Poised for Exit

Welcome to the Poised for Exit podcast! Poised for Exit is an under 30-minute strategic planning guidance podcast for busy small business owners. Each week you’ll hear certified exit planning advisor, Julie Keyes, talk with a range of entrepreneurs and professionals about preparing your business for a future transition. Guests at every stage of company ownership will share their personal stories and lessons learned about topics such as the anatomy of the exit planning process, developing a growth strategy, how to sell on your terms, exit planning for women small business owners, handling business diversity, and how to sell a family business. Whether you’re planning an exit in the near future or not, this show will provide you with the same action-oriented content that Julie utilizes while consulting with Keyestrategies clients. Building an exit strategy can be overwhelming, especially with all the decisions and details you have to consider. “Poised for Exit” will simplify the process and help you unwrap the unknowns, giving you more confidence in your planning process. Previous episodes are available for download, so if you are new to our show, you can listen to them in any order that suits you. Join us each week for timely, relevant content that will surely impact your business exit outcome! Subscribe to our newsletter below to receive your weekly episode link and stay updated on new strategic planning content. Find “Poised for Exit” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and others. Thank you to our Sponsors: Sunbelt Business Advisers and JAK CPA's. A special note of thanks to Tyler Keyes who produced the music for the “Poised for Exit” show.

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Poised for Exit

Why Culture Matters when you're Poised for Exit

May 29, 2024 • Julie Keyes • Season 1 • Episode 197

Why Culture Matters when you're Poised for Exit

Our guest for today's episode is Dave Sparkman, Founder and Culture advisor with Spark Your Culture Advisory Services. Dave's corporate and accounting background (as a former CPA with Arthur Andersen) have served him well in his advisory practice. His biggest project to date was in leading the Culture transformation of UnitedHealth Group! Dave lead the charge to change and build a stronger Culture there, the impetus of which was launched by its CEO, who knew that the Culture was "already good, but could be better".

Dave's task of transformation at UnitedHealth Group started with his own transformation; identifying where his own blinders were and what he did to operate in a silo himself. When leaders take on developing their own Self Awareness, it opens the way for their followers to do the same. "Culture resists what it needs the most", Dave said, and yet "it's the bedrock of everything"! Two quotes we had to be sure and include here; gems that they are!

When it comes to applying his practices to privately held business, Dave says the fundamentals are the same. His work now involves much smaller companies than his original start with UnitedHealth. Defining the beliefs of the team and the leadership first, then aligning those with that of the company is the best place to start.

You can find Dave here and add your name to a waiting list for his new book coming out this fall called "Culture, Character, Results! Lessons From UnitedHealth Group's Transformational Journey" .

Listen and share the episode here!

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor