Too many business leaders don’t think big enough.
That pearl of wisdom is among the many shared by Harold Schifman in his new book, Timeless Wisdom: An Advanced Degree from the School of Hard Knocks. This compilation offers priceless ideas, quotes, and thoughts by successful business leaders, including Harold’s own decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment, and scaling businesses.
An Inviting Read
When I opened the book for the first time, the first thing that struck me was the large type and double-spaced sentences. Wow! It was inviting rather than intimidating, a book I could read without squinting—a book I wanted to read, not one I had to read.
Three Archetypes of CEOs
In the book, Harold introduces three distinct types of CEOs:
Formal Structure: A CEO who adheres to traditional business school teachings.
Entrepreneur: A CEO who breaks the rules, ignoring formal structures that constrain flexibility, allowing for quick pivots when circumstances demand a new direction.
Artist: A CEO who views business as a blank canvas, painting a creative vision and utilizing a variety of seemingly unrelated resources to achieve desired results.
Harold shares, “I’ve always seen future M&A opportunities as a blank canvas with endless possibilities, as opposed to a company’s current performance.”
Evaluating Business Potential
What is this “canvas” Harold recommends for assessing a business’s potential? It comprises the following factors:
1. Company reputation
2. Brand awareness
3. Proven success of past
products/services
4. Employee talent
5. Market opportunities
6. Barriers to entry for competitors
7. Present and future competitive environment
8. Potential for scalability
9. Current and past margins
Given the significant impact AI will have on most businesses, I would conclude the analysis with a question:
10. Is AI likely to propel or bankrupt it?
Timeless Quotes to Ponder
The book is brimming with insightful quotes. Here are a few that especially resonated with me:
- It’s not what you don’t know that causes you to make mistakes. It’s what you know that simply isn’t true.
- Problems don’t put companies out of business. Surprises do.
- You can’t make the right deal work with the wrong person. But you can make any deal work with the right person.
- Everything starts with a sale.
I found Stewart Horejsi’s definition of success to be thought provoking: “If the people you want to love you love you, you are a success.”
A Lunch with Wisdom
Harold’s book is available on Amazon. I highly recommend it.
Harold and I are having lunch next Wednesday at Houston’s. No doubt. I’ll walk away enriched by timeless wisdom.
