expert advice: Peter Buckingham | Managing Director | Spectrum Analysis Australia Pty Ltd
“Because it has always been done that way”… …the 8 most expensive words in the English language
The 8 most expensive words in the English language are said to be: “because it has always been done that way”! This can have 2 reasons:
a stage where the ownership is transferring from often “The Founder” to a new set of managers. This can be either:
1. New management who know no different, and stick to what they are told.
b. A full blown sale of the business and this can lead to a radical change, or a more fiscal approach eg a Private Equity Company, mainly interested in the overall figures and the bottom line.
2. Established management and a reluctance to change
The new operator syndrome In franchising, we are heading into a new era as many franchise systems have reached
54 business franchise MAGAZINE
a. A succession plan approach and you will see stability and hopefully a gradual change of ideas.
Due to the value of the franchise (such as a large QSR business), the value is normally beyond an individual businessman, and in
an attempt to gain the best possible value, many businesses are sold to another company or a Private Equity company. They rely on forecasts of additional value for the brand by taking both long term and short term steps to improve the bottom line, and they may have a plan to float the company on the stock market in the short to medium term. If a company is viewed only as the results in the financial reports, the long term direction of the business could be in doubt, or maybe there is more on the table if a more rigid data based approach is taken? Areas such as Strategic Network Planning or Territory Planning may have been very much in The
