May 4, 2015
William Mince

Helping Your Team Move Through the Four Stages of Learning

William Mince | Interim CEO, COO, Turnaround

One of my early mentors inspired me to restart, after each painful management lesson, by paraphrasing the following excerpt from Teddy Roosevelt’s 1915 speech at the Sorbonne.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the one who points out how the strong stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the one who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends oneself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if one fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that one’s place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

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August 19, 2014
William Mince

Managing Change

William Mince | Interim CEO, COO, Turnaround

As the Red Queen told Alice, “My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.” This is often true with most companies, they must grow or the competition will leave them behind. In order to grow faster they must also make changes in their processes. The key to effectively managing change is to create a culture that is willing to embrace change as the new norm. To be effective, you must ensure the whole organization understands that the status quo will no longer be acceptable. The first step in creating a change-management culture is to get everyone’s head wrapped around some very basic definitions:

Management
Organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies in order to achieve clearly defined objectives

Change
To cause to be different

Change Management
A structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state

Change Agent
A person effective at change management

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August 14, 2014
John Collard

Raising Money In Tough Times: Easier Than You May Think

John Collard | Interim CEO, COO, Turnaround

I have yet to enter a turnaround situation that I didn’t hear the owner or CEO or the board say that the answer to all of their problems is more money. While in some cases this is a real need, it is seldom the systemic problem within the company. Chances are that they have some work to do. Needing ‘dollars’ is one thing … being ready to raise ‘dollars’ is another.

There is an abundance of funding available in the marketplace for good deals. The key wording in this statement is of course “good deals.” When a company is in trouble rarely is it considered a good deal without some fixing.

Don’t be surprised when you come to the realization that the company isn’t attractive to investors or lenders. This means that you have the opportunity to rebuild the company, or parts of it, so that it can be considered a “good deal.” Build a company that investors want to invest in.

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June 26, 2013
Scott Philips

Introducing the TNP Diagnostic for Workforce Engagement and Motivation (DWEM)

Scott Philips | CEO, CSO, COO, CMO, Turnaround

TNP: Why look at employee motivation and engagement?
Scott: The purpose of business is to make money, right? To make money you need customers, products or services, a strong value proposition, and an ability to deliver on that value proposition. Productivity and profitability rarely (if ever) occur without an engaged and motivated workforce. Success is dependent on it.

TNP: How do you define employee motivation and engagement?
Scott: Employee motivation is what draws an individual to their work and workplace or what personally stimulates them to high levels of performance. This is unique for virtually every person, and is much more internally driven. Leaders who know how to motivate their employees know how to sync with those employees’ internal drive. Engagement is essentially external elements that connect or involve individuals with outside stimulus. Engaged employees are attentive, they contribute, they are stimulated, and they show care for what’s happening. The outcome of both strong engagement and motivation is higher productivity and profitably. These things should matter to every company.

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March 12, 2013
Lyle Banks

Taking Responsibility For Your Team’s Performance

Lyle Banks | CEO, COO, CMO

The regular football season recently ended and we, once again, witnessed the annual parade of head coach beheadings. Whether or not you participate in the debates surrounding these firings, it’s hard not to be fascinated by the high profile nature of these events.

However, away from the spotlight similar unceremonious leadership changes are common. A company’s stock falls and the CEO is ousted, a television station’s news ratings declines and the News Director is let go or in-store sales are flat for a national retail chain and the CMO is released.

So what’s the problem? Shouldn’t poor performers be shown the door?

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November 14, 2012
John Collard

Mission Possible: Six Questions Your Mission Statement Should Answer

John Collard | CEO, COO, Turnaround

A Proper Mission Statement Provides an Understanding of Future Growth Directions

Does your company have a mission statement? If so, feel confident in knowing that the company is in a select group of companies that have engaged in this forward-thinking activity.

But what good is a mission statement if it’s not put into practice? When was the last time you read your company’s mission statement? What did it say to you? What do you think it conveys to others?

A mission statement must spell out what your company does and where it is going. The answers to these questions are supposed to inspire and guide you and your employees every working day and hour, whether your business is coming up ahead, lagging behind, or just sitting in the middle.

Mission statements often come up short, like this nebulous one: “The mission of our company is to provide excellence and quality for all of our customers.”

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