How to Approach M&A with a Clear Strategy

Thinking About Growth Through M&A? Start With Strategy, Not a Target. Too many small manufacturers get excited by a potential acquisition—then try to build a strategy around it. That’s backward. I work with growing manufacturing businesses and I always advise: don’t chase deals—design them. Start with a Deal Thesis. Before you look at a single company, write a one-page brief that answers: - What problem are you solving? Is it a capacity gap, a market you want to enter, or a capability you need? - Why now? Timing matters—especially in manufacturing where cycles and margins are tight. - How does the acquisition fit? Will it move your product line, customer base, or operational efficiency forward? - What does success look like? Define clear goals for 6, 12, and 24 months post-close. - Who owns the outcome? If no one is accountable after the deal, it’s not a real strategy. When you lead with why, everything downstream improves: – Diligence is faster – Integration is smoother – Decisions are made with confidence The goal isn’t to find a company that looks good on paper—it’s to find one that fits the plan you’ve already written. If you're a small manufacturer thinking about M&A, start with clarity. Strategy first. Target second. Execution always.

Operations Management and Strategic Growth * Growth without structure quickly becomes chaos. * Scalable operations turn opportunity into sustainable success. * Efficiency releases resources for expansion. * Smart processes support speed without losing control. * Strategy succeeds when operations are built to grow with it.

Companies don’t die because of bad strategy. They die because of bad OPERATIONS. But nobody wants to talk about it. Every CEO loves to brag about “vision,” “innovation,” and “strategy.” Yet behind the curtain, their operations are bleeding: Delays Bottlenecks Quality issues Firefighting culture Zero process discipline Here’s the hard truth: Strategy makes promises. Operations delivers them. If your operations are weak, your strategy is just poetry. The companies that dominate the world — Toyota, Amazon, Apple — are not just innovative. They are operational assassins. Lean systems. Relentless efficiency. Zero-waste mindset. Customer obsession engineered into every process. Real competitive advantage comes from: Lean, JIT, Six Sigma, TQM Rock-solid supply chain & resource flow Standardization, automation & continuous improvement Culture of execution (not excuses) And the future? AI, predictive analytics, Industry 4.0, digital twins, hyperautomation. The game is shifting from people working harder → to systems working smarter. If Operations is not your heartbeat, your company is already on life support. Vision may inspire. Strategy may impress. But OPERATIONS decides who wins. So, tell me — what kills companies faster: bad strategy or bad execution?

Most leaders think growth stalls because of bad strategy. But 9 times out of 10, the real problem is operational bottlenecks. The email approvals are sitting in limbo. The reports are waiting for a signature. The processes that force your best people to slow down. These hidden delays bleed time, money, and morale. The fastest way to scale is not always adding more people or spending more money. It is to eliminate operational bottlenecks. → Audit every step of your process. → Cut the approvals that add no value. → Automate what humans should not be doing. When you remove friction, you do not just work faster. You unlock growth that was already waiting. ✅ RA Digital House | ➡️ www.radigitalhouse.com

Quick test: Your business is profitable. The model works. You just need someone to take it from here to there. Do you hire: A) The CEO who's really good at stopping the bleeding Loves cutting costs Obsessed with efficiency Gets excited about "doing more with less" Has "turned around 3 companies" B) The CEO who's really good at building things Loves new channels Obsessed with systems that scale Gets excited about "what's next" Has "taken 3 companies from $10M to $30M+" If you picked A, congratulations, you just hired a cardiac surgeon to be your personal trainer. Both are great at what they do. But one’s for emergencies. One's for growth. Turnaround CEOs fix broken things. They're triage experts. If you're losing money or customers, they're gold. A lot of investors fawn over this type, and for good reason. Growth CEOs scale working things. They're pattern matchers. If you're profitable but stuck, they're gold. Hire the wrong one and you'll spend 18 months "optimizing" when you should be expanding into new channels, building your team, or launching products customers are asking for. Or vice versa. The issue isn't finding good CEOs. It's being honest about which one you actually need right now. Not where you want to be in 2 years. Thoughts?

LET"S BE HONEST ABOUT TRANSFORMATION Do businesses really want transformation ? Everyone says so — until it means asking the uncomfortable questions Until it means changing how things actually get done. We've all seen it, I've even been part of one that changed it's mind & it's CEO more times than a Barista spelling my name incorrectly....... The ambition is there. But are the teams ready? And is the leadership willing to change how they drive operational delivery? Many want transformation. But few are ready for what it really takes. As I walked passed Honest Burgers it struck me, this team has been going through a quiet but impressive transformation, They didn’t just tweak their menu, they've changed how they operate with Matt Brandon stepping up from CFO to CEO, signalling a move from financial control to operational and people growth and IMO incorporated the following : ✅ Growth mindset: Launching a new Smash + Grab concept and acquiring 12 sites from GBK, expanding the brand while evolving their format to meet changing customer demand......GROWTH mindset right there ✅ Operational innovation: Partnering with All Gravy to streamline frontline operations — replacing outdated tools with AI led platform to improve team communication, onboarding, and engagement.....PRICELESS ✅ The results are impressive too with double digit sales growth, increased staff engagement, simplified operations, and a renewed commercial focus.. BOOM ! Bravo Honest Burgers Ltd and in particular to Lee Nixon, my old colleague from Costa Coffee. IMO Transformation done right — linking leadership change, operational excellence, and team engagement for commercial return. My takeaways: Operational delivery is where transformation lives or dies and tools like allgravy.com work when they empower teams to perform, streamline operations, communication and onboarding of the frontline. Commercial outcomes are the proof that transformation is real. Have you been part of a transformation ? What leadership or operational shifts made the difference....? Would love to hear your thoughts.......

Skip the January Scramble: Why Your 2026 Goals Start TODAY! For business owners, Q1 is crunch time. The time to plan your business's success for 2026 isn't during the holiday season, it's now. 🎯 3 Pillars of Strategic Business Success The most successful companies balance growth across three vital areas. For a high-impact 2026, focus your energy using these three strategic pillars: 1. The Strategic Growth Pillar (Sales & Market) This pillar focuses on expanding your revenue and market influence. These are the goals that directly drive the top line. 🎯Revenue Target: 🎯Market Penetration 🎯Customer Acquisition 2. The Operational Excellence Pillar (Systems & Efficiency) Efficiency fuels profit. These goals ensure your internal systems and processes are running as lean and scalable as possible. 🎯Process Automation 🎯Profit Margin 🎯Technology Upgrade 3. The Leadership & Talent Pillar (People & Culture) Your team and your time are your greatest assets. These goals focus on human capital and developing your effectiveness as the owner. 🎯Key Hire/Training 🎯Owner Focus 🎯Retention & Culture Action Plan: Test One Goal Today Don't wait. Pick one small, actionable goal from any of the three pillars (like delegating one specific task or automating one simple process) and implement it for the next 30 days By "test-driving" your system now, you prove the concept works and build the essential habit of execution. Ready to stop waiting and start winning? You don't have to do it on your own. Maybe that's why you haven't been starting each year off with momentum, clarity and goals? Reach out to me directly and let's map out your 2026 strategy together. I can help you turn these ideas into a step-by-step action plan for your business. Karen Creighton Partnering for Success

Most strategies fail not because they’re bad, but because they’re misaligned. Let’s fix that. Across 20+ years with enterprise clients and startups, I’ve seen the same challenge: → A brilliant strategy on paper → Disconnected execution in practice → Results that miss the mark Years ago, a high-stakes project almost came apart for this reason. (The pressure was REAL.) Strategy and marketing teams spoke different languages. Goals shifted. Deadlines slipped. We needed a bridge, not just more meetings. That’s when I developed the OM Strategy framework. ✅ It aligns strategic planning with marketing execution ✅ It adapts to changing markets ✅ It delivers sustainable growth Here’s the multi-step structure I use with every client: 1. Explore Current State ↳ Assess performance ↳ Identify gaps 2. Focus on Key Wins and Failures ↳ Reflect on what worked—and what missed ↳ Use lessons as guideposts 3. Foresee Future Trends ↳ Analyze market shifts ↳ Anticipate consumer behavior 4. Succeed with Adaptation ↳ Refine the strategy ↳ Track results and adjust (Strategy isn’t a destination; it’s a journey of discovery, transformation, and victories.) If you want your strategy to drive real marketing results, alignment is the key. Ready to future-proof your growth? Let’s connect.

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"What If The Real Reason Your Growth Is Stuck Has Nothing To Do With Your Strategy?" We’ve all been told: fix the strategy and growth will follow. But let’s be real, most companies don’t fail because of “bad strategy.” They fail because the strategy never makes it off the slide deck. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: --> A brilliant plan with no team to execute is just theory. --> A strong team without systems to support them ends up exhausted. --> And automation? Ignored too often 🙃, leaving people stuck doing work machines could handle better. So the issue isn’t strategy. It’s the gap between the idea and execution. And that gap gets wider when leaders keep chasing new frameworks instead of fixing the basics: the who and the how. When you connect strategy with the right talent and the right systems, something shifts. Vision turns into reality. Teams stop burning out. Growth stops stalling. But until then? Companies will keep blaming “strategy” while overlooking the actual problem. GTM lives here: at the intersection of smart planning, strong people, and automation that scales with you. Everything else is noise.