Hubbard foods: developing strategies and management control systems in the entrepreneurial firm

This chapter is about Dick Hubbard and the business he founded and continues to own - Hubbard Foods (Hubbards). It is based on wide-ranging interviews and site visits that formed part of a larger study. The chapter is focused on how Hubbards builds and implements strategy and the use of management reporting systems to support business decisions. Various practical insights and lessons are provided concerning strategic focus and management reporting in an entrepreneurial business. In essence the Hubbard style in relation to strategy and management reporting is well captured by the large sign placed directly next to the main corporate office entrance, which reads: Warning: This is a 'no-nonsense' management zone. No management excesses, corporate ego-trips, committee decisions, inter-company memos, buck-passing, back-stabbing, or any other dubious management practices allowed on these premises.