Benefits for company: · Being at forefront of your profession or industry · New products, new services, new ways of doing things · Flexibility to change · The conversion of new ideas into actions · New markets and improved processes · Retained workforce · Effective use of all resources available

When creativity is lacking in a company, inevitable consequence is that employees rely on management for continuous direction and do not benefit from a structured system of feedback. Possibly there are no regular staff meetings to allow for sharing of ideas, or perhaps management don't use coaches to encourage their employees to reach their full potential.

Companies which don't encourage creativity are often unaware of what this is costing them. They may have no vision, mission or purpose which are well communicated to all their employees. Perhaps you've always operated your company this way, so you feel there's no need to change. However, world economy is changing rapidly and you need to either keep up with this or get ahead of game. A look at chain of communication in a company gives a good idea of its creativity level. A structured system of feedback is necessary to implement ideas fully. Remember some of best ideas, even money-savers, originate at foot of ladder.

What can companies do to cultivate creativity? A combination of things are needed. Time and space to develop ideas, a structure for those ideas to be acted upon, full two-way communication throughout company, regular meetings, employees being heard, coaching for individual employees, teams and management. Creativity, like coaching, is a springboard for action and this is where real results lie, not just by talking.

Even if you are many years away from selling, it still pays to plan an exit strategy, because that time will eventually come. What would happen if you died unexpectedly?

If you haven’t got a workable exit strategy in place, your heirs may have no choice but to place business with an agent and say "get what you can for it." The assets may be liquidated and sold off piecemeal, getting virtually nothing for goodwill you’ve built up over course of many years.

Plan for big change well before signs of burn-out, boredom or apathy start to show in your balance sheet. A decline in financial results will, more than likely, scare buyers (and their lenders) away. You could get less for your business than what it’s really worth.

You’ll have more chance of coming out on top, both financially and personally, if you make an effort to understand steps to selling. You need to spend time on careful planning, so that when you’re ready, you can take time to negotiate a price and terms that will satisfy your reasons for selling.