September 24, 2023

What Is an Interim Executive & Is It the Right Answer for Your Company?

What Is an Interim Executive & Is It the Right Answer for Your Company?

What is an interim executive? It’s a highly knowledgeable and deeply experienced C-suite executive ready to step into a company in need of superior leadership.

As veterans of the interim business, we know that pairing the right interim executive with the right company is a delicate balance. After all, private equity funds or venture capital funds get one use of their dollar. Just one. Fund managers have a sacred charge of evaluating opportunities and investing the funds they’ve been entrusted with by their limited partners in hopes of maximum returns.

Likewise, we get one chance to make a great match. We must identify the interim executive with the right skills and experience and catch that executive during the brief period of time they are in between assignments assessing the next opportunity they want to take on.

So how do we best deploy genius leadership when we only get one chance every day to maximize everyone’s time, unique skillset, and results? We start by being selective about our clients.

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July 31, 2023
John Lafferty

How an Experienced Interim CFO Can Counter Cash Flow Mismanagement

John Lafferty | CFO
How an Experienced Interim CFO Can Counter Cash Flow Mismanagement

Cash flow mismanagement is a common problem among small and mid-sized businesses. But many owners do not have the experience to precisely pinpoint where cash flow mismanagement has occurred, nor the background to develop plans designed to counter those cash flow issues.

A typical small or mid-sized business owner can spend hours examining the company’s financial statement and nevertheless fail to see the underlying causes of cash flow problems, whether they be mismanagement of receivables, problems in pricing strategy, erosion of margins, escalating operational costs or other cash flow problems.

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June 26, 2023

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Examples of Exit Strategies and How to Choose One

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Examples of Exit Strategies and How to Choose One
Key Takeaways

The 5 Most Common Business Exit Strategies

  • Merger or Acquisition


Sell to another company, often with the greatest potential to maximize business value.

  • Friendly Buyer Sale


Transfer ownership to a trusted partner, employee, or management team for a smoother transition.

  • Family Succession

Pass the business to the next generation while preserving family ownership and legacy.

  • Initial Public Offering

Sell shares publicly to create liquidity and raise capital, typically for larger companies.

  • Liquidation

Close the business and sell its assets when continued operations are no longer viable.

When it’s time to step away from the business you’ve built — because you’re ready to retire, you want to pursue another opportunity, or for some other reason — what’s the right way to exit your business?

The short answer is: It depends. 

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June 26, 2023

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: The Importance of Succession Planning

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: The Importance of Succession Planning
Succession Planning Framework

6 Steps to Create a Successful Business Succession Plan

  • 1) Define Your Retirement Goals



Decide whether you want to leave completely, retain ownership, sell the business, or remain involved in a reduced role.

  • 2) Identify Potential Successors


Evaluate family members, internal leaders, and external candidates based on leadership ability and readiness.

  • 3) Develop Future Leaders

Give promising successors the mentoring, experience, and decision-making exposure needed to lead successfully.

  • 4) Communicate the Plan

Explain the transition clearly to employees, customers, vendors, investors, and other important stakeholders.

  • 5) Review the Plan Annually

Update the succession plan as leadership, valuation, ownership goals, and business conditions change.

  • 6) Execute the Transition

Transfer leadership, authority, relationships, and institutional knowledge according to the plan.

The Roy family of “Succession,” the critically acclaimed series about which of the Roy family offspring would take the reins of the family-owned media conglomerate Waystar Royco, should serve as a cautionary tale for any business owner considering retirement.

Business succession planning cannot be left to underlings to duke it out for control.

Succession planning is important for any business, family-owned or not. It’s critical for business continuity, preserving the legacy, and a smooth transition.

When it’s time to step away from the helm and choose a successor, there are three options available:

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June 26, 2023

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Identifying Potential Successors

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Identifying Potential Successors

Choosing the person who will be your successor is the second step in this business exit process. The first step is identifying where the company will be when it’s time for the successor to step into a leadership role. Do you expect the company to be sailing along at an even keel, continuing to do what it already does so well? Or are there rougher waters ahead that will require more creative leadership?

Having a keen idea of where your company will be when you plan to step away from daily leadership is critical to understanding what competencies and skills the new leader will need – and to maximizing the worth of the organization as you convert your ownership interests into cash.

Once you have a good idea of that, it’s time to begin searching for just the right person to lead your company into the future.

And, a side note: Even if your exit strategy is to sell the company, you cannot skip this step! The buyer will want to know that you have made plans for a smooth transfer of leadership.

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June 26, 2023

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Family Business Transition to the Next Generation

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Family Business Transition to the Next Generation

There’s bad news and good news when it comes to family business transition to the next generation.

First, the bad news: Only about one-third of businesses survive that transition. Here’s how the Harvard Business Review put it in a 2022 article: “In many family businesses, the tension between the eagerness of the next generation’s leaders to take control, and the founding generation’s willingness to relinquish control, is the source of many failed relationships and companies.”

InterimExecs CEO Robert Jordan takes a look at the challenges of family conflict in this lively 7-minute video:

Now, the good news: It doesn’t have to be that way. With a lot of planning, honest conversation, and realistic expectations, family businesses can survive and thrive for generations to come.

Here, we dive into the challenges of transitioning a family business to second-generation leadership and how to navigate those challenges successfully.

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June 26, 2023

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Dealing with Conflict in a Family Business & Preserving Harmony

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Dealing with Conflict in a Family Business & Preserving Harmony

It’s no surprise that family business conflict is common among family-owned businesses. Or that it most often stems from family dynamics. The question is how to handle it.

There are plenty of business consultants who can step in to help companies manage family relationships in a business setting. The desired outcome is family cohesion and a successful family business.

In some cases, that can only happen when you bring in non-family members to run the business in the interest of promoting family harmony.

But, before we dive into that, let’s look at the biggest conflicts in family businesses.

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June 26, 2023

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Selling Your Business to Private Equity

Business Exit Strategy Guide for Owners: Selling Your Business to Private Equity

Selling your business to private equity is a potentially very lucrative business exit strategy. In fact, the second sale — when the PE firm sells the company outright to recoup its initial investment — can be even more lucrative than the first deal when you sell to a PE firm.

But selling your business to a private equity fund is a complicated sale process and you could end up partners for a number of years before getting a big buyout when the second sale closes. So it’s important to understand all of the ins and outs before embarking on this path.

Here, we share 9 important questions you should ask if you are considering selling your business to private equity.

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June 2, 2023

The Value of Business Coaching: Do You Need an Outsider’s Perspective?

The Value of Business Coaching: Do You Need an Outsider’s Perspective?

By Robert Jordan

When your company is stalled or facing transition, there are two ways to get help: adding a new leader to the team or helping the leaders you have be the best they can be. When you need a new leader, an interim, part-time or fractional executive can be on site quickly, leading the change. When you have the leadership your company needs, bringing in a business coach can help him or her rise to the new challenge.

Yes, our InterimExecs RED Team executives sometimes play a mentoring role at companies where they serve. But that is a specific use case to mentor someone who is being trained into higher responsibility. Most interim and fractional executives do not consider their operational roles, even if including mentoring, to be the same activity as a dedicated business coach.

Business or executive coaches are an external resource. They work with the executive on leadership skills and personal development.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, my partner, Olivia Wagner, and I have long understood the benefits of business coaching. We have met with a business coach and used his services to help us refine our business strategy and cement our professional partnership.

Business coaching offers a distinct form of leadership development. So, I wondered, how do business coaching services do what they do so well?

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May 12, 2023

How Much Does An Interim Executive Cost?

How Much Does An Interim Executive Cost?
Key Takeaways

Interim Executive Cost & Compensation

  • No Off-the-Shelf Rate


Interim executive compensation is customized based on scope, deliverables, and company complexity rather than a standard flat fee.

  • Flexible Billing Structures


Engagements are typically structured as daily/monthly retainers or project-based rates, sometimes including performance bonuses.

  • Zero Overhead Cost

Unlike permanent C-suite hires, interim executives do not require long-term contracts, severance packages, paid vacation, stock options, or health benefits.

  • Pay-for-Results Focus

Contracts can generally be terminated with 30 days’ notice, ensuring full accountability from day one.

Once owners, board members, and investors figure out exactly what an interim is and how an interim can help, the next question is: How much does an interim executive cost?

The short answer is: There is no off-the-shelf rate card for interim execs. Or more precisely, it doesn’t exist for the best interims in the world.

The first thing to understand about interim executive costs is to know that interim and permanent executive compensation is structured differently.

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May 12, 2023

Is an Interim Executive the Right Fit for Your Company? 6 Signs It’s Time to Hire an Interim Executive

Is an Interim Executive the Right Fit for Your Company? 6 Signs It’s Time to Hire an Interim Executive
6 Signs Your Company Needs an Interim Executive

1. You need action now but are not ready to make a permanent hire

2. You have an unexpected C-suite vacancy

3. Growth has stalled or performance is declining

4. Your leadership team lacks capacity for a critical initiative

5. The business needs specialized transformation or turnaround expertise

6. A sale, acquisition, carve-out or IPO requires experienced leadership

How do you know whether an interim executive will be the right fit for your company’s needs? Ultimately, that’s an individual decision that depends on your company. But generally, when we get a call from an executive, head of human resources, small business owner, or private equity investor, it’s because the organization is in motion. Leadership to drive growth, change, or turnaround is needed. And it’s needed fast.

If you are tasked with bringing in an interim executive, you’ve probably done your research and believe you need more than a consultant, and have an idea of how an interim gets compensated. But still – is contracting with an interim executive the right move for you and your company?

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May 5, 2023
Walter Simson

The Speech All New CEOs Should Give

Walter Simson | Interim CEO, Turnaround
The Speech All New CEOs Should Give
Executive Summary

A strong opening message sets the tone for how the organization will handle change, pressure, and difficult decisions. Therefore, a new CEO’s first speech should establish trust, acknowledge what they do not know, and make clear that their questions are intended to improve processes, not assign blame. They should emphasize that the workplace will be a place of safety, respect, integrity, and teamwork — expectations that apply to all employees, including the CEO. Finally, the speech should leave employees feeling safe telling the truth, raising concerns, and asking for help.

A new CEO’s first speech should not be a performance. It should be a promise.

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