It has been about 3 weeks since taking over as CEO of LM Foods. It has been an absolute blast learning the business and developing a strategy for the future.
What was the most important factor leading up to the acquisition that leaves me in a position of optimism vs. feeling overwhelmed?
Ditching the Data Room. Learning from the lions by going to the jungle, not the zoo is always the best crash course.
In the first 90 days, I have 2 core objectives:
Gain a baseline for where the business is at (“Learning”)
Start the process of building a Strategy.
Strategy can be fancy, complicated and many times…..academic.
Businesses don’t compete in academia, they compete in the real world, so keep it simple. Strategy is about building a plan to WIN. In sports, they call it a playbook.
The right Strategy/playbook is important.
Executing the Strategy/playbook is MORE important.
Something that brings Strategy AND Execution to its knees? Culture.
A toxic culture will suck the oxygen out of the business. A vibrant one will inject it. Cultures don’t happen by chance, they are intentional, whether you pay attention or not.
I’ve always believed in Culture. After 3 weeks, that belief is put on steroids. I will expand on the great Peter Drucker’s thought:
So while the 2 objectives (Learn & Build a Strategy)……don’t have the word “Culture” in it, there is a reason:
Building a Culture is an everyday, on-going effort, not a point in time “dive in then dive out.”
The life of an Entrepreneur, and a Leader can feel like a roller coaster.
It’s a bit ironic, I personally never liked roller coasters, with a fear of heights, the lack of control and the “whiff” of danger.
I never understood why people pay money for it! But I love the roller coaster of business.
Business is the driver of this great country. And when you REALLY get into a business, most would agree that CULTURE is the driver behind any great company.
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