Tips on investing are helpful to entrepreneurship, too

Facing a seven-hour flight home, I bought a book that I could read while traveling. I was intrigued by a new offering from Liz Claman (CNBC business news anchor) titled "The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received." Claman has compiled bits of wisdom from dozens of top financial experts on the topic the title to the book suggests.

Why include a book about investing in a column on entrepreneurship? It seems to me that if we "reverse engineer" the advice, we can better prepare our companies for an eventual exit: the complete or partial sale of the company to a willing and knowledgeable investor.

Contributors to the book included Jim Cramer, Steve Forbes, John Bogle, David Swensen and, of course, Warren Buffett, among others.

Let me share with you a few of the better thoughts and how we might implement the ideas in our businesses.

Management team

I have written often in this column about the importance of people — I have referred to it as the "A team" concept. This same theme was repeated often by the experts in the book.

Stanley Bergman of Henry Schein likes companies that have a great culture, people and values and that constantly reinvent themselves.

Adding emphasis to the importance of management, Miles White of Abbott Laboratories said, "The management team needs to have what it takes to win. That means they need to be willing to take risks but not make them."

Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide Financial Corp. adds, "I am unconditionally convinced that the quality of any company is a direct result of the quality of management and the people they manage."

What can entrepreneurs do to build and sustain an "A team"? First, organize a board of directors that will hold management accountable for actions and results. It may not be easy or comfortable, but it is necessary if you want independent oversight on performance.

Second, establish appropriate performance milestones and hold the senior team accountable. Compensate great performance. If someone is not contributing or is in a position where skills may be lacking, it is best and easiest to deal with the issues immediately rather than letting time pass hoping that some radical change may occur.

It is reasonable to expect that the early founders of the business have skills associated with starting an enterprise and that they may need to cede their positions over time to others better suited to growing a business during its later stages.