The Ward Wilsey Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ward Wilsey
I’m Ward Wilsey the CFO of HHS in Dripping Springs, TX. I’m going to give you my take on current business events and hopefully provide some insight that helps you in your life and career.
Make sure you’re giving straight talk to create trust. Don’t just be technically correct, but actively work to leave the right impression with your manager, customers, and employees.
Always examine your current resources, and get the most out of them, before asking for new ones.
How to eliminate excuses and get results through personal accountability. This is a crucial trait for an executive that will crush you if not done right. Learn the simple question you need to ask yourself if you want to be successful.
How to balance two traits, a sense of urgency and a calm demeanor, to instill confidence in customers, managers, and employees.
How we can recruit hourly employees, and fill out teams with the best team members possible.
This is a summary of concepts in one of my favorite books, the question behind the question by John Miller.
Another video review of the book Boston Consulting Group on Strategy, this time on the article "The Rule of Three and Four" by Bruce Henderson. The concept behind this article is that in a stable market there are no more than 3 competitors, and the largest competitor has no more than 4 times the market share of the smallest. This concept forms the inspiration behind the famous Jack Welch (CEO of GE) maxim "Fix it, close it, or sell it" that formed his philosophy that GE should get our of every business unless it could be number 1 or number 2 in that market.
Here’s the intro section to my new book, Simple Wealth, which we’re working on for publication later this year.
Another review of an article from The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy called "The Product Portfolio" by Bruce Henderson from 1970. This article describes the portfolio of products or services within a business and how businesses should redeploy cash from a specific product or service line into new businesses, with the goal of creating "Star" businesses. I also talk about how this applies in the new economy with tech businesses, and how this should affect your investment choices in startups. I also talk about why companies like Amazon, Google, and Tesla are star businesses, and why they warrant such a high stock price.
This Podcast contains 3 segments :
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When to Use and Adaptive Strategy: Boston Consulting Group - From the book “Your Strategy Needs and Strategy”, when you use an adaptive strategy, for environments that are unpredictable, but that you can’t really change. I go into how organizations can develop bottom up experimentation, relying on data, in order to generate competitive advantage.
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Boston Consulting Group Strategy Palette - The BCG Strategy Palette is a great explanation of different strategy types a company should choose based on how predictable and changeable their situation might be.
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Visionary Approach to Business Strategy - Review of the Visionary Approach to Strategy from the Boston Consulting Group’s strategy palette, as outlined in the book “Your Strategy Needs a Strategy.
This episode has 3 segments:
-
When to Use and Adaptive Strategy: Boston Consulting Group - From the book “Your Strategy Needs and Strategy”, when you use an adaptive strategy, for environments that are unpredictable, but that you can’t really change. I go into how organizations can develop bottom up experimentation, relying on data, in order to generate competitive advantage.
-
Your Strategy Needs a Strategy Review: When to Use a Classical Strategy
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Restructuring a Business in a Harsh Environment: A Renewal Strategy - Review of the “Renewal Strategy” from the book Your Strategy Needs a Strategy from the Boston Consulting Group. A description of how businesses in a harsh environment can restructure to come out stronger on the other side. You can’t just cut your way to success, you also need to develop a strategy for growth in a focused area.
This episode has 3 segments:
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Importance of Judging Credit Worthiness of Accounts through Collections
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Market Innovation and Market Leader Adoption
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McCormick’s Spicy Acquisition of Cholula - McCormick Spices just announced an acquisition of Cholula. It’s an interesting example of the success of a niche player in a market, and how the fit into the strategy of a giant player like McCormick. I also make a prediction about a possible shakeup in the global spices market in the next few years.
Here I'm interviewing Jonathon Curlett, CFO of Cultivate Behavioral Health & Education. We're going to discuss a bunch of business related topics, including: 1. Jonathon's background and how he became a CFO; 2. The CFO relationship with the CEO and COO; and 3. How CFOs can add value to a company.
This replay episode has three segments :
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Creating a Strategy for Underperforming Business Divisions
-
Henry Ford on Business: Market, Product, Process - General reflection on Henry Ford’s thoughts about focusing on a market, then the product, and then the process by which the product is made.
-
Visionary Approach to Business Strategy - Review of the Visionary Approach to Strategy from the Boston Consulting Group’s strategy palette, as outlined in the book “Your Strategy Needs a Strategy.
This replay episode has three segments :
-
Why Are Businesses Moving From California to Texas? Here I discuss why more and more businesses are moving from California to Texas. Taxes are a huge reason, but it’s also the regulatory environment as well.
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Difference Between Income and Growth in Investments - Here I discuss the difference between income and growth in any investment and how you should think about these two factors in terms of your total return. I also discuss how tour portfolio should change over time to provide more income.
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Adopting a Shaping Strategy for an Environment that is Unpredictable Yet Changeable - A review of the Boston Consulting Group, BCG, book Your Strategy Needs a Strategy, and the Shaping Strategy. This strategy is useful in a world that is both unpredictable and changeable.
Very cool interview with Adam Hochfelder from Sports in Action : https://www.sportsinaction.com/
We talk all things Texas high school football, from why it's impact on Texas Communities all the way to the effects of the "Friday Night Lights" chain. We explore why it's different here than any other state. We also talk about why it's much more than just what's going down on the field.
Dave also talks about why it's advantageous for companies looking to market to Texans to get involved in communities though the support of football programs.
Here I'm interviewing Josh Roberson from the Real Estate Center at the Mays Business School at Texas A&M. Josh gives a lot of great insight about real estate in Texas during the COVID shutdown, and the recovery following. Learn more about Josh here: https://mays.tamu.edu/directory/jroberson/
This episode has 3 segments:
-
Restructuring a Business in a Harsh Environment: A Renewal Strategy - Review of the “Renewal Strategy” from the book Your Strategy Needs a Strategy from the Boston Consulting Group. A description of how businesses in a harsh environment can restructure to come out stronger on the other side. You can’t just cut your way to success, you also need to develop a strategy for growth in a focused area.
-
Thoughts on Airbnb IPO
-
Why Did Quibi Fail? - Discussion of the failure of Quibi, the short form video content company. Here's I'm discussing their strategy, the trade-off between richness and reach, and why I think their main competition (and ultimate) downfall, was YouTube and TikTok.
This episode has 3 segments:
-
Difference Between Income and Growth in Investments - Here I discuss the difference between income and growth in any investment and how you should think about these two factors in terms of your total return. I also discuss how tour portfolio should change over time to provide more income.
-
Boston Consulting Group Strategy Palette - The BCG Strategy Palette is a great explanation of different strategy types a company should choose based on how predictable and changeable their situation might be.
-
Thoughts on Cadillac Dealers Leaving over Forced Electric Car Upgrades
This episode has 3 segments:
-
Why Are Businesses Moving From California to Texas? - Here I discuss why more and more businesses are moving from California to Texas. Taxes are a huge reason, but it’s also the regulatory environment as well.
-
Is Bitcoin a Good Investment?
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Coke’s Strategic Decision to Shed Brands: Rule of 3
This episode has three segments:
-
Thoughts on the Drive: Tips for Controlling Your Software Spend
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Thoughts on the Drive: 3 Pillars of Business Finance Success: Market Share, Profits, and Cash Flow
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Thoughts on the Ride: Budgeting G&A Expense Growth Relative to Anticipated Net Profit Growth
Another video review of the book Boston Consulting Group on Strategy, this time on the article "The Rule of Three and Four" by Bruce Henderson. The concept behind this article is that in a stable market there are no more than 3 competitors, and the largest competitor has no more than 4 times the market share of the smallest. This concept forms the inspiration behind the famous Jack Welch (CEO of GE) maxim "Fix it, close it, or sell it" that formed his philosophy that GE should get our of every business unless it could be number 1 or number 2 in that market.
This replay episode has two segments :
-
How Much Debt Should You Use in Your Business - Here I discuss how much debt you should use in your business, and why the answer is zero for most business owners. I also talk about Capital Structure and why that concept should really only apply to companies that are large enough to participate in formal capital markets. I also discuss when I feel like it might be safe for your business to start using debt.
-
Managing Gross Profit Margin and Net Profit Margin in a Startup Business
Replay of an episode from November 16 2020:
Discussion of how to manage Gross Profit Margin, Operating Profit Margin, and Net Profit Margin to make sure you’re managing your business effectively.
Replay of an episode from June 11 2020:
I read an interest article in the Wall Street Journal called “Landlords’ New Credo for Late-Paying Retail Tenants: I’ll See You In Court”, by Esther Fung. It details how many tenants are calling the COVID pandemic a force maturer event, and attempting to avoid rent payments. Landlords obviously disagree. I’ll explain what a force majeure (or Act of God) event is, and how this is likely to play out. I’ll also give my opinion on how you should think about force majeure provisions, and how it should change the way you negotiate contracts.
This episode has two segments:
-
Adopting a Shaping Strategy for an Environment that is Unpredictable Yet Changeable - A review of the Boston Consulting Group, BCG, book Your Strategy Needs a Strategy, and the Shaping Strategy. This strategy is useful in a world that is both unpredictable and changeable.
-
Encyclopedias and Banks...a Similar Story of Dying Industries? - A review of an article from the book Boston Consulting Group on Strategy called Strategy and the New Economics of Information by Philip B. Evans and Thomas S. Wurster from 1997. This article talks about the downfall of the Encyclopedia Britannica in the 1990s. The article made me think of parallels in the banking industry, which faces competitive assaults from the fintech world. A great example is ANT from Alibaba, which is about to have a $34 billion IPO (completely outside of the US).
This episode has three segments:
-
Thoughts on Cadillac Dealers Leaving over Forced Electric Car Upgrades
-
Choosing Your Business Battlefield: Fighting in a Market You Can Win
-
Thoughts on the Ride: Budgeting Q&A Expense Growth Relative to Anticipated Net Profit Growth
This episode has two segments:
-
Visionary Approach to Business Strategy - Review of the Visionary Approach to Strategy from the Boston Consulting Group’s strategy palette, as outlined in the book “Your Strategy Needs a Strategy.
-
Market Share Paradox- Why High Growth Companies Shouldn't Turn a Profit - I'm continuing by review of articles in the book The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy. This one is a 1970 article by Bruce Henderson called the Market Share Paradox. It has important applications to high growth companies today like Tesla, and explains why these companies don't (and shouldn't) worry about turning a profit, and also dictates when it's time for them to start turning a profit.
This episode has two segments:
-
When to Use and Adaptive Strategy: Boston Consulting Group - From the book “Your Strategy Needs and Strategy”, when you use an adaptive strategy, for environments that are unpredictable, but that you can’t really change. I go into how organizations can develop bottom up experimentation, relying on data, in order to generate competitive advantage.
-
Star Businesses and the Product Portfolio - Another review of an article from The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy called "The Product Portfolio" by Bruce Henderson from 1970. This article describes the portfolio of products or services within a business and how businesses should redeploy cash from a specific product or service line into new businesses, with the goal of creating "Star" businesses. I also talk about how this applies in the new economy with tech businesses, and how this should affect your investment choices in startups. I also talk about why companies like Amazon, Google, and Tesla are star businesses, and why they warrant such a high stock price.
This episode has two segments:
-
Your Strategy Needs a Strategy Review: When to Use a Classical Strategy
-
Electric Cars....Hype or Massive Returns? Review of Wall Street Journal Article on Electric Vehicle Companies teaching historic valuations. Will they be worth it? Or will investors lose everything?
This episode has 3 segments:
-
McCormick’s Spicy Acquisition of Cholula - McCormick Spices just announced an acquisition of Cholula. It’s an interesting example of the success of a niche player in a market, and how the fit into the strategy of a giant player like McCormick. I also make a prediction about a possible shakeup in the global spices market in the next few years.
-
Market Innovation and Market Leader Adoption
-
Here I'm reviewing an article from 1999 called Thinking Strategically About E-Commerce by Philip B. Evans and Thomas S. Wurster. It's from the book The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy, which I learned about from Richard Koch on his interview on the Tim Ferriss Show: https://tim.blog/2020/09/22/richard-koch/ This article accurately predicts the exact reason behind Amazon's success over the years, which is what the authors call "Reach". I think it's a great example of how to understand the strategy of a company when trying to predict what growth companies are going to have a lot of success in the future. I think it's a great case study that you should be thinking about as you consider investing in today's high growth companies like with electric cars.
This episode has 2 segments:
-
Coke’s Strategic Decision to Shed Brands: Rule of 3
-
Michael Porter’s 3 General Strategies: (1) Low Cost Leader; (2) Differentiation; and (3) Focus
This episode has 3 segments:
-
Is Bitcoin a Good Investment?
-
Creating a Strategy for Underperforming Business Divisions
-
How Business Contracts Really Work - Discussion of why business contracts are rarely enforced in a court, but rather constantly renegotiated by the parties. Also a discussion of termination clauses, and why they’re probably the most important term of a business contract.
This episode has 3 segments:
-
Henry Ford on Business: Market, Product, Process - General reflection on Henry Ford’s thoughts about focusing on a market, then the product, and then the process by which the product is made.
-
Boston Consulting Group Strategy Palette - The BCG Strategy Palette is a great explanation of different strategy types a company should choose based on how predictable and changeable their situation might be.
-
Richness vs Reach - Review of an Article in book "The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy", which I learned about from Richard Koch on the Tim Ferriss Show. Amazing book, and the concept of the tradeoff between richness (robustness of information) and reach (accessibility and cost of delivery). I think this concept has huge implications when investing in tech companies, and as I think about this from a strategy perspective, I really think that the most valuable companies in the world are those that solve this problem through the use of low cost delivery of rich information via the internet (or other means). Hope you enjoy! And buy this book, it's worth it!
This episode includes 3 segments:
Thoughts on Airbnb IPO
Choosing Your Business Battlefield: Fighting in a Market You Can Win
Relationship Between Market Share and Returns for a Business
Michael Porter’s 3 General Strategies: (1) Low Cost Leader; (2) Differentiation; and (3) Focus
Thoughts on the Ride: Budgeting G&A Expense Growth Relative to Anticipated Net Profit Growth
Very cool interview with Adam Hochfelder from Sports in Action : https://www.sportsinaction.com/
We talk all things Texas high school football, from why it's impact on Texas Communities all the way to the effects of the "Friday Night Lights" chain. We explore why it's different here than any other state. We also talk about why it's much more than just what's going down on the field.
Dave also talks about why it's advantageous for companies looking to market to Texans to get involved in communities though the support of football programs.
Thoughts on the Drive: 3 Pillars of Business Finance Success: Market Share, Profits, and Cash Flow
Discussion of why business contracts are rarely enforced in a court, but rather constantly renegotiated by the parties. Also a discussion of termination clauses, and why they’re probably the most important term of a business contract.
Here I'm interviewing Josh Roberson from the Real Estate Center at the Mays Business School at Texas A&M. Josh gives a lot of great insight about real estate in Texas during the COVID shutdown, and the recovery following. Learn more about Josh here: https://mays.tamu.edu/directory/jroberson/
Here I discuss how much debt you should use in your business, and why the answer is zero for most business owners. I also talk about Capital Structure and why that concept should really only apply to companies that are large enough to participate in formal capital markets. I also discuss when I feel like it might be safe for your business to start using debt.
Discussion of how to manage Gross Profit Margin, Operating Profit Margin, and Net Profit Margin to make sure you’re managing your business effectively.
Another video review of the book Boston Consulting Group on Strategy, this time on the article "The Rule of Three and Four" by Bruce Henderson. The concept behind this article is that in a stable market there are no more than 3 competitors, and the largest competitor has no more than 4 times the market share of the smallest. This concept forms the inspiration behind the famous Jack Welch (CEO of GE) maxim "Fix it, close it, or sell it" that formed his philosophy that GE should get our of every business unless it could be number 1 or number 2 in that market.
Discussion of the failure of Quibi, the short form video content company. Here's I'm discussing their strategy, the trade-off between richness and reach, and why I think their main competition (and ultimate) downfall, was YouTube and TikTok.
Another review of an article from The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy called "The Product Portfolio" by Bruce Henderson from 1970. This article describes the portfolio of products or services within a business and how businesses should redeploy cash from a specific product or service line into new businesses, with the goal of creating "Star" businesses. I also talk about how this applies in the new economy with tech businesses, and how this should affect your investment choices in startups. I also talk about why companies like Amazon, Google, and Tesla are star businesses, and why they warrant such a high stock price.
Review of an Article in book "The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy", which I learned about from Richard Koch on the Tim Ferriss Show. Amazing book, and the concept of the tradeoff between richness (robustness of information) and reach (accessibility and cost of delivery). I think this concept has huge implications when investing in tech companies, and as I think about this from a strategy perspective, I really think that the most valuable companies in the world are those that solve this problem through the use of low cost delivery of rich information via the internet (or other means). Hope you enjoy! And buy this book, it's worth it!
A review of an article from the book Boston Consulting Group on Strategy called Strategy and the New Economics of Information by Philip B. Evans and Thomas S. Wurster from 1997. This article talks about the downfall of the Encyclopedia Britannica in the 1990s. The article made me think of parallels in the banking industry, which faces competitive assaults from the fintech world. A great example is ANT from Alibaba, which is about to have a $34 billion IPO (completely outside of the US).
I'm continuing by review of articles in the book The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy. This one is a 1970 article by Bruce Henderson called the Market Share Paradox. It has important applications to high growth companies today like Tesla, and explains why these companies don't (and shouldn't) worry about turning a profit, and also dictates when it's time for them to start turning a profit.
Here I'm reviewing an article from 1999 called Thinking Strategically About E-Commerce by Philip B. Evans and Thomas S. Wurster. It's from the book The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy, which I learned about from Richard Koch on his interview on the Tim Ferriss Show: https://tim.blog/2020/09/22/richard-koch/ This article accurately predicts the exact reason behind Amazon's success over the years, which is what the authors call "Reach". I think it's a great example of how to understand the strategy of a company when trying to predict what growth companies are going to have a lot of success in the future. I think it's a great case study that you should be thinking about as you consider investing in today's high growth companies like with electric cars.
Here I'm interviewing Jonathon Curlett, CFO of Cultivate Behavioral Health & Education. We're going to discuss a bunch of business related topics, including: 1. Jonathon's background and how he became a CFO; 2. The CFO relationship with the CEO and COO; and 3. How CFOs can add value to a company.
Review of Wall Street Journal Article on Electric Vehicle Companies teaching historic valuations. Will they be worth it? Or will investors lose everything?
I read an interest article in the Wall Street Journal called “Landlords’ New Credo for Late-Paying Retail Tenants: I’ll See You In Court”, by Esther Fung. It details how many tenants are calling the COVID pandemic a force maturer event, and attempting to avoid rent payments. Landlords obviously disagree. I’ll explain what a force majeure (or Act of God) event is, and how this is likely to play out. I’ll also give my opinion on how you should think about force majeure provisions, and how it should change the way you negotiate contracts.