Leadership in Times of Crisis
There has been no shortage of events over the past several years that have resulted in companies coming under extreme financial pressure due to circumstances beyond their control.
Those events range from the COVID crisis, to rising interest rates, the threat of a looming recession, and the recent bank crises related to Silicon Valley Bank, as well as several other banks that have either failed or required bailouts.
Some of the “crisis” events occurred rapidly, almost overnight, while others could have been somewhat anticipated and perhaps mitigated with the appropriate interventions.
While many companies had the management talent or were just plain lucky to figure out how to survive these pressures, many others lacked the experience or the outside-of-the-box thinking to survive in the face of a rapidly changing business environment.
As a result, numerous companies either failed, or continue to limp along without the financial resources necessary to manage the business as a going concern. These businesses will most likely eventually fail as well.
LEADERSHIP IS CRITICAL …
Managing through crisis situations requires a leader who can evaluate the situation and quickly develop a plan to cope with the crisis at hand.
Sometimes crisis situations can be anticipated and planned for, however, many times they happen overnight without adequate time to prepare.
In either situation, leaders and their management teams must be able to quickly understand and start to define the crisis in order to attempt to deal with the issues. Furthermore, dealing with a crisis is not a cut-and-dried situation.
The plan developed initially, is only as good as the day it’s written. In crisis situations, it’s hard to determine how long it will last and how many ongoing variables will occur that will require frequent modification to any initial plan.
PROACTIVE READINESS …
One of the most effective ways of dealing with a crisis is to proactively develop a structured and systematic approach to crisis management that identifies certain types of potential crises and how the company might respond.
Using the talent and experience of the company’s leader and management team to identify and brainstorm around several types of crises that could occur would go a long way in developing an outline of what should be done in the event a particular crisis occurs.
While it’s difficult to anticipate every type of crisis that could occur, laying out a game plan for several possibilities will serve to provide a framework for dealing with an unanticipated crisis, if, and when, it occurs.
A WAR ROOM MENTALITY …
Proactively developing a crisis management plan that involves the management team is only a portion of what is required to manage a crisis.
When a crisis does occur, it’s important for the company’s leader, typically the CEO, to take charge of the situation and develop a “war room” mentality to start to deal with the crisis at hand.
Taking charge and leading the team through the process of identifying the issues and impacts and developing tactics and strategies to begin to mitigate the damage to the business is extremely important.
It’s essential for the leader to project honesty and confidence throughout the process. During a crisis, everyone looks to the leader for the next steps and to some degree a level of reassurance that they are in control.
If the leader projects fear and unease, then any plan that is proposed will be questioned or doubted.
While there may be a tendency for a leader to tell everyone that “everything is going to be okay”, it’s important to be realistic in communicating the issues and what steps management is taking to deal with the crisis. Frequent communications related to where the company is at in dealing with the crisis and what progress is being made toward dealing with it are also very important.
NO TIME TO PONDER PROS & CONS …
It’s also important for the company’s leader to be decisive yet adaptable.
A crisis situation is one of the few circumstances where leaders must be able to make quick decisions and often in a very short timeframe.
Leaders need to be able to make decisions on the fly, and in some cases, they might need to make the hard decisions even though they may not be popular ones.
There is no time to ponder the pros and cons of a decision at a leisurely pace.
Leaders who take action, who are decisive, and who are open to adapting their decisions to suit the needs of a situation, are going to have more success weathering a crisis than a leader who chooses to wait and not take action.
A MEASURED RESPONSE …
While making decisions quickly is a mandate in a crisis situation, it’s imperative that a leader does not throw caution to the wind and risk it all, unless there is truly no other option.
Leaders must be able to rapidly make decisions, however, in a measured way.
In other words, quickly evaluating all the facts at hand and then making a calculated decision about what would be the best course of action helps take some of the risks out of the fast-paced decision-making process.
HABIT & PROCESS …
The leader should make sure to involve the entire management team in the process, as obtaining a consensus view of the facts at hand and the resultant decisions that must be made, will mitigate some of the risks in executing the plan.
While this all might seem like an impossible task, in actuality, this is a habit and a process, that can be cultivated over a period of time.
Staying positive yet being realistic throughout the crisis is also an important attribute of the leader. However, this is one of those things that is easier said than done. it is important to keep a game face on until the worst of the crisis has passed. Projecting a positive attitude, while defining realistic expectations will go a long way in creating confidence throughout the company.
Yet even the best leaders may not be equipped to handle every crisis. If you determine that a crisis is outside your scope of experience or background, there is always help available.
Don’t ever hesitate to seek help if you or your advisors believe you need it.
Revitalization Partners specializes in improving the operational and financial results of companies and providing hands-on expertise in virtually every circumstance, with a focus on small and mid-market organizations. Whether your requirement is Interim Management, a Business Assessment, Revitalization and Reengineering, State Receivership or Bankruptcy Support, we focus on giving you the best resolution in the fastest time with the highest possible return.
Dealing With a Business Continuity Crisis
Over the past 20 years, Revitalization Partners has worked with hundreds of businesses in helping them solve complex business problems and improving the operating results of their companies.
In a number of cases, the business has fallen on tough times as a result of a business continuity crisis related to the death of a founder/CEO, or when a business leader has become incapacitated for one reason or another.
However, a business continuity crisis does not necessarily always originate when a founder/CEO unexpectedly passes away.
In our experience, we have seen many different types of situations that have negatively impacted a business.
OVER-RELIANCE ON OTHERS …
In one situation, there was a risk-taking CEO that was relying on a strong CFO to ensure that he made sound business decisions.
The CFO had a long period of illness and eventually passed away.
As a result, the high-risk-taking CEO was left unchecked.
Since there were no checks and balances or financial analysis of the risks that the CEO was taking, the CEO took too many risks and incurred substantial losses as a result.
AVOIDING REALITY …
In a different situation, a founder/CEO had extreme difficulty managing through a business downturn when the economy entered a steep recession.
While the CEO was able to manage a profitable business when the business was doing well, he was ill-equipped to manage through a downturn and make the necessary decisions to reduce costs and maintain some level of profitability.
In fact, the CEO became depressed and reacted by shutting themselves in their office and not coming out at all. The company at that point was rudderless and the next tier of management had to try to deal with their own issues without a plan.
The CEO’s spouse ultimately stepped in to try to manage things, however, had no business experience at all, so it was difficult for the spouse to make any significant decisions. The business encountered a decline in revenue as a result and their lender eventually terminated their line of credit.
STEPS TO AVOID A CRISIS …
The following are some key points that can be implemented proactively prior to encountering a business continuity crisis event. Having a Plan B is extremely important to mitigate damage to a business when an unexpected event such as a loss of a key leader occurs:
Independent Board of Directors: An independent board of directors or advisors is extremely important, even for a very small business.
The 
independent group could include industry experts and/or an experienced current or retired CEO with industry experience. Most small family businesses don’t think they can afford this.
Our view is that they cannot afford not to have some outside people familiar with the business to turn to in a time of crisis. If funding is an issue, it may be beneficial to create an informal advisory board and compensate them with a token payment, goods or services of the company, or if possible, a small amount of ownership in the company.
Second in Command: Have a strong number two person in the company that is either an operating executive or a strong CEO or Controller: Make sure this individual is involved in every aspect of the business.
In our experience, a number of small family businesses do not have a strong financial manager. As a result, a family business owner does not have the support to manage the company’s finances proactively.
If the business cannot afford a strong CFO or controller there are a number of firms that provide fractional CFO services on a part-time basis.
This is critical in managing the financial side of the business and providing some understanding of the financial condition of the company in the event someone else steps in to replace a business leader.
Cross-Training Management: Many businesses have a leader that is used to making all of the business decisions or has most of the knowledge on how a business operates.
Subordinates typically do what they are told and don’t challenge the status quo. It’s extremely important to train key executives of a business so they understand how the entire business works and their role in managing the business.
The key executives should be challenged to work as a group to operate the business and work together to make decisions and overcome obstacles.
Take an Unexpected Vacation: A family business must learn to operate without the leader being involved. The leader should consider taking an unexpected vacation for at least a couple of weeks, to see how the business operates without them.
Key Man Insurance: Most small businesses depend on the leader to provide funding for the business.
Businesses should consider purchasing Key Man insurance that would provide funding for the business in the event of the untimely passing of a leader.
Loan Agreement:
If the business has an outside lender providing a credit line or other funding for the business, management should review the loan agreement to make sure the passing of a family leader is not an event of default.
If the loan agreement does have this type of clause, the lender could declare an event of default to gain some type of leverage over the business, particularly if the business is in financial distress.
Furthermore, management should approach the lender to discuss ways to mitigate this type of clause before such an event occurs.
GET HELP BEFORE THE CRISIS …
While having a Plan B in the event of a business continuity crisis will not always solve all of the related problems, however, it will go a long way in mitigating the downside risk related to the business decline.
Having an outside advisor assist the company in preparing a Plan B can also ensure that all of the major business risk factors are covered in the plan. Not having a Plan B could result in the untimely failure of a business!
Revitalization Partners specializes in improving the operational and financial results of companies and providing hands-on expertise in virtually every circumstance, with a focus on small and mid-market organizations. Whether your requirement is Interim Management, a Business Assessment, Revitalization and Reengineering, a State Receivership or Bankruptcy Support, we focus on giving you the best resolution in the fastest time with the highest possible return.
Strategies for Surviving a Cash Flow Crisis
Given the nature of banks and other lenders tightening their lending policies and a slowdown in purchasing in certain market segments, Revitalization Partners is beginning to hear about a serious problem from both present and prospective clients.
Their companies are running out of cash.
WHY BUSINESSES FAIL …
According to Business Insider, 82% of businesses that fail, do so due to cash flow problems. A cash flow shortage occurs when more money is flowing out of a business than is coming into the business.
This means that during a cash flow crisis, the business may not have the funds to cover payroll or other operating expenses or to purchase inventory or necessary equipment.
When management has no strategy or plan in place for handling a cash flow shortage, a crisis occurs. In the event of this happening, you need to be able to take rapid action to prevent business failure.
This article discusses several steps that you can take in the event of a cash flow crisis.
CLOSELY INSPECT YOUR BUSINESS …
Encountering a cash flow shortage should cause you to closely inspect everything about your business. This means everything: Processes, operations, expenses, and most of all financial reporting.
A number of companies that approach RP for assistance do not have current financial statements. Some are months behind and some even years. Those that are years behind also have issues with unfiled taxes at both the federal and local levels.
Current financial statements allow you to use a job costing mentality to look at the details of your business’s profit and loss statement and profit margins within your company.
You should be looking at the details of jobs, clients, events, marketing strategies, sales, services and employees to determine which areas of your business are the most and least profitable.
This will allow you to make adjustments to your businesses to focus on the most profitable parts and to reduce expenses or eliminate those that may be costing you more cash than you had planned for.
ACT ON UNPROFITABLE OPERATIONS …
An important issue here is absolute honesty.
It’s important to look at the facts and the impact of low-margin or unprofitable operations on the overall business.
In a cash flow crisis, the importance is to rapidly improve the inflow of cash and reduce the outflow.
This may mean eliminating certain products or services, reducing headcount, raising prices, and eliminating unprofitable clients and customers.
There are always reasons why it can’t be done, but the successes of those companies that have taken these steps demonstrate that it does work.
ACCELERATE RECEIVABLES …
There are several other steps that can be taken to improve cash flow. These include accelerating receivables.
Depending on the nature of the business, you can increase deposits from new customers for goods and services.
Sending out invoices to clients immediately following a purchase or service instead of waiting until the end of the month.
Offering a discount for prompt payment of invoices.
And make sure your invoices are accurate to eliminate the time taken to negotiate payments by the customer.
NEGOTIATE PAYABLES …
Another step to alleviate a cash flow crunch is to negotiate payables.
While you will often be told that your vendors “have policies” those vendors that value your relationship may be willing to assist, especially if you can demonstrate that the situation is temporary.
When asking for an adjustment in the timing of payables, it’s important to be honest about the problem and offer vendors a clear plan toward a solution.
SLASH EXPENSES QUICKLY …
Yet another step is to slash expenses. While, in any business, you should always scrutinize expenses in detail, you need to be especially critical during a cash flow crisis.
It’s time to set priorities for spending and delay or eliminate as much outgo as possible.
One well-known technology company addressed the cash flow problem by cutting management salaries and eliminating bonuses.
A financial services company eliminated an entire product offering and substantially cut year-end bonuses for the entire company.
Other companies have cut unproductive salespeople from their organizations. Painful? Yes! But as someone once said: “Cash is King.”
SELL OFF NON-ESSENTIAL ASSETS …
Another option is to sell off inventory or non-essential assets. While you may take a loss on the inventory, it will generate cash.
Many companies do not have knowledge of the carrying cost of inventory.
And yet, while it represents an asset on the balance sheet, it has a negative impact on cash unless it turns very quickly.
In a cash flow crisis, the cash generated in the short term is more valuable than the longer-term profit created by carrying the inventory.
GET HELP EARLY …
Lastly, if you or your team lack the experience to deal with a cash flow crunch, get assistance before it turns into a crisis.
Assistance may not only help with the pending or current crisis but will work to assist with the prevention of a cash flow crisis in the future.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment.”
This saying applies to financial strategy as well as healthcare.
Revitalization Partners specializes in improving the operational and financial results of companies and providing hands-on expertise in virtually every circumstance, with a focus on small and mid-market organizations. Whether your requirement is Interim Management, a Business Assessment, Revitalization and Reengineering, a State Receivership or Bankruptcy Support, we focus on giving you the best resolution in the fastest time with the highest possible return.
The Risk of a Do-It-Yourself Wind Down
Recently, Revitalization Partners (RP) was contacted by a company that had the problem facing many small companies: It had run out of cash.
The company is in a business sector that was impacted by difficulties in that sector, problems caused by covid and an unwillingness of the owners to keep funding losses. They approached RP to discuss a wind down plan.
WE LEARNED THAT …
In discussing the situation, we learned that the company had a family-based board of directors and one member of the board served as the managing member of the company. The board and management disagreed on the proper direction to take for the company.
In listening to the board members that would talk with us, (the manager would not) we learned of a number of issues that made a simple wind-down problematic.
The first was that the board had not seen any financial statements for months. When asked why, the board members indicated that they had been asking for months, the manager refused to give them to the board.
When asked who prepared them (an outside bookkeeper) the board did not have the contact information for the individual.
A “PERSONAL” LIABILITY …
In addition, the company was apparently paying a partial payroll every pay period.
When asked about the payment of payroll taxes, the board wasn’t certain.
It is important to note that the trust portion of payroll taxes, if not paid, becomes a personal liability of the officers and directors.
The company’s attorney had resigned, for reasons that were unclear, and there was no attorney advising the company at the time of our contact.
COURT PROTECTION ADVISED …
In looking at the company debt, there were liens on the equipment they proposed to sell, a UCC filing against all assets by a bank and an EIDL loan with personal guarantees.
The board members were not sure which other loans contained personal guarantees.
Given the above and the internal disagreements, we strongly recommended that any restructuring or wind down be done with the protection of a court.
This means a bankruptcy filing or, in the State of Washington, an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) followed by a receivership.
We proposed an ABC and Receivership, but the board members that we were talking with did not have enough information to complete the required information necessary to file an ABC. The board decided to hold off on any action and retain a new corporate attorney. This is currently in progress.
A DUTY OF LOYALTY …
We are using this example as a refresher on the fiduciary duties of directors and officers of a Washington corporation in financial distress.
Please note that this overview is no substitute for sound legal and financial advice on a company’s specific situation.
• Duty of loyalty imposes on directors and officers the obligation not to engage in self-dealing and instead to put the interests of the company ahead of their own.
• When a company is solvent, the directors and officers owe their fiduciary duties of due care and loyalty to the corporation and its stockholders. That remains true even if the company is in the so-called “zone of insolvency.”
• When a company is insolvent and will not be able to pay its creditors in full, the directors and officers still owe their fiduciary duties of due care and loyalty to the corporation. However, upon insolvency, the creditors have the right to bring derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty against directors and officers.
• Remember, it can be challenging to determine whether a company is just in the zone of insolvency (meaning still solvent but approaching insolvency) or whether it has crossed the line into actual insolvency.
• Discharging fiduciary duties when a company is insolvent means a focus on maximizing enterprise value. This is a highly fact-dependent exercise with no one-size-fits-all approach. In some cases, maximizing value may mean continuing operations — even though that burns dwindling cash — to allow the company to complete a sale that the directors believe is likely to close and produce significant value for creditors. In other cases, it may mean winding down (or even shutting down) operations quickly to conserve cash, especially if any asset sale is not expected to generate more than the cash required to pursue it or pay any secured debt.
These complexities make it critical for directors and officers of a company in financial distress to get advice tailored to the specific facts and circumstances at hand.
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY FORWARD?
If the board decides that the company needs to wind down, options range from an informal approach all the way to a public bankruptcy filing.
Note that if the company owes money to a bank or other secured creditor, the lender’s right to foreclose on the company’s assets could become a paramount consideration and affect how the wind-down is accomplished.
When a company’s cash is running out and there is no additional financing available, the board may conclude that a wind-down is required to fulfill fiduciary duties and maximize value.
The discussion above is a general description of certain wind-down options. Determining whether any of these paths is best for a particular company is fact-specific and dependent on many factors.
In all cases, be sure to get advice from experienced corporate and insolvency consultants and legal counsel when considering wind down or other restructuring options.
Revitalization Partners specializes in improving the operational and financial results of companies and providing hands-on expertise in virtually every circumstance, with a focus on small and mid-market organizations. Whether your requirement is Interim Management, a Business Assessment, Revitalization and Reengineering, a State Receivership or Bankruptcy Support, we focus on giving you the best resolution in the fastest time with the highest possible return.
Who’s Managing Your Organization?
If the name George Santos doesn’t ring a bell, then you’ve been in a sleep to match that of Rip Van Winkle or literally shutting out all of the news.
For those who fall into one of these categories, George Santos is a recent member of the House of Representatives from New York who was elected in the mid-term elections.
A COMPLETE LIE …
As it turns out, in order to get elected the story he told voters about his life is a complete and total lie.
Not content to lie about his employment history, he lied about his education, religion, family background, sexual orientation, criminal history, charity work, and yes, possibly even his name.
Yet, neither political party did enough of a background check to find any of this, and today, he remains an elected member of Congress.
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
Given that this is a business blog, you’re saying to yourself: What does that have to do with my business? He’s a politician. Politicians lie! What’s the big deal?
The big deal is that while Congressman Santos is the latest political liar, people lie in business and that can affect companies large and small.
It turns out that Brian Williams, a respected NBC news anchor, told the lie for twelve years about being forced down by RPG fire while on a helicopter in Iraq.
When the truth of the fabrication came to light, Mr. Williams lost his network anchor position and NBC lost the number 1 network news position.
MANY OTHER EXAMPLES …
In another case, right out of the TV show, Suits, Brian Valery became an attorney for the law firm Anderson, Kill & Olick, claiming to having passed the bar despite having never even been to law school.
After representing 50 clients and charging over $300 per hour, Andersen, Kill and Olick was forced to negotiate settlements with those falsely represented. Valery lost his job and was sentenced to five years’ probation for impersonating a lawyer.
Mr. David Edmondson lied about two degrees on his resume to secure the position as CEO of Radio Shack. He claimed to have two degrees from Pacific Coast Baptist College. Neither degree was true, and he was asked to resign.
Ronald Zarrella served as CEO of Bausch & Lomb for eleven months when it was discovered that he did not have the MBA from New York University that was on his resume. Despite the news sending the shares of the company down in heavy trading, the company stood by their CEO based on his proven management skills. Lucky!
Other people who have lied about their backgrounds have held titles such as CEO of Yahoo, Dean of Admissions at MIT, CFO of Veritas Software, President of IBM’s Lotus Development Corp.
For those working outside the political world, the ramification for resume lies is often swift and absolute, labor experts say. An article in the Chicago Tribune outlines some interesting facts.
50% OF AMERICANS HAVE …
Most companies have some type of policy that says falsification of documentation is grounds for termination.
And yet, according to a survey conducted by StandOut CV in the Fall of 2022, more than 50% of Americans have fattened up their resumes at least once, with most lying about previous work experience, skills, college degree and personal details.
Yet the experts often disagree on the impact of falsehoods on both the candidate and the ability to do the job.
A former recruiter says that most falsehoods are really “embellishments” such as adding the word “proficient” to a skill on a resume where the applicant is not. And this type of subtlety is why many companies fail to notice.
Typically, most people don’t lie about where they went to school or what degree they have.
BAD ACTORS & DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES …
Those are bigger than a white lie and they understand the liability behind that. Another expert states: “It would surprise me that people would do that now because it is so easy to Google somebody or run a background check and find these things out.”
For most employers taking candidates at face value is second nature. With multiple, urgent roles to fill, tons of resumes to go through, and dozens of interviews to schedule, you don’t always have the time to dig into a candidate’s background as thoroughly as you would like.
Most of the time, this isn’t a problem–the majority of candidates are honest, upstanding people just trying to find the right opportunity.
But occasionally, you will find a bad actor who chooses to exaggerate or even flat-out lie about their experience in order to get the job they want. If hired, the consequences can be disastrous.
Replacing an employee, especially a senior employee, even if they’ve only been there for a short amount of time–is time-consuming, expensive, and tedious, not to mention embarrassing.
CHECK FOR THESE SIGNS …
So, the next time you have an interview with a candidate that seems too good to be true, make it a priority to check for these signs that a candidate is lying or exaggerating.
1. Their answers are vague or unrelated.
2. Their body language gives them away.
3. They lean too heavily on group accomplishments.
4. They get defensive.
5. Their background and skills don’t pass the sniff test.
Despite the urgency of the hiring process in today’s environment, it’s important to go through the hiring process with deliberation. Above all, check references and check the references of references.
Check social media, all social media, not just Google.
Be prepared to give skills tests and for creative positions such as advertising and promotion ask for and discuss past work portfolios.
Remember, George Santos is only one of 541 members of Congress. But your next hire could have a major impact on your company. Take the time and choose well.
Revitalization Partners specializes in improving the operational and financial results of companies and providing hands-on expertise in virtually every circumstance, with a focus on small and mid-market organizations. Whether your requirement is Interim Management, a Business Assessment, Revitalization and Reengineering, a State Receivership or Bankruptcy Support, we focus on giving you the best resolution in the fastest time with the highest possible return.
