The Turnaround Experience: Saving Troubled Companies

Robert W. Sexty is a professor of commerce and business administration
at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and the author of Canadian
Business: Issues and Stakeholders.

Few managers can put in writing the skills and intuitions that enable
them to save a business from failure. There are few, if any, formulas or
standards to use when rescuing a company, and each attempt at saving is
different. In addition, there are few managers with the capabilities to
save businesses, and ever fewer with the writing skills to describe the
process. Unfortunately, The Turnaround Experience isn’t the book that
proves the exception.

The first part describes the process of sizing up a business
enterprise’s situation. Although the author identifies some worthwhile
indicators, entrepreneurs should be aware of most of this material prior
to starting the business—if they are not, it is little wonder that
they are in trouble. The author fails in this part to emphasize the
impact of circumstances in the environment. Internal indicators are
necessary, but more fundamental factors, including societal trends,
increasing competition, marketing fads, and globalization, must be
monitored and, if possible, anticipated.

The second part describes the turnaround process, and provides
practical advice on the implementation of this process. One appendix
contains a useful checklist of questions for conducting a systematic
analysis and diagnosis of a company’s situation. A second appendix
lists senior-management duties that are applicable to companies in any
situation. A final appendix identifies the elements of a quality
assurance program, a technique the author believes should be emphasized.

Although this book is of doubtful value to companies in real trouble,
prospective entrepreneurs might derive some benefit from it.