Cash Is King

CHAPTER 1Order‐to‐Cash

Meet Bob. Bob runs a mid‐size company, Owens Inc., that makes and sells electrical equipment. Bob joined Owens out of grad school and worked his way up from junior engineer to CEO. The company grew and evolved and in the past five years it has really taken off.

When he started, Bob knew just about everyone at Owens and prided himself on understanding most aspects of the business. But as president, he recognizes that Owens has become very complex, and he no longer has the same grasp on things he once had. Recently, a young man, Juan, introduced himself to Bob while in line in the company canteen. Bob saw his younger self in Juan and was impressed, thinking it was smart of Juan to strike up a conversation with the company president.

“What department are you in?” Juan then asked, bursting Bob's bubble. He had no idea who Bob was.

“So that is now how it is,” Bob thought to himself. “This place has become so big that the president goes unrecognized in his own offices.”

Growth at Owens, like most companies, has not always been smooth sailing. There was a time when the company almost lost its most important customer over quality problems. Then there was a sort of “bet the business” that Bob boldly made when he first became president. Bob plunged the company into new products and new markets, not knowing if the once sleepy business could keep up. These were trying periods for certain, but for the most part the company grew and grew. And as it did, leaders like ...