Have you heard that Saab is near bankrupt?
Saab, in case you don’t know, is a Swedish car manufacturer––founded in 1937––that for the longest time had a rigorous, loyal, and yet somewhat stingy following.
Beatniks bought Saabs.
And college professors. College professors, that is, in snow belts.
Saab’s cars were quirky, off-beat and as loveable as a three-legged mutt with a loopy grin.
In the automobile landscape, Saab was a fringe player destined to remain a fringe player.

I loved Saabs, though. Still do.
I loved their independent appeal, their doing-it-my-way bent.
So, how come I never bought one?
Don’t know, really. Too young to be a beatnik, maybe. Or too dumb to be a college professor.

The truth is I don’t know why I never bought one. But I do know that, now, it might just be too late.
Why? Because of General Motors, that’s why. And Saab management’s strategic error of shacking up with a company infinitely larger than its own.
You see, in 1990, General Motors courted Saab; whispered sweet nothings about more market share and bigger profits.
And when a big company approaches your little company with big ideas and an even bigger cheque, it takes strong nerves and an iron will to not let yourself get wooed.
So, in the end, Saab capitulated. It became General Motors with a Swedish accent.

And now, and now… Saab is just about bankrupt. Mostly because the company that was going to give it wings (get the pun? No? Then read this) is now the one shooting it down.
I’ll spare you the details, the board-room maneuvering, behind this unfortunate tale, and I’ll just point you here for the deets.
Because the point I want to make is it all reminds me of something an elderly bookkeeper told me, years ago, when I was making my start in business. “Business,” she cautioned me, “Has no soul.”
And, if you read the background on the Saab/GM soap opera, you’d say touché to that opinion, wouldn’t you?

The other thing I’m reminded of is that I often caution my clients about getting cozy with big business.
Sure, sometimes it pays off.
But here’s what you have to understand about big business. They have a tendency to change their minds.
And when they do, they don’t waste too much time explaining why.
And yet, despite my words of warning to others, I do understand how alluring that siren call can be. I understand it all too well because I once (and only once) fell for it myself.
Yes, it’s true. Years ago, I too got into bed with a big business. A huge business.
Words got used. Impressive words like synergy and leverage.
We’d work together, they said, build something long-term, something mutually profitable.
And I let myself get wooed too.

Bottom line is I felt, first-hand, the pain of having the bottom fall out of that basket holding all my eggs.
And lest you think otherwise, the pain is more than financial. It affects you mentally and emotionally too. And, let me tell you, you take it personally.
Which is why, I suppose, Marc Cuban once said, “Business is always personal.”

So where does all this leave us?
Hopefully it leaves you with a lesson in strategic management.
As for me, I’m hoping that Saab pulls out of this mess. And, should the worst happen, I’m perusing the autotrader, wondering about a used Saab.

 Distraction can be a treacherous thing.

Busy.
I’ve been busy.
And not paying attention to my blog.

What a surprise, then, this morning when I learned, from a fellow tweep, that my blog was hi-jacked.

What?
What? My blog was hijacked?
How the hell does something like that even happen?
Bad management, I suppose.
On my part.

And then the second question.
Why would someone want to hijack me?
And to that, I have no answer.
Other than it must have been a damn easy thing to do

It might be laughable, actually.
If it wasn’t so damn annoying. And troubling.

Which leads me to what I wanted to say.
And that is…

My apologies to all who received those hijacked posts.
I sincerely hope none have that content offended you.

Take a look at this mind-numbing website. Take a look at how those in charge of the U.S. Treasury are dealing with debt. The images portrayed on this website, and the message they convey, are quite simply of the eye-popping, staggering category.

Click the image. If you dare.

It’s responsibility shirked, it’s debt out of control. It’s ridiculously massive recklessness all made crystal clear.
And that’s what makes those graphics so powerful, they tell a complicated story, and tell it in a way we can all understand.
And what a scary story it is.

June’s over.
And thoughts of summer fun really take hold .
Sunshine, holidays and sex on the beach (that last one, that’s a drink, right? Because that’s what my kids tell me. And they’re not lying, are they?)
And so, with the dog days in our midst, it’s only natural—especially for those of us in the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere—to spend time (as much of it as possible) OUTSIDE!
But wait, wait. Before you hustle out the door, there’s something you need to do.
Just a little thing. Won’t take a minute.
Yes, yes, it is important.

It’s about your number.
You remember your number right?
The one you set back in January? The one you checked at the end of March?
Well, it’s time to check it again, for June 30.
June 30 is the midpoint—six months from last January and six months ‘till next December. And that wonderful, convenient symmetry makes it oh so ideal, and oh so easy, to catch up, keep tabs, get up to speed, on your number.
Are you ready?
OK then, here’s how.

Add up your sales from January 1 to June 30.
Got it?
Great.
Now, if you multiply that amount by two, you’ll end with what we’re calling your preview.
The last step, then, is to compare your preview to your number.
How’s it look? Is your preview greater than your number? It is? Fantastic! That means you’re ahead of target.
If your preview’s less than your number, then you’re a bit behind. But, no worries, there’s still six months to go. Lot’s of time to make it up.

Either way, remember that this isn’t just an exercise in number-crunching. That would be a cruel, and not particularly funny, practical joke, wouldn’t it? Which would only prove that accountants truly don’t have a sense of humour– but you know that already, right?

Well, never mind all that.

What I’m asking you to do, in fact, is to focus your mind on a target. And in all my years of accounting and consulting, I found that, in many cases, having my clients focus on a target—even if it’s just one number—helped them achieve that target.
So there you go. Homework’s over. We’re all done here.
Now go on, get out of here, go spend some time outside.
Sex on the beach anyone?

Chance are, if you’re self-employed, March 31 marked the end of your first quarter.
You might wonder, “Yeah, so what?”
So this…

Your number
If you took me up on my suggestion (the one I made in January; the one you’ll find right here) you’ll have established a number.
By the way, and sorry if this is more obvious than the nose on my face (with that nose, I smell real good), but your number? Well it isn’t a sure-fire wager you’ll be placing with your local bookie.

***tangent alert*** You know I don’t even know, but, bookies… Do they even exist anymore or have they gone the way of the milkman, the blacksmith and the plain-talking politician? Which reminds me. We had a milkman once. Back in the eighties I think it was. Blacksmiths and plain-talking politicians? I can’t recall seeing many of those… ***end of tangent alert***

So, what is this “number” thing?
OK, ignore all that stuff about politicians and milkmen alright? I just threw that in to show you that accountants know how to be funny too (yeah, okay, I know, don’t quit the day job).
So, what then does the number mean?
Your number is, in fact, a financial commitment typified by a revenue forecast.
And what that means is, your number represents the amount you are planning to bill this year.
That’s it. Plain and simple. No budgets. No pro-formas. No balance sheets. No waiting.
One number. That’s all you need.
And now, given the quarter—Q1—has come and gone, it’s time for a quick and easy spot-check. A casual, yet crucial, approximation, in fact.
Here’s all you need to do.

The Preview
Add up your actual Q1 billings, and then multiply that amount by 4. Let’s call the result of that mathematical exercise your Q1 preview.
Now, compare the Q1 preview to your number.
What did you get?  Is the Q1 preview greater than the number?
It is?
Hey, that’s great!
Don’t just stand there, go ahead, pat yourself on the back. Because what that means is you’re ahead of forecast.
What if, however, your Q1 preview lags behind the number?
No worries. It’s OK. Really.
You’ve still got another three quarters to make up the difference.

The fine print
One other thing, however you fared, remember this.
The calculation you used to arrive at the preview makes one major—one heroic—assumption.
It assumes that your business isn’t cyclical, and that all sales occur equally throughout the year.
Like I said; an heroic assumption
And that’s why the end of Q1 (if you’re ahead of forecast) is not the time to be breaking out the bubbly and perusing colour options for a new Jaguar. (Yeah, go ahead, call me a killjoy).
At the same time, if you’re behind forecast, don’t be getting down-in-the-mouth and thinking about crawling out to the edge of the ledge either.
Here’s why…

Here’s the thing (and it’s an important thing)
While it might seem you’re monitoring progress—which, in a sense, you are.
What’s really happening is, you’re focusing the mind and refreshing the reminder you set back in January–the one about your financial target.
And, well, you know… targets?

They’re a good thing.