Business Turnarounds

Turnarounds or corporate revitalization are the ultimate test of crisis management. In most cases, the stakes are high since the mere existence of the firm can be threatened when the company or its key employees are unable to quickly navigate change.

Nearly all successful turnarounds involve bringing in new leadership, often an interim executive recruited specifically for a key role such as interim CEO, COO, CFO, or as Chief Restructuring Officer.

The science applied to turnarounds begins with an in-depth financial and operational analysis to understand the firm's cash flows and operational procedures. This investigation, when conducted by an experienced turnaround professional, often yields immediate solutions aimed at reducing unnecessary expenses and maximizing revenues. Additional science is applied by methodically reviewing operations to identify further cost savings through the use of technology, by changing or enhancing process flows, reorganizing how work is conducted, modifying the firm's pricing of products and services, or finding ways to better serve client needs.

The art of turnarounds involves people as well as their emotions and motivations. Everyone reacts to crisis situations in a different way. A true turnaround professional is keenly focused on the impact that changes and restructurings have on the team, since business improvement cannot occur without the full support of people.

Key Benefits

• New leadership provides an opportunity to regain trust of employees, clients and investors
• Interim turnaround executives better equip the firm to deal with the crisis by supplying an executive with proven turnaround skills, a leader who is willing and able to make the difficult decisions that will be needed
• Seasoned turnaround pros bring fresh ideas and are often able to detect problems, determine their root cause and implement appropriate corrective measures much more quickly than long-time insiders (who are often more inclined to defend current practices)

Capabilities

Our executives have a wealth of experience helping domestic and international turnarounds in many different industries, and can help your business in a number of ways:

Capability 1:  Interim Executive Leadership

Numerous companies have already benefited by hiring our executives as Interim:  CEO, COO, CFO, GM and other roles to help guide successful turnarounds.  Typically, an interim role is a contractual relationship lasting 90 to 180 days, but can also be on a month-to month basis.

Capability 2:  Business Assessments

Negative cash flow, declining profits, missed deadlines, or poor customer satisfaction are all readily identifiable symptoms indicating that there is a serious problem within a business.  However, even though the symptoms may be obvious, many companies realize that they can not properly attack these problems unless they have a very clear idea of the root cause.

Many clients have benefited by retaining our associates as independent consultants who can quickly evaluate and diagnose even the most complex business performance issues.  Typically these assignments are on a project flat fee basis, but can also be on an hourly basis.

Capability 3:  Change Management Project

Once the root cause of poor business performance has been identified during a "Business Assessment" phase, the focus quickly shifts to identifying alternative corrective actions, determining the best course of action, and then appointing a qualified leader to guide the implementation and execution of the necessary change.

Our executives are highly skilled and experienced at quickly identifying root causes, then making executive level presentations that outline alternative solutions and their corresponding risks, costs and benefits.  Next, they facilitate rapid decision making, and can be appointed to change management leadership roles held accountable for successfully implementing solutions on time and under budget.  These types of assignments are either flat fee, hourly, or may even include performance based fees where a portion of the fee is based upon the actual results attained for the business, such as cost reduction, increased revenue, etc.