FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
It should come as no surprise to the gentle readers of this column that your likewise gentle attorney-author holds a decidedly proactive risk-management perspective with regard to business. It is less costly to an entrepreneur or an operations professional in terms of a firm’s time, talent, and treasure (aka $$$, coinage, “moolah”) to prevent risk from going astray (and sometimes to use lessons learned from those untoward situations to benefit the enterprise) than it is to get “the big mop” to clean up risk that has gone awry.
How does proactive risk management affect an enterprise’s leader? Easy! By the leader consciously engaging in the full range of planning and implementation, which plays out as the following steps:
- Adding to one’s “learning curve”
- Planning to address the enterprise’s technological/financial/regulatory/ competitive environments
- Actually implementing those plans
- Staying flexible to changing those plans as the dynamic environment changes (sometimes slowly, sometimes as a paradigm shift, sometimes as a quantum leap)
- Evaluating the results (outputs, outcomes such as returns or callbacks, and even profits)
- Using (2) through (5) as part of an ongoing step (1).
Wow! It seems, then, from a lawyer’s perspective, that a business leader has to do a lot. All at once. And on a continuous basis. Well…that is true. And it is done every day by entrepreneurs and “intrapreneurs” in all domains of business, involving the production of goods, the delivery of services or hybrids of both. Let us take a more detailed look, shall we?
Start by taking a “snapshot” of the company in action. Chronologically, this is a retrospective and “today” analysis. How did it get where it is right now? What does it do right? Wrong? What resources (human, material, financial) does it have on hand or can it access? What does it need? What are its competitors doing? (Long story short, this is a “SWOT” analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/ Opportunities/Threats), which is a topic for an entirely separate article.)
Then, take what is learned from the “snapshot” so it can be applied to the enterprise. Leaders are always, always, always learning. Certainly from books and classes but also from observing, absorbing, and adapting “best practices” and “black eyes” from their industry, from related fields and sometimes, from entirely unrelated ventures. For example, what is to stop a biologist, or a real estate developer, or a restauranteur, or a (what do “you” do?) from developing an approach to their business by watching what goes on at a restaurant, or a doctor’s office, or an auto repair shop? Not. A. Thing. As long as one is open eyed, open minded, and thoughtful in contemplating connections, a leader can learn anywhere and everywhere.
Next step. The leader works with both internal and external colleagues and stakeholders (such as employees, vendors, and customers) to identify chronologically forward-looking goals, strategies, tactics, responsible parties, timeframes, measurable objectives, and monitoring and evaluation tools. (And one more thing: checkpoints for flexibility to make operational changes “on the fly.”)
So…the leader (together with the team) has created “a plan.” Great. Now what? The most important part of a business’s future: Implementing “the plan.” Actually going about “doing business.” Bringing the goods and services to market. Rolling out the strategies and tactics in the allotted time by the identified parties, leading to quantitative and qualitative outcomes that are being measured and adjusted in real time as needed under the circumstances.
But (as the infomercials so kindly note), wait, there’s more. Since the leader is always learning (see above), the data gleaned from current operations is added to the learning curve to either streamline what needs retooling or — even better — to upgrade what is going well. In a continuous performance, quality and profit improvement loop.
Now, let us not be naive. The model above has to occur in a manner that protects the rights and interests of the enterprise. As a result, the activities described above are supported by confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, vendor, production, and logistics contracts, and intellectual property measures (such as trade secrets, patents, trademarks and copyrights). And, the model has to be hedged by relevant insurance policies and other riskmitigating measures (such as contractual indemnification, hold harmless and defense provisions).
To summarize. Leaders are always learning. Applying what they learn (good and bad) to their ventures. Planning to succeed in their changing environments, and likewise, planning in case there are impediments to success. Implementing those plans. Measuring the outputs of their activities. All while being flexible to adjust their means, methods and processes. The outcomes of which are intended to reduce predictable risk, to attend to unpredictable and new risks and to continuously improve performance.
See? It is possible to be a business leader who gets things done. (All while making at least one lawyer smile.)
For more information, call Philip N. Kabler, Esq. of the Gainesville, Florida, office of Bogin, Munns & Munns, P.A. at 352-332-7688 FREE, or go to www.boginmunns.com/gainesvillelawoffice, where he practices in the areas of business, real estate, banking and equine law.
PHILIP N. KABLER, ESQ. joined Bogin, Munns & Munns in 2014 as Senior Counsel. He has almost 29 years of experience in the practice of law. Kabler adds a broad spectrum of practice areas in the fields of business entities (formations, operations, contract negotiating/drafting/review, transactions, finance, human resources, risk management, asset and equity dispositions), real estate (commercial and residential), banking and the equine industry. For more information, call Philip N. Kabler, Esq. of the Gainesville, FL office of Bogin, Munns & Munns, P.A. at (352) 332-7688 FREE, www.boginmunns.com/gainesvillelawoffice.
NOTICE: The article above is not intended to serve as legal advice, and readers should not rely on it as such. It is offered only as general information. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding their legal matters, as every situation is unique.