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	<title>20/20 Outlook Blog</title>
	<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog</link>
	<description>- growing value through partnerships</description>
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		<title>Acquisition Activity? Up, According to Corum&#8217;s Nat Burgess</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Corum Group is a leading provider of merger and acquisition services to software and information technology companies. Because of their heavy involvement in  M&#38;A, they are an excellent source of data about high tech transactions. Their president Nat Burgess was recently interviewed on CNBC about the current level of acquisition activity.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/09/02/acquisition-activity-up-according-to-corums-nat-burgess/</link>
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		<title>The Mystery of a Disciplined Process</title>
		<description><![CDATA[“Mystery” and “process” aren’t often used together. A process is commonly thought of as a way to replace mysterious methods of accomplishing a goal with a well-documented, step-by-step procedure that, if followed precisely, always produces the desired result. CEOs can be mystified when a competitor with seemingly inferior products and services is acquired by a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/08/27/the-mystery-of-a-disciplined-process/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>A Milestone for 20/20 Outlook</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Exactly six months ago, 20/20 Outlook LLC officially opened for business. If it seems longer than six months, you’re right – planning started over 18 months ago. I felt “nudged” in a new direction and began exploring how to deliver value to CEOs of private companies. The answer ultimately lay in combining an unusual (some [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/08/03/a-milestone-for-2020-outlook/</link>
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		<title>Attacking &#8220;Business Entropy&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Not long ago, I wrote a post on how clarity affects the bottom line. It emphasized the importance of a sharing a common vision among a company’s management team and laments how often it’s inadequate. “The lack of this understanding is so common among $10-50M companies that I’ve stopped being surprised when they can’t articulate [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/07/10/attacking-business-entropy/</link>
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		<title>Important Indicators are Up</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Because I help companies define an exit strategy and grow value accordingly, I&#8217;m always seeking better sources of data that capture the current state of the investment world. Pitchbook is one source that publishes particularly useful information about fundraising, investments, and exits. A recent Pitchbook presentation suggests that we&#8217;re on the verge of significant growth [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/06/18/important-indicators-are-up/</link>
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		<title>Little Mistakes Illustrate Important Principles</title>
		<description><![CDATA[No one likes to see their stupid mistake to be plastered on the internet, me included. That said, it’s hard to pass up writing about a personal blunder that illustrates important principles. A week and a half ago my supply of business cards was getting low and a business trip was nearing. It made sense [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/06/05/little-mistakes-illustrate-important-principles/</link>
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		<title>Clarity Affects the Bottom Line</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week I spent a morning leading a management team through a strategic positioning session to achieve more clarity about their business. The next day I read an article containing this quote by the leader of a technology incubator: My team and I probably saw, heard or read more than 200 business pitches last year. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/06/01/clarity-affects-the-bottom-line/</link>
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		<title>Restart with the End in Mind</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Chances are you&#8217;ve heard Stephen Covey’s Habit #2 in his classic self-help book called Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: “Begin with the end in mind.” Or said another way by the author of the Peter Principle, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you probably will end up somewhere else.” When a business is [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/05/26/restart-with-the-end-in-mind/</link>
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		<title>I’m On a Mission!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In Bob Dylan’s song “Gotta Serve Somebody” he points out that, no matter who we are, we all have to make significant choices: You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody The implication is clear for our spiritual [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/05/18/i%e2%80%99m-on-a-mission/</link>
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		<title>Reason for Optimism</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The 2010 Global MootCorp Competition will finish up this evening on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Started in 1984, it’s the oldest of a number of business plan competitions held each year at U.S. universities. In addition to providing a richer educational experience for many MBA students, it has helped launch [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/05/08/reason-for-optimism/</link>
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