Fig and Co, LLC.

Executive influence is the ability to engage, align, inspire, and move people to act. While the word influence can carry negative connotations, influence is a powerful skill that is only possible with a foundation built on trust, integrity, empathy, and authentic relationships. Any attempt to sway others without these bedrock principles results in destructive gaslighting and manipulation.

In this Harvard Business Review article, Jason McDannold, Yale Kwon, Natsuki Sato, and Erik Siegler of AlixPartners provide good insight into the need to quickly develop clear go-to-market plans to capitalize on growth goals following an acquisition or merger. “Commercial integration is harder to plan and execute than most items on a post-merger integration checklist and critical to value creation. It’s technically difficult — for example, in bringing CRM systems together. It’s analytically difficult — in understanding where profitability truly lies in the new company. It’s socially and psychologically difficult — affecting sales and service teams, company culture, and customers." We experienced this situation in late 2023 when integrating a small, bolt-on acquisition into a more significant, more established business. Our barriers were very similar to the ones the authors identified, including 1) poor access to actionable data, 2) differing value propositions between the two organizations, 3) limited customer visibility during due diligence, 4) upskilling the respective sales teams on the new products, and 5) too little alignment between sales and operations. While the team nailed opportunities around operational integration and synergies, delayed returns on anticipated sales growth reduced the potential early returns that underpinned the economics. The authors suggest six items to integrate quicker, and executives would do well to consider these focus areas. #m&a #integration #merger #acquisition

The ability to successfully navigate a #change to the senior most leader at an organization has wide ranging implications for employees, customers, and long-term company performance. The most recent issue of Harvard Business Review (July - August 2024), titled 'Build a Corporate Culture That Works', provides important resources through the inclusion of three very concise, comprehensive and accurate articles on The Psychology of CEO Succession. 'The Vital Role of the Outgoing CEO', by Rebecca Slan Jerusalim, Ph.D. and Navio Kwok, Ph.D. resonated with me following my departure from Seattle Fish. Among the major insights for me: On Initiating Succession: - "Most successions (83%) were initiated by the CEO", with "CEOs who cited personal reasons" saying 'they'd accomplished their goals.... or that they had ambitions outside [the] business." My experience was that it was tough for those connected to the business to accept my departure for personal reasons and to pursue more purpose, alignment, and autonomy. - "nearly one in four CEOs reported being excluded entirely from the process" of succession activities." On Relinquishing Control: - "CEOs are uncomfortable with the way their control wanes during the succession." This was acute for me, not from hubris - but because of the innate drive to provide outsized impact and be 'all in'. - "CEOs can find comfort by focusing on areas there they're still have an impact." For me, this was ensuring a successful transition, supporting our union negotiation, and working with customers to provide assurance of future performance. On Managing Emotions: - "The period between having made the decision to step down and the announcement was fraught, marked by feelings of loneliness and dishonesty for having to keep the news secret." A full five months passed between my first notice and the announcement to the company. That was a hard five months and I didn't experience loneliness per se, but rather a persuasive feeling that I was betraying my co-workers by leaving and by withholding the truth of my impending departure. On Detaching from the Role and the Organization: - "Boards should consider holding an event or creating other mechanisms to celebrate the success of outgoing CEOs and demarcate the end of their tenures." This is key - change can be difficult and it's an obligation of the outgoing CEO to support efforts to celebrate team success and create authentic opportunities that signal a collaborative handoff to the successor CEO. For me, this was accomplished through very overt actions like a final celebration and moving offices during the transition period; and more subtle actions that I described as our Co-Pilot period which included making decisions together. Advance thinking, coordination between BOD / incumbent / successor can have dramatic impact and this article provides sound advice for anyone considering a CEO succession. #CEO #Succession

in·no·va·tion ˌi-nə-ˈvā-shən. “Innovation is defined as the process of bringing about new ideas, methods, products, services, or solutions that have a significant positive impact and value”. The Seattle Fish Company & Lombardi Brothers Meats 2023 Impact Report provides an #innovative method to make decisions about the impact of seafood products we consume. By combining their recent Scope 1-2 Emissions, with publicly available Scope 3 data on seafood - Seattle Fish Company & Lombardi Brothers Meats has advanced a rough estimate of the carbon intensity of various seafood products. Not surprisingly, shellfish commands a spot as the least carbon intensive choice. Kudos to Hamish Walker for the leadership, analysis, and transparency on this effort, Savanna Ronco for the great work to package and publish, and to Seattle Fish Company & Lombardi Brothers Meats for the continued commitment to #innovate and educate. #sustainability #carbonintensity #innovation

Want a quick primer / refresh on how to be a better negotiator? Matt Abrahams, of Stanford University Graduate School of Business, interviews Margaret A. Neale in this 15-minute Think Fast Talk Smart podcast. Margaret A. Neale concisely summarized strategies from her book, 'Getting (more of) What You Want: How the Secrets of Economics and Psychology Can Help You Negotiate Anything, in Business and in Life. Among the insights: - "Too many of us approach negotiation as a battle. Rather than thinking about your counterpart as your enemy, think about negotiation as collaborative problem-solving." - "Collaborative problem solving has three parts: 1) I, as the protagonist negotiator, need to be made better off, 2) I cannot force you to say yes, and 3) I am going to present my proposal as a solution to a problem you have." - To prepare for the negotiation, "I need to understand what are my alternatives, and what is my reservations price (the point at which I will walk away." - Chunking is the ability to negotiate multiple issues simultaneously because not every issue is equally important to both parties. "Chunking provides multiple levers to pull that you don't have if you are going issue by issue." -"There has been a fair amount of research on the emotional aspect of negotiations. Happy and angry both create an emphasis on top of the mind thinking. Instead, you want emotions that get your counterpart to think deeply. And those emotions are things like surprise and sadness.

Fig and Co, LLC. was formed following the exit of our Founder, Derek Figueroa, MBA, M.Fin, from Seattle Fish. Fig and Co, LLC. exists to apply thirty-four years of leadership, lessons, and purpose into a vehicle to support and scale high potential businesses who seek to grow while simultaneously doing good.

Kanbrick provides amazing clarity in their most recent annual letter and does it with humor, insight, and inspiration. While many talk about the power of building business communities, Kanbrick is paying it forward by sharing valuable tools and operating systems. I highly encourage anyone serious about growing their skills and their business to follow along and engage with Kanbrick. Derek Figueroa, MBA, M.Fin

Founders and owners who spend significant energy building and growing their businesses inevitably find their personal identity intertwined with that of the business. That is a positive factor that can enable growth and is good for the business. However, when those business founders / leaders choose to sell or exit, it requires intention planning and discovery to determine a professional identity outside the business. "Business owners pour time, energy and effort into building their companies and helping them grow. It makes sense that after the “I sold my business!” moment, people experience complex feelings, from pride and accomplishment to anxiety and sadness..,..." "In addition to preparing for the sale, Lyon says preparing yourself for what you’ll do next is vital. Like many business owners, his identity was wrapped up in his company. “I didn’t ask myself the question that I now know to ask people, which is: Who are you apart from the business?” This article from Vistage Worldwide, Inc. provides some practical advice from business leaders that have experienced this transition. #exit #m&a #founders #transition #purpose