While interim execs have come into their own as a highly skilled professional calling, individuals sometimes apply to the Association without valid credentials.

Just like any other specialty, great professionals tend to produce great results. And unskilled labor could easily, well, mess things up. We’re big believers in Michael Collins’ principle from Good to Great: first get the right people on the bus.

Here are the three problematic mindsets in the marketplace and that we seek to avoid for membership:

More than 250,000 middle market businesses are in trouble. Their survival may depend upon how quickly and how vigorously a course which will generate financial and human capital is pursued. But, usually, by the time this warning is sounded, performance has deteriorated sufficiently to jeopardize lending relationships, customer contracts, credit ratings and employee confidence. An antacid may relieve the symptomatic heartburn but fail to find and treat the cause(s).

As times become critical, managers may react to improve liquidity. But the drain in working capital continues unless a tourniquet is applied to stop the bleeding. Even then, without a valid prescription, the corporate organism continues its natural daily battle with competing forces. The problems can be resolved only through changes in the manner by which the enterprise is managed.

An outside director is a member of the board of directors or advisors who is not part of the executive management team. These professionals are sometimes referred to as independent or non-executive directors. They are not employees of the company and are differentiated from inside directors, who do serve as executive managers and/or corporate officers.

Outside directors are advantageous because they rarely have conflict of interest and they often see the big picture differently than insiders. While corporate governance standards of public companies require a certain number or percentage of outside directors because they are more likely to provide unbiased opinions, private companies are normally left alone — but, I highly recommend that unbiased advice.

In today’s business environment, smart organizations frequently seek outside expertise. Traditionally, companies invited advisors to join their board of directors. There is now, however, more risk to these directors based upon recent legislation (Sarbanes-Oxley). While there is formality (shareholder reporting, responsibility, risk, liability) and more expense (D&O insurance, etc.) to a board of directors, there is a budget friendly alternative in the form of a ‘board of advisors’ who is beholden to management. The main difference is in where the fiduciary duty lies: to the shareholders or to management.  Regardless of which vehicle you use, there is great value to be obtained by hiring an outside director.

Although in a globalized economy business practices become increasingly standardized, entering into global business relationships provides unique challenges.

Here’s the definition of one interim executive’s recent employer: The Dutch-owned company with significant U.K. and Belgian investors had U.S. and Canadian leadership and was doing business in Germany.

For global ventures, especially amid mergers and acquisitions, the differences must be minimized. It’s not your culture, it’s not my culture: it’s our culture. To create that new culture, an early focus on communication styles is essential.

Director Summary

What makes a good leader in a healthy company? What about a company in crisis? The two styles are different in focus, decision making, authority, and people. Understanding and managing these differences can help directors recruit the right talent to lead a company through good times and bad.

Clear Thinking

In a time of crisis and transition, who can handle the crisis management role within the company? This is a predicament. At such a turning point, clear thinking must prevail and a special set of skills must be applied.

Let me tell you a story about how I made the decision 15 years ago to become an interim CEO, solely based on a chance conversation with someone I didn’t know very well — an acquaintance named Philip Monego.

Philip and I occasionally ran into each other at conferences for online companies. On one particular occasion, I saw Philip approaching and holding out a new business card. I tried to make a wiseass joke, asking: “Can’t you hold down a job?”

Maybe not the best line, but he smiled and said, “Bob, you don’t understand VC here in Silicon Valley. They won’t just give a rookie engineer a check for $5 million.” He went on to explain that back in 1987 based on the advice of one of the investors in his first startup, he formed Technology Perspectives Partners, LLC (TPP), an interim management consulting practice. He had developed a team of professionals who could parachute into a new company to help the founders, alongside the VC fund’s check.

Then he handed me his new business card. It read:

Philip Monego
Interim CEO
Yahoo

PRESS RELEASE (view original)

15-November-2012 –Interim executives wage a covert war against corporate inefficiency and underperformance. Today’s launch of the Association of Interim Executives (interimexecs.com) marks a new day for interim executives and the companies that need them.

Go ahead and think of an interim executive as the James Bond of the executive suite: a nimble operator who brings the precise tools to get the job done. Now, an association has his back.
The association’s select membership includes champion business leaders who’ve already been doing the behind-the-scenes engagements, empowering them with new alliances to help increase their businesses, while promoting their specialty to companies that could benefit, from start-ups to distressed turnarounds.

Experienced management is one of the most important factors behind the success of any business. Many managers have ample enthusiasm and energy, but often lack the knowledge and experience needed to sidestep easily avoided mistakes. As a result, far too many companies get into trouble and can die before ever reaching their potential market value.

If you have an extraordinary innovation, opportunity, or even a unique situation an interim executive can help launch, grow, or turnaround your venture by temporarily filling one or more key management roles in your company. Whether they serve as your interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Selling Officer (CSO), Chief Manufacturing Officer (CMO), Chief Whichever Officer (CXO), General Counsel, or in some other senior executive role, they can stand by your side as an experienced executive with a vested interest in your long-term success.

Interim C-level executives are experienced managers who have launched and grown successful ventures. As your partner, they roll up their sleeves and work towards laying the groundwork for a successful venture. They work hard, because they succeed only if you succeed.