Leading Corporate Turnaround

Leadership is never more crucial than when corporate survival is at stake. But the days of the tough guys are over. The leaders who are driving today’s sustainable turnarounds understand that the answers to a distressed company’s problems lie almost always within the firm itself – usually at middle manager level and below. The secret is cooperation. Drawing on interviews with top company doctors and advisers, as well as on the authors’ own experience, Leading Corporate Turnarounds explores seven key leadership and management skills required for successful turnaround, and shows why quickly gaining the buy-in and trust of all stakeholders is the key to ultimate success. Written by the founding directors of the Society of Turnaround Professionals (STP), with a proposed Foreword by the Society’s Patron Sir John Harvey-Jones Considers the different drivers of turnaround, the alternatives to it, and the restructuring processes required to move beyond crisis stabilization to sustainable change Features international case studies from leading companies including BT, Virgin Express, Arthur Andersen, Parmalat, GE, Lee Cooper, New Look and IBM

About the Authors vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction xi 1 The Leadership Challenge 1 2 The Turnaround Framework 19 3 Before the Turnaround Begins 49 4 New Leadership 71 5 Crisis Stabilisation 97 6 Stakeholder Management 113 7 Strategic Focus 135 8 Changing Critical Business Processes 159 9 Leading Organisational Change 177 10 Financial Restructuring 197 Appendix Society of Turnaround Professionals 227 Index 229