Thomas A. Stewart

An in-depth and practical exploration of middle-market mergers and acquisitions from leading experts in the field In the newly revised Second Edition of Middle Market M & A: Handbook for Advisors, Investors, and Business Owners, mergers and acquisitions experts Kenneth H. Marks, Christian W. Blees, Michael R. Nall, and Thomas A. Stewart deliver a comprehensive overview of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic transactions of privately held companies with revenues between $5 and $500 million per year. You'll discover the market trends, perspectives, and strategies commonly affecting business transitions in all phases of a deal, as well as the processes and core subject areas (e.g. valuation, structure, taxation, due diligence, etc.) required to successfully navigate and close transactions in the private capital markets. The latest edition of this handbook includes new discussions about: The middle market landscape and the evolution and impact of private equity on the private capital marketsThe concepts of mergers and acquisitions from an owner's point of viewWays in which transition and value growth planning can optimize the value owners and investors can realize in sell-side and buy-side transactionsNew technologies being used in the M&A process Perfect for advisors, investors, and business owners, the new edition of Middle Market M & A is a must-read roadmap of the strategic transaction landscape that provides solid, practical guidance for attorneys, accountants, investment bankers, corporate development, exit planners, investors, lenders and the owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders of middle market companies.

In this pioneering guide, two business authorities introduce the new discipline of Service Design and reveal why trying new strategies for pleasing customers isn't enough to differentiate your business-it needs to be designed for service from the ground up. Woo, Wow, and Win reveals the importance of designing your company around service, and offers clear, practical strategies based on the idea that the design of services is markedly different than manufacturing. Bestselling authors and business experts Thomas A. Stewart and Patricia O'Connell contend that most companies, both digital and brick-and-mortar, B2B or B2C; are not designed for service-to provide an experience that matches a customer's expectations with every interaction and serves the company's needs. When customers have more choices than ever before, study after study reveals that it's the experience that makes the difference. To provide great experiences that keep customers coming back, businesses must design their services with as much care as their products. Service Design is proactive-it is about delivering on your promise to customers in accordance with your strategy, not about acceding to customer dictates. Woo, Wow, and Win teaches you how to create "Ahhh" moments when the customer makes a positive judgment, and to avoid Ow" moments-when you lose a sale or worse, customer trust. Whether you're giving a haircut, selling life insurance, or managing an office building, your customer is as much a part of your business as your employees are. Together, you and customers create a bank of trust; fueled by knowledge of each other's skills and preferences. This is Customer Capital, the authors explain, and it is jointly owned. But it's up to you to manage it profitably. Innovative yet grounded in real world examples, Woo, Wow, and Win is the key strategy for winning customers-and keeping them.

In Thomas A. Stewart's bestselling first book, Intellectual Capital, he redefined the priorities of businesses around the world, demonstrating that the most important assets companies own today are often not tangible goods, equipment, financial capital, or market share, but the intangibles: patents, the knowledge of workers, and the information about customers and channels and past experience that a company has in its institutional memory. Now in his new book, The Wealth of Knowledge, Stewart--widely acknowledged as the world's leading expert on working with intellectual capital in today's knowledge economy--reveals how today's companies are applying the concept of intellectual capital into day-to-day operations to dramatically increase their success in the marketplace. Arguing that companies can make untold millions of dollars by managing knowledge more effectively--and save millions more--Stewart offers executives and managers compelling accounts of how leading companies around the world are successfully tackling the practical issues involved in today's knowledge economy. The heart of the book is a revolutionary 4-step preocess that shows how to put intellectual capital to work to improve performance and profitablity, as well as manage knowledge processes. He goes on to discuss how companies can better utilize their current assets and enhance their knowledge resources for the future. Questioning many of the assumptions that have ruled business in the twentieth century, he addresses such critical and fundamental issues as why companies exist, how they should be organized and how people should be compensated. With his customary fearlessness and foresight, he plunges into the thick of the controversial arena of measuring and accounting, as well-an increasingly difficult task when a corporation's assets are intangible. The Wealth of Knowledge not only sets out the latest thinking in creating and managing knowledge assets, but provides a detailed course of action for corporations trying to navigate their way in the world of knowledge economy. From the Hardcover edition.