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Michael Tibbetts' Blog

Thursday March 03, 2005

Turnaround Tips

Some more wisdom from Shelby Carter regarding turnaround tips for companies.

Establish a vision for the whole company.
Set clear expectations for every level of the company.
Construct realistic strategies that don't require rocket science.
Focus everything on the customer, because the customer is the ultimate arbiter of success.

( Mar 03 2005, 02:00:16 PM CST / Mar 03 2005, 02:03:00 PM CST ) Permalink Comments [2]
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Comments:

It's interesting that I'm listening to Louis Gerstner's turnaround story about IBM in the 90's (Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?) and he talks about how his approach was specifically to NOT do "the vision thing" but instead talk about tangible and specific changes needed in the short to medium term. You can read more about my thoughts on this audio book (and, by coincidence, a comment or two on Jim Collin's "Good to Great" too) at: http://www.intuitive.com/blog/who_says_elephants_cant_dance_inside_ibms_historic_turnaround.html

Posted by Dave Taylor on March 09, 2005 at 12:59 PM CST #

Dave, Thanks for the pointer (another book added to the already long list of must-read) and feedback. I'm still a big believer in the "vision thing", perhaps the relevant clarification is that it be smartly done. The vision, mission, and strategy of the company must consist of measurable elements that can be tracked. A vision for the sake of vision is a waste of time. But a vision that aligns an organization to drive for measurable results has it's place in the turnaround plan.

Posted by Michael Tibbetts on April 07, 2005 at 01:03 PM CDT #