Enterprise Minnesota Magazine - June 2010

HELPING MANUFACTURERS GROW PROFITABLY

Valuable Companies are the Sum of the Whole Enterprise

Enterprise Minnesota knows that expertise and a well-rounded set of initiatives help companies grow and stay profitable.

BY JOHN CONNELLY

Most businesses are led by people who aren't content to stand still; they continually pursue growth and seek to make the organization more valuable.

In this issue's "Four Questions" column, investor David Shapiro outlines several characteristics of a company with marketable strategic value: competitiveness, uniqueness and efficiency. Companies that have achieved such characteristics are more profitable and able to sustain a long-term growth pattern.

While it's rare to find a CEO who doesn't want his or her company to be more valuable, becoming valuable, profitable and growth-centric doesn't happen overnight. Nor does it happen by accident. Companies that achieve marketable strategic value are those that intentionally develop a clear vision of where they are going from the outset and concentrate on improving the entire enterprise, not just a few narrow initiatives.

Our mission at Enterprise Minnesota is to help companies grow profitably by working with CEOs to develop concrete, tangible plans to achieve strategic value. We do this, in part, by providing the tools and expertise to achieve growth and integrating multiple areas of development that address a wide range of our clients' needs.

When we work with a CEO to increase the strategic value of a company, we understand that it's not just about pricing, new customers or reducing shipping time. More, it is about fostering strong been-theredone-that leadership within a business, and creatively planning for product development, marketing strategies and efficient systems.

Broadly, we've identified five areas companies need to address to achieve this type of strategic value: innovation, market value, product development, leadership and operational excellence. Melding these areas results in a stronger company and overall increased strategic value. Because of our mission to help businesses grow profitably, we've integrated each of these areas into our expertise, offerings, tools and approaches, knowing they all have to function harmoniously in order for a business to grow and become more valuable.

In future issues, we'll take a closer look at each of these areas and discuss how businesses can use them to achieve marketable strategic value.

©2010, Enterprise Minnesota. All rights reserved. Reproduction encouraged after obtaining permission from Enterprise Minnesota. Additional Magazines and reprints available for purchase.

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PUBLISHER
Lynn Shelton

EDITOR

Tom Mason

Andrea Lahouze

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Sarah Asp Olson

Suzy Frisch

John Connelly

MANAGING EDITOR
Kara Eliason

ART DIRECTOR
Shari Schumacher

ADVERTISING SALES
Laura Cohen
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Rebecca Rowland

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Chris Winn

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Anna Rivard Biss