How To Build A High-Performing Team
How To Build A High-Performing Team
How can entrepreneurs accomplish their goals?
My goal is to write my destiny. I am the type of person who expects to be rewarded for hard work. If I contribute significantly to the goals set before me, I expect appropriate recognition or at least to maintain my current position. However, I've been in situations where companies had to make tough financial decisions that, while sensible for them, were detrimental to me. As a result, I never wanted to feel trapped again. The only way to avoid this is by controlling my own destiny, ensuring that the only person who can fire me is myself.
Why should entrepreneurs invest in professional valuation services?
I was offered an opportunity to work with a company specializing in valuations. The service would have cost me about $12,000. Still, I believed I understood business valuation well, having been trained at TSS and Krupp Elevator through programs at the European School of Management—one of the courses specifically covered business valuation. Despite my educational background, I was still inexperienced in practical valuation. For instance, I overlooked certain profitability aspects because the overall numbers appeared correct and made sense to me. Excited, I conducted my own valuation and applied a 5% discount, and the seller accepted it after negotiations. However, this decision, driven by my desire to save money, was a mistake. My education provided the foundation, but lacking real-world experience cost me significantly. Not spending the $12,000 on professional valuation services cost me $200,000 due to this oversight.
How can business owners recover from mistakes and reduce costs effectively?
After making a significant mistake, it's crucial to focus on recovery and not give up. My motto is, "As long as I'm swimming, I'm not drowning." I continually look for ways to navigate through challenges, such as exploring new avenues and cutting costs. For instance, before the pandemic, we eliminated our office space and transitioned everyone to work from home. This decision significantly reduced our overhead since our operations primarily occur in customer warehouses and on the road, not in an office. We communicated with clients mainly via phone, making an office unnecessary. Eliminating unnecessary expenses helped improve our cash flow until we faced new challenges.
What strategies help business owners build a strong management team?
The biggest drivers for success in this industry are having a strong management team and reliable drivers. It’s a very hands-on business, and one of the best decisions I made was hiring someone with a higher level of education and expertise than I initially thought I needed. This individual had a deep understanding of business, people management, and the trucking industry. Although hiring him required a significant financial investment, it generated ten times the return on his salary.
Initially, the cost didn’t seem justifiable, but the value he brought to the company was undeniable. Hiring the right people allowed me to implement a solid organizational structure. My philosophy is simple: one person should work in the business, one person should work on the business, and one person should handle the finances. I focus on growing the business, my manager handles day-to-day operations, and my CFO manages the finances.
This structured collaboration enabled us to achieve significant growth, something I couldn't have accomplished alone. Recognizing that I couldn’t do it all prevented burnout and allowed me to focus on high-level tasks, such as securing better insurance deals and expanding the business strategically.
Now, our corporate strategy is clear—we won’t take on any new business unless it generates enough income to hire another high-level manager. I have successfully implemented this approach in multiple locations, including Nashville and Memphis, while letting go of opportunities in areas that didn’t meet our profitability criteria.
What strategies ensure effective quarterly planning and execution?
We hold monthly strategy sessions to review our quarterly plans. In these meetings, we assess what the quarter will look like and whether we expect growth or a flat period. If projections indicate a flat quarter, we analyze potential ways to increase performance, such as cost reductions. If maintaining the current level is the best option, everyone understands the situation and focuses accordingly without attempting extravagant efforts.
One of the reasons I let go of our Arkansas business was that it required too much of my attention, pulling me away from working on the business. It also stretched our managers too thin, impacting their ability to focus on their core responsibilities.
The key to our success is having a clear, written plan that everyone contributes to and agrees upon. This shared document serves as a reference point and keeps the team aligned with our goals. We regularly review the plan to determine if adjustments are needed—whether our strategy is off track or if unforeseen challenges, such as rising insurance costs, have impacted our goals.
Once everyone is aligned, execution becomes easier, though not necessarily simple. The process requires continuous evaluation, but having a solid plan in place makes it manageable.
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
