Face Value Finance: April 2014

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Value Finance Business Valuation Manual

Business Valuation Manual - Unlocking The Value Of Your Business : How to increase it, measure it, and negotiate an actual sale price.
Value Finance Business Valuation Manual

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Authentic Leadership Value Finance

The day after I read this brilliant book, I read an article in the Dallas Morning News (Tuesday, September 30, 2003) in which sportswriter Gerry Fraley discusses the Minnesota Twins whose payroll is $110-million less than that of the Yankees. (The Twins won 90 games this past season and had just defeated the Yankees in the first game of the American league playoffs.) As Fraley notes, the Twins are renowned for how they treat their people. One of them is Al Newman who is currently struggling with a life-threatening illness. Here's a brief excerpt from Fraley's article:

Authentic Leadership Value Finance

"When beloved third-base coach Al Newman was hospitalized in Chicago this month because of a brain hemorrhage, general manager Terry Ryan remained with him for the entire 11-day stay. While Newman was hospitalized, the Twins clinched the Central title at home. Manager Ron Gardenshire stopped the postgame celebration, brought out Newman's uniform top and reminded the crowd of what he had done for the club."

If I understand George's key points in Authentic Leadership, both Ryan and Gardenshire offer examples of it. Specifically, they demonstrate "the highest integrity, [are] committed to building enduring organizations...who have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their core values...who have the courage to build their companies to meet the needs of all stakeholders, and who recognize the importance of their service to society." George addresses what he views as a need for new leadership when in fact the need is to increase the number of authentic leaders, not only in business but in government, religion, and the military. We need more men and women who "genuinely desire to serve others through their leadership... Read more

Monday, April 28, 2014

Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value

Part memoir, part social commentary, part company case study, "Authentic Leadership" is Bill George's wide angle take on, and prescription for, the current state of corporate leadership.

George, lauded former CEO of the medical technology company Medtronic (who tells us that he fantasized about becoming a big company CEO when he was a *teenager*), clearly has stepped back and reflected on what's wrong with modern corporate leadership. With ample examples from his own career, anecdotes from apparent elbow-rubbing with other top execs, along with a smattering of bits from contemporary business books and articles, Bill George serves up many thought-provoking perspectives worth reading and heeding, especially for top leaders of enterprises--and those who earnestly aspire to such rare roles.

To his credit, George doesn't claim any breakthrough, cutting-edge management panaceas. The subtitle of the book discloses George's interest in solid if out of fashion ideas, proclaiming a focus on "Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value." And the book mostly makes good on that promise.

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Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value

Face-to-Face Communications for Clarity and Impact

This is a compilation of articles from various experts or excerpts from books. Contains good tips. For detailed information, may need to read the referenced books or articles.
Face-to-Face Communications for Clarity and Impact

Sunday, April 27, 2014

The Proven Framework for Finding the Best Value Investments

To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I'd get much out of the book. I knew what it was about before I started reading it: a breakdown of a number of types of value investments, and how to profit from them. I figured a book with that much breadth would lack the depth I normally desire in a topic in which I'm versed.

But I was wrong. Mihaljevic managed to add a number of insights and dimensions to the various discussions, giving me a new way to think about things. While I've watched Mihaljevic conduct a number of interviews at manualofideas.com, I never saw him as more than a conduit to the reason I clicked through: the interviewee. However, with this book Mihaljevic demonstrates an understanding of business that makes it clear he is a very smart investor in his own right.

Certain aspects of the book I particularly enjoyed are the screening hacks employed to identify potential value investments in the various categories he discusses. Some of them are rather creative, which I am grateful to be able to add to my toolkit!

I don't think I've ever seen this much depth and this much breadth packed into a less-than 300 page book, and I would suggest it is well worth your time if you're a value investor.

The Proven Framework for Finding the Best Value Investments

Winning Strategies to Sell and Defend Value in the New Market

I have been doing more and more research into the inner workings of an ever-changing healthcare system. This book has been far and away the best guide when navigating our new healthcare system and the way bussiness is being done and will be done in our hospital systems.The author does a great job laying out the changes that are taking place but then also gives you a step by step process for all the situations we, as healthcare suppliers, might face with the new ways of buying in the hospital. I have recommended this book to all of my coworkers and have bought 4 more for the men I work with in my territory. This book will certainly be my playbook moving forward.

Winning Strategies to Sell and Defend Value in the New Market