I recently listened to Mark Dumas’ interview on The Leaders Portfolio. At the time, Mark was the founder, Chairman, and CEO of SPADAC, a Vienna-based firm that was focused on delivering solutions in advanced geospatial intelligence, analytic services, research and development, spatial content management, and predictive analysis (since acquired by GeoEye, which was then acquired by Digital Globe). Mark’s interview was definitely one of my favorites. Some of the key takeaways for me were:
- Mark enables people in his company to take the initiative. This is, in my opinion, one of the most important factors in determining a company’s scalability. If the CEO insists on controlling everything, or at least touching everything, the company’s ability to grow is suppressed. Find ways to encourage and enable your employees to take the initiative.
- Time management. Mark spends his time the way a CEO should be spending his time. He spends his time managing, meeting with the CFO to understand his numbers, and meeting with his CTO to understand how SPADAC’s technology programs are coming along. He also practices a technique I learned at the Naval Academy – MBWA: Management By Walking Around. He gets out in the field to just get a feel for how things are coming along and keep a good pulse on his business.
- Private Equity is SMART MONEY. What this means is that raising capital via private equity is a win-win situation. The investors want return and a CEO wants return. This is good for everyone. Don’t avoid private equity just because you don’t understand it or because you are concerned about the cost. If the end result is more growth, then the sale of shares of your company will multiply the value of your company.
- Mark is liberal with stock options. I love this. If you want your employees engaged in executing your strategic plan, stock options are a fantastic way for you to give them skin in the game. This also discourages trained employees from leaving. Mark is also not worried about ownership dilution through options; he is more interested in growing absolute firm value.
Grow Strong!
Coach Grev
Update: SPADAC has been acquired by GeoEye
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