it!”

A functional executive told me this week, “I have to fill in the template for strategic planning. But it shouldn’t take very long.” Based on some other tidbits, including the use of words like forecasting and budgeting, this well-funded group didn’t seem to be changing “how” they think as part of strategic planning, which typically leads to repeating the past.

1. Without changing “how” we think, our “what” decisions will repeat the past.
2. “How” do we think about roles?
3. “How” do we think about hiring?
4. “How” do we think about skill?
5. Sidebar: Anti-money laundering failures won’t improve until “how” parties think changes.

Topics like “territory planning” and “carving accounts” receive considerable attention this time of year in the context of preparing for next year’s sales execution. Even ChatGPT “thinks” it’s a foundational “truth.” Let’s step back and ask some objective questions about the connectivity between strategic planning and the support work intended to help sales reps.

1. Every company performs ongoing territory management.
2. Why “territory planning” and “carving” chatter?
3. Masking poor processes with “territory planning.”
4. "Territory planning" as a reaction to revenue goal setting.
5. Technology-centric and role-centric moats skew behaviors.
6. A process is only a “process” if it is repeatable and reproducible.
7. Maturity improvement is the connection to strategic planning.

In the past few issues, I’ve discussed the importance of finding our own path forward as a company rather than trying to meet external measurements. Today, I want to focus on the influence of our own history.

1. None of us can recreate our past.
2. What’s a “turnaround” anyway?
3. Plan for a new beginning, not a turnaround.
4. Focus strategic planning on the “How.”
5. Sidebar: Manchester United is getting worse in “Turnaround.”

We are almost in the final quarter of 2024. In keeping with our strategic planning theme, today, I want to address company purpose. Don’t dismiss the word as too soft or reduce it to “mission” or “vision.”

1. Friedman’s Doctrine.
2. Shareholder-centrism alone doesn’t work.
3. Strategy in a vacuum is impossible to decide.
4. Every company has a unique purpose.
5. M&A intentions are part of company purpose.
6. Sidebar: “DPI is the new IRR”

As we fast approach the fourth quarter of 2024, I continue to focus on strategic planning and discuss the importance of a strategy-led plan for actionability and practicality. Starting with a strategy is not easy, but creating a plan anchored to financial targets increases the probability that the company will set off on an unsustainable path.

1. Financial planning mindset backfires
2. Start with strategy
3. One strategy
4. Strategy vs. Tactics
5. Who-What-How
6. Sidebar: Chasing Polish yachts

It's September. Most companies follow a January through December fiscal year and go through a strategic planning exercise starting just about now. So, we will focus on strategic planning for the next few issues of this newsletter.

1. Getting Started With Planning
2. Evolutionary Mindset Is Everything
3. Focus On The Why
4. Freedom From Anchoring Bias
5. Say NO to Silos
6. "We Are Volk­swa­gen — You Are Not”