Last week’s inspirational episode with Shelby Hawkins still has The Boardroom picking up the pieces. Paul summed up Shelby’s interview best: ‘no excuses’. 

It’s a good time to catch up on Paul’s New Year’s Day board meeting. Paul gives feedback on the P&L’s, incentive structures, and management reports. There is a give and take to incentive structures. Who knew that a hedge fund conference on modern portfolio management theory would spiral into giving Dennis Rodman free throw lessons? How will Company Bravo’s “Timmy” stack up at the line? Where is the balance between incentives and preventing demotivation? It’s a yin and yang exchange. Speaking of balance, The Matrix gets a nod during this week's compensation conversation.

It’s on the record. Paul commits to writing a "Nerd Nerd" paper on the organizing mechanism spectrum in pest control companies. As the loyal listeners know, Patrick takes great joy in packing events on Paul’s calendar. As if Paul’s schedule isn’t busy enough, stay tuned for a combined presentation on the chart of accounts (Episode 26), employee metrics (Episode 34), and (an updated) Aftermath.

The chat has Patrick asking if there are common conversations following a preliminary valuation. Are there owners that are not willing to make changes? A simple question about routine EBITDA adjustments leads to a consultation on narratives and the ‘interplay between growth rate and profitability.’ It turns out, it’s a lot more than adding and subtracting when the acquirer takes over. Patrick didn’t see it coming, but the benchmarking debate returns.

Paul: “If anyone gets anything out of this episode. You are not selling the past. You are always selling the future.”

Co-Produced, Edited, and Mixed by Dylan Seals of hdaudiopost.com