I started working with Bob Jordan (co-founder of the Association of Interim Executives and interim extraordinaire) a few years back when he was launching the first network for interim executives. I came on board even though at the time I hadn’t heard of an interim, and was probably with the majority of the population envisioning a temporary fill-in until the real executive showed up. Oh how wrong I was.

The next few years were spent talking to hundreds of executives from around the world. Though I did not yet have the business background to fully grasp the successes and war stories that each executive shared with me it became clear that two words summed up what interim management meant: execution and results.

Many business owners/CEO’s unfortunately don’t spot the signs that led to their company being on the verge of insolvency, or bankruptcy. So what are the signs that your company may be in distress?

• Strained financial resources
• demoralized senior management
• fearful employees
• unhappy customers
• tense bankers
• angry investors
• competitors waiting to pounce

Years ago a colleague of mine had a desk plaque that read, “The buck stops…over there.” For too long, this has been the mantra of the unwitting American healthcare consumer. Many Americans do not recognize themselves as consumers when utilizing the healthcare system. We are “patients” – often impatient, of course, but “patients,” nonetheless. We are people who, according to the definition of patients, “receive or are registered to receive medical treatment.” Therein lies the problem: patients “receive”, we are acted upon, we are passive participants in the healthcare process. We pass the buck.  

NYT best-selling author Barry Conchie of Strengths-Based Leadership. Great Leaders, Teams and Why People Follow says that many interim execs could be fatally flawed in their judgment of the client’s management team. View this webinar to make sure you don’t fall into this trap! Barry is expert at team diagnostics and is sought after by corporate boards around the world.

This webinar features a discussion with Harry Jansen Kraemer, former CEO of Baxter Healthcare and now partner at $18 billion private equity fund Madison Dearborn Partners.

Harry is author of “From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership” and is also professor of management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, teaching on Leadership, Values and Ethics. Don’t miss this opportunity to sharpen you leadership game.