Learning from Private-Equity Boards (HBS Working Knowledge)

Boards of professionally sponsored buyouts are typically more informed, more hands-on, and more interventionist than public company boards.

Eight Resolutions to Enhance Your Career (WSJ)

This article makes some salient points for those interested in taking a more proactive approach to career management.

• Create a board of advisers
• Spread the word
• Try something new
• Take inventory
• Watch your company
• Beware burnout
• Get involved
• Assert yourself

Private Equity Is on a Roll, but Are Investors in for a Let-down? (Knowledge@Wharton)

"With $660 billion in corporate buyouts last year and a war chest of $750 billion still to deploy, private equity investors are on a roll, but concerns about the sector's ability to deliver sizeable returns are also welling up. Angel investor Rob Weber's first reaction was surprise when a hedge fund swooped in a few weeks ago to snap up the entire $10 million second-round financing of a life sciences startup he owns."

"Amit [Wharton professor] says liquidity events, such as an IPO or a sale to strategic buyers in the same industry, are now taking much longer than they once did. In 1999, it took less than two years for investors to cash out of an investment through an IPO, but in 2006 it took more than five years, he notes. The timeframe has also expanded in the other chief form of private equity exit -- merger and acquisition deals. In 2001, it took an average of about 18 months to do a sale or merger, but by 2006 the timeframe had stretched to more than five years.

Savor [Wharton professor] points out that private equity firms may shift toward a completely new model in which funds hold companies longer and repay their investors through dividends. "In the past, IPOs were the preferred exit, and I would say they will remain so in the future," he says. "But if for some reason they do not, private equity shops will find other ways to monetize their investment -- as long as there is something to monetize."

Do Start-Ups Really Need Formal Business Plans? (StartupJournal.com)

"The critics of formal planning contend that it runs counter to what's at the heart of the entrepreneurial spirit: the ability to learn and adapt through experience. And there's a growing body of research supporting the notion that formal planning may not make much difference."

"The most compelling reason to write a formal business plan, even critics agree, is when seeking venture capital or angel investors. But only roughly 55,000 of about four million start-ups each year get that money. And even then, the merits of having a lengthy business plan may be overblown."

Sales Management Lessons (from Cube Management)

Cube Management's Sales & Marketing Blog contains some great sales management lessons / suggestions.

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn (Guy Kawasaki)

Guy says it all. Great post. (I've used 9 out of his 11 suggestions, which is why I have been singing the praises of LinkedIn for years.)