Previously I outlined the four characteristics of a successful Employee Incentive Plan. Namely, such plans should:

Be specific, not arbitrary, and be in writing;
Be tied to performance standards;
Make substantial bonuses; and
Handcuff the key employee to the business.

Here I will focus on the last characteristic; handcuffing the key employees to the business. The goal of the handcuff [...]

Too often, owners discover that the compensation plans they’ve put in place for key employees are sadly inadequate only when those key employees leave their companies for greener pastures. The departure of one or more of these key employees can not only complicate your daily business life, but it can slam shut the door on [...]

What’s the point?
“I want to install a bonus plan for my key employees to reward them for their performance.”
“One of my best employees left last week for a company for more money. I think I’d better install a good bonus plan to stay competitive in the marketplace.”
These are just a few of the comments I’ve [...]

In an economy when many of us are tempted to bury our heads until the shooting is over, smart business owners are realizing that this may be the perfect time to acquire smaller, less adaptable, less capitalized or less well-managed competitors.
As the sellers of goods or services, owners sometimes forget that they, too, can be [...]

We talked briefly about how owners can and do build the value of their companies — even during a recession. Some owners will take that approach, but all owners should be, at a minimum, protecting the existing value of their companies.
There a few of the ways you can do exactly that by concentrating on specific [...]

Faced with a barrage of bad economic news, business owners wonder first how they will survive in what promises to be a tough environment and then, if they’ll be able to leave their companies when they planned. Before we can help owners to answer that question, let’s look at three options: (1) hunker down until [...]

As exit planners, we consistently urge business owners to take the initiative when planning their exits. Today, we apply that perspective to encourage them to go beyond panicked headlines and take a clear-eyed look at options in light of their: (1) exit objectives, (2) companies and (3) current M&A conditions in their marketplaces before they [...]

To engage in Exit Planning, you must have a business to exit. Exit Planning assumes that the better the business, the easier and more successful the exit. Exit Planning also assumes that good businesses are not only profitable and well managed, but that they are protected from liability risks. Failing to protect your business value [...]