| By: André Larabie, CBC, MBA, PhD |
Sometimes the situations associated with recovering a failing business can be so emotionally charged that you will have a difficult time
seeing the situation for what it really is. This person will help you do that. They can be a shoulder to lean on, a second opinion, or a sounding board for your ideas.
Since this person is external to the situation, they are impartial and can give you a more accurate assessment than someone internal to your organization. Sometimes the emotions and anxiety levels can run so high that the intensity overwhelms your senses and you begin to make bad judgments and poor decisions.
Someone who is external to all of this emotionally, someone who does not have years of relationships and background with the other player, can usually provide a more reasonable opinion and therefore can make better decisions, or at least offer sound advice.
Turnaround Expert
If you decide to bring in external assistance, you can retain a fulltime turnaround expert or you can get part-time help. The spectrum goes from bringing in a turnaround specialist who will spend 40+ hours per week on site helping you with every aspect of the turnaround down to hiring only a coach who will support you remotely via email, telephone, videoconference, and by utilizing other forms of electronic communication.
The cost for a remote coach will be lower than that for an on-site consultant. Either way, you will get your money’s worth because this person will not only provide a logical sounding board, but they will also bring in years of experience with these situations, many of which you may have never encountered before.