Strong business fundamentals and solid leadership are back in style.
As a result of corporate scandals, a weak economy, and many global events with uncertain outcomes, we are living in a cautious business environment. This is an excellent time to focus on cash, customers, and core values.
In this Antiphony Insights, James L. Mann, Chairman of the Board for SunGard Data Systems Inc. (NYSE: SDS), shares the core values that have helped SunGard successfully acquire and integrate more than 120 companies and grow to more than $3 billion in revenues.
As always, we hope you find this information valuable. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please contact us at insights@antiphony.com.
Values to Live (and Succeed) By
James L. Mann is Chairman of the Board for SunGardData Systems, Inc. (NYSE:SDS) (http://www.sungard.com), a provider of proprietary application software systems and processing services for investment support activities and a provider of computer disaster recovery services. Prior to joining SunGard in 1983, Mr. Mann was President of Bradford National Corporation, a computer and financial services firm.
I’ve never had the self-discipline to completely codify our management style at SunGard. I did make an attempt at this some years back in the form of four easily remembered points.
The four points are Strategic Prudence, Management Precision, Professional Excellence, and Performance Rewards. These principles guide my management style and SunGard’s management tradition.
Strategic Prudence is the cornerstone of our attitudes and dictates that we not undertake risky, high profile, acquisitions or risky and unpredictable systems development projects. Rather, we build cumulatively on the strength of our product lines.
We implement strategic prudence by our second principle, Management Precision. The best corporate strategy is good management. No strategy, no matter how brilliant, can survive poor management while many mediocre strategies have prospered under good management.
Management precision dictates that we prepare realistic, detailed, operating plans for every business in the company and that progress be carefully tracked and monitored. We prepare our operational and financial plans with precision and intelligent realism.
Our third principle, and the most externally visible aspect of our corporate attitude is our absolute dedication to Professional Excellence. This means that we try to do everything in the very best way possible. This includes systems design, sales, sales support and most importantly, customer service.
Our fourth principle, Performance Rewards means that managers and executives within SunGard receive above average compensation for goal performance and can achieve extraordinary cash and equity awards for performance that exceeds their individual goals. We create incentive compensation programs with goals that reflect the individual’s portion of SunGard’s financial plan.
So that’s SunGard’s message. Strategic Prudence . . . Management Precision . . . Professional Excellence . . . Performance Rewards. These are the attitudes that have lead us from $30 million to nearly three billion dollars in annual revenue.
[NOTE: Excerpted from a talk given by Mr. Mann at the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group.]
Corporate Governance Initiatives
Jeffrey Babin, Antiphony
jbabin@antiphony.com
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act does not apply to private companies. However, the principals addressed by the Act do.
Entrepreneurial companies must focus their vision, prioritize their objectives, and conserve resources. These efforts may seem at odds with Corporate Governance initiatives.
Antiphony has several Corporate Governance resources available to entrepreneurs, senior managers, and directors of entrepreneurial companies:
- What Private Companies Need to Know About Corporate Governance white paper.
- Executive Corporate Governance survey and assessment.
- Corporate Governance Relaunch.
Contact us today at info@antiphony.com to learn more about these Corporate Governance resources.