Carl L. Sheeler
Equity Value Enhancement
In our holding company and in two of the single family offices I help run, the blueprints of value machines themselves are worth millions of dollars, and can be leveraged in many different industries or asset classes. While most books on the industry focus on statistics or outdated stressing of fee-only models, no other publication dives into the structures that drive value creation for ultra-wealthy families like this text does. In fact when you first start reading the book you will realize it speaks to professionals who are operating on another level in the space. I have hired Carl to speak at our most private and exclusive events for single family offices and $100M+ families and if you read this book you will see exactly why and be glad you spent the time doing so.
Carl's book brings a refreshing twist to the valuation discipline. While most equity valuation literature out there focuses on technical and methodological aspects, Carl thinks outside of the box and delves into unique concepts and tools, namely, Governance, Relationships, Risks, and Knowledge (GRRK) and risk Identification, Measurement, Management, and Mitigation (IMMM) that lead to Equity Value Enhancement (EVE). This book is especially useful for valuation professionals who desire to be more than just routine commodity service providers and have a greater calling to become pro-active participants of a holistic advisory team integral to helping companies produce results, reduce operational risk, and leverage on and maximize valuable intangible assets.
Carl is a very introspective individual. He approaches family businesses and public companies with a holistic approach; not just a single focus. Having grown up in a family owned business in manufacturing and working with many family businesses, I know firsthand that Carl understands the dynamics inherent in certain family businesses, and that provides true value. Carl has a talent for sizing up a business for its value, challenges, and governance. Having worked with him, he is someone I would love to work with again for his impressive and consistent ability to create value and help businesses grow.
This wonderful book shines a light on a universal but widely unrecognized truth: value is only created in the networks of relationships, conversations and commitments between people. The failure to look beyond the numbers to cultural and systemic factors goes a long way to explain the dismal record of value destruction in mergers and acquisitions across the globe. Carl's book is essential reading for executives, advisors and investors seeking sustainable value creation strategies.
While advisors provide advice to their clients, Dr. Carl Sheeler, based on 2 decades of experience and research, targets the advisors so that they can better assist their clients. As a professional appraiser, I fully agree with Carl that GRRK is so important to see what's driving operational performance. I am sure appraisers and other advisors will be able to become trusted advisors and provide the advice that clients need to enhance the value of their businesses after reading this book.
Dr. Sheeler's Equity Value Enhancement should be a wakeup call for business owners, large corporations and the people who provide a wide range of services to these firms. Sheeler sheds light on the tangible and intangible drivers of business value. His perspective is valuable for both business owners and their advisors. His approach to explaining the many ways business value is misunderstood and miscalculated is insightful and important. He does an exemplary job of establishing a foundation of understanding about the tangible and intangible drivers of business value and then providing the “how-to” approach to accessing and optimizing the benefits of a strong advisory team. The book also clearly articulates the sources of value creation for advisors. For a diverse range of service provides, he trumpets the criticality of differentiating themselves by going beyond their technical expertise to offer valuable perspective and advice, founded on understanding, that can help owners enhance business value. Equity Value Enhancement offers vital insight and offers an indispensable learning tool for all business leaders and the professionals who service them.
This isn't just another book to stick on the shelf – it is a tool to be utilized. Carl has taken complex concepts and transformed them into accessible, actionable recommendations. What Carl refers to as “technical myopia” costs business owner clients vast amounts of money each year, but it doesn't have to be that way. With the largest transition of generational wealth well under way, Carl's approach to Equity Value Enhancement is a must read for advisors and business owner's alike.
With Carl's book, you find that a basic feature of modern enterprises is the need to create effective intangible assets through unique approaches. As a professor, I gleaned from this that a business school should help its students identify the intangibles that are not disclosed by a balance sheet. This book opens a new window and shows the reader how to judge the value of a business with innovative thoughts and methods that transcend the typical limitations of valuation analysis.
Dr. Sheeler's book succeeds in impressing upon the appraisal and advisory community that risk identification and measurement need not be a commodity. The real opportunity lies in establishing a strategy and culture where owners and advisors align their activities to leverage their knowledge and relationships. The book's focus is on the necessity for the often overlooked risk management and mitigation roles. This separates the dabblers from the industry professionals and allows for more lucrative engagements while making a real difference for the owner and investors in both liquidity and legacy.
Carl Sheeler moves past the limiting aspects of valuation analysis by creating the Governance, Relationships, Risks and Knowledge framework. GRRK gives advisors tools that leverage governance into culture, relationships into advisory boards, risks into opportunities, and knowledge into insight. Applying GRRK methods to valuations provides insights and opportunities that advisors should share with clients to grow their businesses, expand their influence within their markets, and grow professional networks that can be new sources of revenue. The business services industry is moving away from hourly rates towards value pricing. Consultants should use this book and elevate service offerings to become deeply trusted advisors who bill on their value and not on their time.
Carl Sheeler's work is a fine contribution to the field of applied and practical economics, which at a certain basic level is to understand human behavior. It succeeds because he simply makes sense. This is no easy task, and it is no minor contribution. Sheeler's work is important to advisors and clients alike, as it reminds us to focus on adding value and managing risk in pursuit of excellence by focusing on the relationships and practices that increase the probability of desired and desirable outcomes. This is a book worth keeping off the shelf and on the nearby table to use as a practical guide and reminder of sustained best practices.
Most business owners believe their value comes from what appears on their financial statements – sales, gross profit, EBITDA or net income. However, all acquirers buy the future, not the past, and the future is always driven by intangibles.