How an Interim Executive Gives a CEO More Time for Strategic Initiatives.
On today’s episode of cerius business today, Pamela and Kristin talk about how an interim executive can give a CEO more time for strategic initiatives.
Full Transcript Below
SPEAKER: Pamela
I’ve actually had three conversations just in the past few weeks with CEOs about this exact same situation and some things are doing they’ve come to us saying I want to bring in an interim GM. Why? Because I don’t want to be the one that everyone goes to with all the questions I’ve got to get out of that someone else it was. He’d want to bring in an operations expert and an interim CEO or part time CEO his case because of cash flow and just simply to get him out of the day to day. You’ve seen not before with clients what types of result, wait when we bring them in and what’s the conversation with the CEO after the fact, they’re relieved, they’re happy. It’s kind of like they’ve got four or five hats on the top of their head. And they’re no longer having to walk around juggling the hats, a picture someone walking sideways and then sidestepping trying to juggle the hats on top. They’re able to hand them off to someone else. You know I hesitated when I answered that question because it’s different. You know some people are relieved. Some people are, they don’t know what to do because people are coming to them anymore. They’re going to somebody else or they’re worried. Oh my gosh you know am I going to become irrelevant. So there is an adjustment period for that. But again if you look at that person is in there to help you. And that’s really the underlying reason why you brought that person in. They are there to help you, not to make you irrelevant not to you know take all the questions it’s to give you more to be more time to be strategic to really take your company evaluate where you are today and know what next steps need to be taken because nobody has time to do that anymore because they’re so involved in the day to day. And I know I get that way too, I’m so involved in day to day I I barely have time to think about oh my gosh our strategic plan you know we implementing it or are we executing and or you know shall we start planning for next year or I just saw something in my industry I need to be taking a look at more closely I don’t have time for all that this gives you all of that time and so much to do with we actually had cut down a 30 million dollar manufacturing firm. The CPI was the original founder that built it up and kind of got into a rut and had gotten through that the team had needed to make some changes in the leadership team. And was it was a tough grueling thing to make those changes because those employees have been with them since the very beginning and he was struggling with that but yet they were continually issues going on. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to be the CEO anymore and was thinking of selling out of the company or all of the company. Wasn’t sure what to do so decide to bring in an interim president in the time tested out and see how that went. And it was interesting, having that individual make some of those tougher decisions be more of the day to day interface with the employees and help mentor some and figure out some of the leadership gaps and make the changes. He was having fun again. He actually enjoyed the business again not running the day to day. But as you said this weight had been lifted all shoulders, he was able to be more strategic and actually started talking some competitors and found a competitor in it and ended up doing some acquisitions. It was enthused and energized instead of sailing. He ended up growing the company.
It’s amazing when you have more time how much you can do for your company. I mean you wanted to grow, you wanted to be successful but if you’re so caught up in the day to day you’re never going to get there. So yeah you’ve got to give herself a little bit of time. And these people that have put in these CEOs that have put in an interim president or an interim managing director or interim general manager, they’ve found this time, they’ve actually grown their company or we even have some CEOs that literally they’ve owned a company for so long whether it’s privately owned or family owned there’s nobody to step up and they’re just burn out. So you know they can now step aside and take a breath of fresh air let somebody else run it and then when they feel like it OK they want to get involved again and the cool thing about it is usually the interim CEO or the interim presidents in there, they’re going to wrap your company up. So while you’re taking a breather and really readjusting and then you know getting a new perspective on where your company is in the industry and what you want to do with it, somebody is growing it for you. So by the time you get back it’s up 10 percent. Profitability is good. So it’s actually really good good place to be to have your time as well as somebody in there running it for you.
SPEAKER: Kristin
I’m going to throw a curveball at Pamela.
SPEAKER: Pamela
We may need have the edit team at it out a whole big thing of silence here, starting little steps because it’s tough to think about bringing someone else in to run the company, no matter how burned out or tired you are. So start with one thing. And there was one hat or one thing that you do that you could bring someone in either on a project apart from time basis to take that off your plate what would it be?
SPEAKER: Kristin
Operations because operations takes most of your day. So I mean with all the things going on in the day to day stuff that happens and especially if you’re the one that they always go to ask questions. So absolutely that would be it.
SPEAKER: Pamela
You came up with that a little too quick. what I’m currently giving up finance, you can be the company’s finance person for a very long time and as a privately held business I’ve always enjoyed that part of it and I enjoy numbers. But what I have realized is as much as I can do that and enjoy that I, I enjoy being client facing more. I’ve forgotten how much I enjoy that part of the business and when I started with this business doing that and by getting handing it off to someone who definitely can do it better. I’m amazed at how much more fun I’m able to have and do the things that I enjoy not that I hate doing the finance part of it. But it’s a bit of something off. It’s a weight off my shoulders. So even just starting with little I’m not quite right up someone come out I’m still having I am having fun, I’m not ready to have someone else come in and take over the business for us. But just starting in the little fights of what am I doing that probably is not the thing that I should be doing. I can’t do it but there’s something else that I want to spend more time doing, whether it’s spend time with my family or spending time with our clients.
SPEAKER: Kristin
You were growing your company. I mean really sitting back and thinking, it takes thought takes time to really figure out the best path for your company and if you’re never having that time your company then is growing.
SPEAKER: Pamela
And we’ll leave it with that as to how an interim bringing an intern whether it’s a CFO, CEO, operations, sales manager think about how much time if you’re not being the one who’s solely responsible for the sales team anymore and I think Phil thank you as well you may get a bigger Christmas gift around the holidays from your sales team if you’re not the one running it. Bring me an interim or fractional executive who can help take that off the plate and help you have fun in your business and get it to that growth that you know it is capable of. We’re certainly here to help. We can be reached at info@ceriusinterim.com.
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