Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Punching Out: How to Stay Focused in Business and M&A

It is getting harder and harder to stay focused these days. In fact, I started writing this column, got an email alert, and six days later, I realized I was still working on the first sentence. Among the hundreds of daily distractions, it is difficult for business owners to stay focused on the important matters. In the middle of all that noise, some owners feel like they have been dragged through a war zone, while others seem like Zen masters.

When we see a pro golfer step up to hit a ball, they usually take a few deep breaths and practice swings, visualizing what they want to do. They’re probably not thinking about cute squirrel videos, the Cubs score, the price of beans in Mongolia, or anything else but the issue in front of them. We see a focused player, not someone just hacking at it. We don’t see the 10,000 hours of practice and the true dedication to the game. We also do not see the support whole team: the swing coach, the video coach, the nutritionist, the agent, the money manager, and the family.

Business owners tend to scramble when the business is small, which is natural. Once the business grows, it is important to create a trustworthy team that can handle a variety of tasks. If an owner is working the drill machine at midnight on a Friday, that is a problem. You’ve got to get a team together and let them screw up. Screwing up is just the cost of education. It is very hard to let them screw up, but you gotta do it.

(Oh, look, my friend sent me an update on the Bears moving to Chicago … time for a three-hour distraction.)

As important as creating a team is for the owner to work on themselves. You built up a great business, but you need to learn how to focus. With constant distractions, it is not easy, but just like a golfer practices constantly, an owner needs to practice as well. Ironically, taking time away from the business can help an owner become more efficient. Take a short vacation and purposefully do not check emails.  Tell your team they have to handle most issues. You can say, “If there is a fire, call the fire department, then call me. Otherwise, take care of it.” Set aside some time every day to work on strategic issues. Many owners see benefits from getting an executive coach and/or joining a peer group. Maybe read some articles about staying focused.

In general, we see that focused owners and executives are more successful. When it comes to selling a business or making acquisitions, being focused is critical. Time kills all deals: The longer a deal takes, the more likely something crazy happens to the business or the world, and both sides get deal fatigue.

The higher the tension gets, the more likely that a little problem will blow up and kill the deal. Being focused allows the owner to prepare better, to be better educated about deal processes and terms, and to react quickly to any questions or issues. The most important thing for an owner while selling is to keep the business growing, but the second is to keep the deal moving.  There may be numerous things going on with the business, family, health, hobbies, friends, etc., but it is important to triage the important matters from the noise.

If you have a business partner or partners, designate one person to be in charge who will communicate with the deal team and let that person focus on the deal.

By the way, businesses that are less reliant on the owner get higher valuations and better terms (which means more cash at closing, etc.).

(Did you hear what Jimmy said about Mike?  Oh my…)

Making acquisitions can help grow the company exponentially; however, it is important to clear the deck and make sure the company is ready to do deals. There is nothing worse than finding good targets, getting sellers interested, and then delaying discussions because of internal issues. Not only can the sellers lose interest, but once we have awakened the sleeping dragon, sellers may start talking to other buyers. They get about 100 emails a day from people who supposedly want to buy their business, so keeping the sellers’ attention is important too.

I had a better conclusion planned for this column, but my client has a problem with an NDA, and my wife has a question about dinner plans, and so it goes. In short, stay focused! You won’t regret it.

Tom Kastner is the president of GP Ventures, an investment banking firm focused on sell-side and buy-side transactions in the tech and electronics industries. GP Ventures has offices in Chicago and Tokyo, with five people in total. Tom Kastner is a registered representative of, and securities transactions are conducted through, StillPoint Capital, LLC—a Tampa, Florida, member of FINRA and SIPC. StillPoint Capital is not affiliated with GP Ventures.