Critical Factors of Success

Synopsis

Paragon is a small company that is stable but is growing at a slow moderate rate. That all changed when Nickolas Anaptyxi came to the company with his aggressive tactics and high risk attitude. The childhood years of Nickolas have played a vital role in the methods used to meet success in the working world. Nickolas saw the potential of Paragon and the benefits that MonitoRobotics could bring to Paragon's service division. With the acquisition of MonitoRobotics, the service division could possibly double current revenues. CFO William Littlefield on the other hand does not feel that the service division is worth investing in. Littlefield feels that due to the number of struggling customers, they will not be able to afford the new service.

Critical Factors of Success

Nikolas understands the importance of solving the problems that you can instead of focusing on what you can't. Problem solving is an everyday occurrence; but how a leader decides to solve those problems changes every day. Nickolas left a stable WRT and jumped into a company that was growing and looking to undertake new ventures. As a growing company Paragon was vulnerable to competition. Nickolas knew what it would take to beat out new competitors. Nickolas used aggressive pricing which increased sales growth and increased market share. Nickolas made moderate risk-calculated decisions that the competition was unwilling or unable to make to beat them.

The risky decisions allowed Paragon to grow into a common name in the community. In addition, the success of Nickolas's ideas created excitement in the entire workforce including the managers. The energy emitted changed the mood of workers and managers alike. Workers were able to think clearer and enjoy work. At the same time managers were more enthusiastic about work and less content with where they once stood.

The atmosphere that Nickolas grew up in is vital in his decision making process. As a child Nickolas watched his father make many high risk investments. Although his mother did not agree with all the decisions made, she supported her husband. While one person handled the decision making, the other handled the finances. The relationship is something that Nickolas has created with his management team. Allowing each member of the team to do their job will hasten long processes. Building trust in the skills of the team members will allow for overall better decision making.

Major Problem/Opportunity

The problem that Nickolas faces is to acquire MonitoRobotics or not. This acquisition could prove to be highly successful or it could be a huge failure with a high cost. Although Paragon is working on its own programs for the detection and report of robotic equipment, MonitoRobotics is far more advanced and skilled in that field. The detection and report system would create growth in the service division of Paragon. Even though the service division accounts for less than 10% of the revenue, Nickolas believes the division can grow. However, Nickolas' CFO William Littlefield is not convinced the service division can grow and believes it should be dropped entirely. The fact that the market as a whole is struggling will discourage many buyers. In addition, current customers would not be able to afford the new report system. Nevertheless, investing in a company that could possibly double Paragon's current $400 million revenue is tough to pass up.

Alternatives

Acquiring MonitoRobotics would put Paragon back in the red but the future