About the Book
This book represents the cutting-edge of the theory and practice of business strategy -- written in Jacques Magliolo's trademark exciting and accessible style. As the author says, many companies fail in South Africa for lack of a strategy, and in this text Magliolo -- himself an experienced business analyst and strategist presents entrepreneurs, corporate owners and managers with the tools for creating a plan that will enable them to survive and grow a profitable enterprise in a rapidly changing and hostile global corporate environment. Using a blend of theory and practical exercises, the author lays the foundation for creating a business plan, the keys to which are detailed research, due diligence and proper valuation. "The Corporate Mechanic" includes the author's unique model for devising, implementing and monitoring strategy, called The Chairman's Office. Techniques for carrying out research, assessing corporate problems, identifying new trends and conducting thorough due diligence are highlighted throughout the book with practical examples. Topics covered include: the importance of strategy; strategic techniques; troubleshooting; corporate deals; due diligence; valuation.
The book also contains a glossary of important terms and a detailed case study of a valuation of a company.
Table of Contents:
Practical issues: The importance of strategy, getting the approach right, management frames, a changing world, profit needs planning, strategic approaches, what does strategy involve?, where strategy fits, the key characteristics of strategy, characteristics of successful strategies, the strategist, why planning for the future is crucial; strategic techniques, identifying the problem, analytical tools, decision-making techniques. The strategic analyst division: The theory behind the strategy team, starting with 'what if' model, the purpose of the team, outside consultants - the advisory committee; the chairman's office, the roles of the three directors, outside consultants, reducing risk, benefits of this system, implementing the business plan, working with the chairman's office, the continuous circle of planning and implementation. The work of a strategist: Research, designing a research approach, four levels of research results, analysing information, interpreting information, reporting results, who should carry out the research?, research versus development, research - an academic domain?, conducting research, product analysis, turning research into a plan; troubleshooting, it troubleshooting, what is strategic troubleshooting?, what a troubleshooter does, recognising and describing problems, the dimensions of a problem, testing possible causes, symptoms, problems and solutions, preparing for success or failure, start-ups, an expanding company, financial troubleshooting, troubleshooting with a decision tree, financial troubleshooting for a farm, final word on troubleshooting; corporate deals, a successful business acquisition, worksheets for a deal-making strategist, due diligence, start with the basics, why is due diligence conducted?, who should conduct due diligence?, how is due diligence conducted?, how much due diligence needs to be conducted?, the five areas of investigation, a more comprehensive approach, sources of information, the five-stage model for due diligence; valuation, general valuation techniques. Valuation case study.
