Looking for a CCCol co-founder

I am actively looking for a partner – a co-founder of CCCol. And a co-author of my upcoming book on a comprehensive business analysis (based upon the contents of CCCol blog). An ideal candidate must have a BBA or, much better, an MBA from a good American or British school.

Preferably an American or a British national who has just left his/her job as an analyst or investment manager in an investment bank, venture- or direct investment fund to “pursue other interests” as an entrepreneur or freelancer. Ideally having extensive experience writing investment memoranda, authoring articles and her own blog on investment and/or corporate management.

Ambitious (in terms of both money and fame); with a long-term objective of starting and managing her own investment fund in the USA or the UK. As CCCol will be most likely based in New York City, he/she must be able to relocate to NYC right away. Which means that he/she must either be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or hold a long-term U.S. business visa.

Corporate History – COA Questions

1. How comprehensive is the description of your corporate history?
2. How well-structured is the description of your corporate history?
3. How logical is the description of your corporate history?
4. How easy-to-use is the description of your corporate history?
5. How accurate is the description of your corporate history?
6. How competent is your corporate history professional?
7. How often is corporate history used for strategic decision-making?

Corporate History – Management Guide

To maximize your corporate performance, you must get the most out of not only your current resources (financial, material, human, etc.) but also from your past experiences. Capitalize on your achievements; avoid repeating costly mistakes and keep a certain degree of continuity in your company growth and overall progress. Radical rupture with the past is almost never beneficial for a business entity (until it is acquired by another company with a totally different history and corporate culture).

Hence, to maximize its aggregate value, your company needs a well-documented corporate history and an efficient process for using this corporate history for strategic and operational decision-making. Therefore, you must analyze and improve your corporate history description – just like of any other corporate object in your business system. Which requires a competent corporate history professional - either in-house or, more likely, an outside consultant.

And, naturally, you need to use your corporate history in making and implementing all of your strategic corporate decisions. 

KEF – Comprehensive Analysis Questions

Therefore, to conduct a comprehensive analysis of your Key External Factors (KEF) monitoring system, you have to find answers to the following questions:

1. How comprehensive is the description of your KEF portfolio?
2. How well-structured is the description of your KEF portfolio?
3. How logical is the description of your KEF portfolio?
4. How easy-to-use is the description of your KEF portfolio?
5. How comprehensive is your KEF monitoring knowledge base?
6. How well-structured is your KEF monitoring knowledge base?
7. How reliable is your KEF monitoring knowledge base?
8. How easy-to-use is your KEF monitoring knowledge base?
9. How competent is your KEF monitoring specialist?
10. How efficient is your business process for KEF monitoring and analysis?
11. How adequate is your KEF forecasting methodology?
12. How good are your KEF forecasting tools?
13. How adequate is your understanding of opportunities, threats and risks presented by your KEF?
14. How comprehensive is the description of KEF influence?
15. How regular is your monitoring of KEF?
16. How efficient is your KEF alert system?
17. How well are KEF used for strategic decision-making?
18. How well are KEF used for operational decision-making?

You can download KEF Aggregate Efficiency Scorecard (AES) in MS Excel format here.

Key External Factors – Management Guidelines

We are not the makers, we are the takers. For corporate management, it means that your company is like a sailboat that needs to know and take advantage of all winds and currents to get safely and rapidly to its destination – aggregate value maximization (transforming your company into a happy one and keeping it that way).

These ‘winds’ and ‘currents’ that need to be used by corporate objects – products, brands, clients, assets, etc., are your key external factors (KEF): political, macroeconomic, social, cultural, technological, environmental, industry-specific, etc.

To be able to skilfully navigate your ‘corporate boat’ in often rough ‘currents’ and ‘winds’, you must first identify them. In other words, develop a comprehensive KEF list for your company. Second, you must accurately forecast the dynamics of each KEF (such as GDP, inflation, exchange rates, political stability, etc.). As well as opportunities, threats and risks presented by the KEF in question. Always keeping in mind that even a threat or a risk is an opportunity in disguise.

And, finally, you must align your strategies, unique value propositions, brands, products, stakeholders, operational infrastructure, etc., with forecasted KEF dynamics. To take advantage of opportunities, avoid threats and optimize risks presented by your KEF.

To achieve this objective, you must develop a comprehensive, well-structured, logical and easy-to-use description of your KEF system (portfolio). As well as a highly efficient business process for KEF monitoring. Which, in turn, requires a highly competent KEF monitoring specialist (in-house); a comprehensive KEF knowledge base and possibly even KEF forecasting tools. 

Plus, you need to have a reliable and efficient alert system that informs key decision-makers in your company about sudden KEF changes that might produce a significant effect on your corporate KPI. 

And, definitely, corporate KEF need to be used – on a permanent basis – in the process of making both strategic and operational corporate decisions.

Key External Factors Diagram Example

KPI System – Comprehensive Analysis Questions

To accomplish this objective, business managers must (1) build (‘engineer’) an optimal system of corporate KPI and (2) maximize its performance by optimizing values of these KPI.

Engineering an optimal KPI system means making sure that it (1) is complete and no KPI are missing; (2) does not have excessive KPI and (3) is well-structured and easy-to-use.

It means that your company must have – at all times – a detailed and easy-to-use description – visual and textual - of its KPI system. A description that must be comprehensive, logical, well-structured, easy-to-use and, of course, matching the reality.

An optimal KPI system for you company must meet a number of other requirements. First, KPI values generated by your information system, must be relevant, accurate and up-to-date. And easily accessible, of course. Second, benchmark values must be adequate and relevant and planned values – exhibit the exactly right degree of ‘stretch’ (realistic, but challenging). Third, your methodology for calculating your KPI values (especially qualitative) must be adequate and scientific.

And, finally, all of your strategic and operational decisions must be stated and evaluated in terms of the corresponding KPI. In other words, their results must be measurable. Always.

Therefore, to perform a comprehensive analysis of your KPI system, you must answer the following questions (using the corresponding AES):

1. How comprehensive is the description of your KPI system?
2. How logical is the description of your KPI system?
3. How well-structured is the description of your KPI system?
4. How comprehensive is the description of your KPI system?
5. How well does the description of your KPI system match the reality?
6. How comprehensive is your KPI list?
7. How many KPI are missing?
8. How many KPI are excessive?
9. How competent is your corporate KPI system manager?
10. How accurate are the KPI values?
11. How adequate is the methodology for KPI valuation & management?
12. How efficient is the business process for KPI system management?
13. How realistic are the planned KPI values?
14. How optimal are KPI benchmarks?
15. How optimal is the 'stretch' in planned KPI values?
16. How often are KPI used for strategic decision-making?
17. How often are KPI used for operational decision-making?

You can download the Aggregate Efficiency Scorecard for your KPI System (in MS Excel format) here: