Articles—Issue 12, July 2006 Back to Article Index Some Things Should Not be Copied: Lessons from Kinko’s, Part 2 As a former executive and 20 year veteran of Kinko’s (during the growth years, long before FedEx) I wrote in a previous newsletter about some of the positive learnings that I took from my experiences (see Part 1). In my previous article, I looked at the actions, behaviors and practices that made the company successful. There are also some lessons about the “mature” stage and sale of the company. Though this is a critical look, these observations only came about because of the success that we achieved. Lesson #1: Strategy before tactics. Catherine Deneuve may have grown old gracefully, but companies should not; they should fight like hell to remain as nimble as a teenager. Back then, there was a good deal of evidence that our market was changing dramatically, but many in the company didn’t want to hear it. You can’t close your eyes to a declining market and demand better execution to make up for it. Know your market, its growth rate and your value proposition. Reinvent yourself if you must. Strategy must precede tactics or you’ll spin in circles. Lesson #2: Culture really does matter. It is not impossible to change the culture of a company, nor is it necessarily wrong to do so; however, it is extremely difficult to accomplish and you must have a very well-thought-out plan. This is one of the key challenges that executives encounter when they acquire other companies. Misalignment in cultural issues can be just as deadly to a company as a disruption in the force is to Luke Skywalker. The people that you hire and the strategy that you choose must take company culture into consideration. Lesson #3: Don’t build a company that you can’t get out of. Think about your exit strategy as you build the company. Our structure at Kinko’s (128 different S-Corps under one umbrella) was so complicated and diffused that we almost couldn’t roll it together to sell. It took several years and tremendous energy to do so and by the time it was done, there was much debris to clean up. This is not an argument for a build and flip mindset, but rather for preparedness.   Lesson #4: Decide whether it is more important to be Rich or King. Business owners often believe that they can sell their equity and continue to dictate the direction of the company. Not for long… There are more lessons, but I will attend to them in a future newsletter. Concerning lesson #3, I am proud to announce that I have extended my practice beyond helping executives with strategy and execution. I am also a partner in a consulting firm called Applied Transition Strategy (www.appliedtransitionstrategy.com) that helps owners increase the value of their business in preparation for a sale. My partner has 30 years of consulting background and we are prepared to help business owners optimize the value of their business by helping them attend to the things that a buyer will require. If you or someone you know is 1-3 years away from leaving their business, we would like to help. (c)2006 by Tood Ordal. You are welcome to share this informational article with others. Todd Ordal is a business consultant helping executives struggling with execution. Prior to founding the consulting firm Applied Strategy LLC, Todd spent over 25 years in management and executive roles such as President and CEO. You can contact Todd at todd@appliedstrategy.info