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146 • The 100 Greatest Ideas for Building the Business of Your Dreams

You will quickly see whether you can make such a business pay; then go back to
finding the hot button that makes a manager want to sell no matter what the impact
on the overall business is. The final point to remember is that you must think big,
because there is nothing a manager in a large organisation will not do to make his or
her name.

Idea 92 - Moke sure your people ore aiming in
the same direction os you

Sensible businesspeople must learn another lesson from the two ideas above. If it is
possible to make a good acquisition by treating employees of big organisations as
individuals and not treating the corporation as a logical entity, the same can happen
to you as you build the business of your dreams. Don't fall into this trap. Look
carefully and frequently at the incentives and motivations you have in place for your
staff. Is there anything in terms of career advancement, money or other reward that
could induce your people to work in a way that was against the interests of the
business and your objectives? If there is, fix it.

The trick is to come back to your objectives. If your objective is to build the
biggest then set targets aimed at achieving this. If your objective is to make money
fast and get out when the going is good, then set different targets. It is as simple, or
outrageously difficult, as that.

Idea 93 - Don't economise on tax advice

We have talked before about the importance of negotiating with everyone including
your friendly professionals such as accountants and lawyers. Here is one further
illustration. A company was offered £1 million by a venture capital company for
33% of the shares. The owners went to another company and through competitive