In this #PoisedforExit episode I had the distinct honor of interviewing Ben Utecht, who’s not only a Super Bowl Champion with the Indianapolis Colts, but also a winner of the Tony Dungy Award for Servant Leadership and now works as Chief Culture Officer for several mid-size firms, including my sponsor, Sunbelt Business Advisors and True North M & A.
After Ben shared how he got his start in professional sports, we talked primarily about how a company’s culture can affect far more than the internal team. Namely, how it can positively or negatively affect the business value as well as its impact on a future acquisition or merger.
Ben is involved in several endeavors, all revolving around the development of company culture. He said that his training with Tony Dungy taught him the value of serving other’s needs before your own, which drew him to work in the space. His process starts with determining 3 things within a company’s philosophy:What you BelieveWhy you Believe itHow you Behave
The last is driven by the first two. If an owner isn’t finding the results or productivity they really need and want in their team, it’s probably time to assess company beliefs. And, speaking of assessments, Ben has you covered. He’s part owner of a firm called Behavioral Essentials that produces assessments for companies looking to foster the growth potential in their people and in their culture. Ben said Culture is often an overlooked driver of enterprise value, yet it can greatly impact the success of a merger, acquisition or growth strategy.
One thing Ben said is that sports and business have many parallels. But what really struck me, was how he compared their approach to ‘practice’. In sports, he said it’s 95% practice and 5% performance. In business, it’s 95% performance and 5% practice (as in personal growth, professional development and learning). Wow, that says a lot, doesn’t it?!
You can listen to this awesome interview now.
Find Ben here: https://benutechtspeaks.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/benutecht/Find Julie here.
Thank you to this month’s sponsor! Sunbelt Business Advisors
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Sunbelt Business Advisors is a proud sponsor of the Poised for Exit Podcast. The Poised for Exit podcast seeks to help entrepreneurs improve, grow – and successfully exit – their businesses.
Julie Keyes, a life-time entrepreneur and founder of KeyeStrategies, understands what keeps an owner up at night and the balancing act required to work both ‘in’ and ‘on’ the business. The firm’s mission is to help business owners increase enterprise value and prepare for a future exit.
Julie believes in providing outside perspective and mentoring, which made all the difference for her while spending years growing and improving her companies before selling and becoming a business adviser in 2011.