Growth Strata•Gems Magazine Growth Strata•Gems Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 2

COACHING Verne Harnish: Tracking Two Numbers Daily Turned This Company Around W Sam Hyder revived the nearly 50-year- old company his grandfather started by making some painful decisions and learning how to keep it profitable on a daily basis. 2 | FALL 2017 hen Sam Hyder took the helm of Geographe Enterprises, he faced a trial by fire. His 48-year- old firm designs and manufactures aftermarket parts for mining equipment, distributing it throughout Australia, Indonesia and South Africa. With the mining industry in a slump as Hyder began leading Geographe in 2012, demand for its products had dropped sharply. By 2013, revenue had plummeted from USD $20.5 million to $16.7 million. But Hyder and his team quickly managed to turn around the company his grandfather Neville Hyder had started. Today, Geographe is on track for revenue of $30 million and record profits. TWO CRITICAL NUMBERS Hyder and his team orchestrated the turnaround by focusing on two key numbers. Starting in 2013, they began working with a coach who advised them to turn their attention to both daily sales and daily operating expense- every day and sometimes every hour. Their goal was to make the company profitable on a daily basis and, once the company achieved that goal, to keep it that way every day.