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Turnarounds Aren’t Just for Businesses

Published January 29, 2009 in the Birmingham Business Journal
Copyright ® 2010 Kenneth C. DeWitt, CPA. All rights reserved

“Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.” - Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson has said some dumb things over the years, but that quote perfectly sums - up the times for a lot of people - and companies - living through this Great Recession.

So many of us thought we had it all worked out. But here we are: Successful individuals with career records (and lifestyles) that our fathers would envy; established companies with marquee names, some in their third generation; staggering punch -drunk from a solidly landed economic uppercut. We never saw coming.

Personally, I’ve felt this concussion (more than once, I might add), and am happy to report that I’ve clambered back to my feet once again. When I found myself at fifty, facing yet another start, one advisor said to me: “Ken, you’ve reinvented yourself perhaps five or ten times during your career. It’s just time to do it once more.”

Muhammad Ali said “A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” In my new career I now find myself sharing my own setbacks and experiences, as we entrepreneurial types seem to draw more from listening to stories about others, than we do from having someone preach to us.

I’ve pretty much seen it all. Humble background as seventh of eight children. Working my way through college. Joining Corporate America right out of school. I ditched it all at 24 to start my own business, lived through new partners, acquisitions, mergers, several business divorces, litigation, business and real estate successes and failures, a second stint in Corporate America, and now, full circle, on my own again. And happier than ever.

And during my own personal dramas, I was working for clients as a CPAÐserving them through their own trials and tribulations. As a turnaround professional, I helped several near bankruptcy rise out of the ashes to some measure of success.

During my own personal turnaround, close friends and advisors who spoke to me early on, then again three months later (after I’d crafted and executed a winning reinvention), exclaimed “Wow, you’ve come a long way in three months - exactly what did you do?” Here’s what worked for me.

1. Huddled with My Support Team: My wife Pam and daughter Morgan served as the core support group, and a few other close friends listened patiently and offered reaction to my ideas. Everything was possible with their encouragement and belief in me.

2. Embraced Social Media: Especially LinkedIn. Setting up my own social media profile and expanding my connections helped me refine the process of presenting my public image to the world.

3. Got Coached: A coach in my employment search insisted that I hire one as well for writing a resume. This process of self -examination helped me see what I’d accomplished, not as I saw it, but as the job market would see it. For additional background, I bought the book “The Executive Job Search” by Orrin Wood.

4. Read “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. This study of successful people and the often hidden circumstances that lead to their success helped me better understand my past successes, and gave me clues for succeeding again in the future.

5. Took time for reflection: On my long -planned bicycle tour of Colorado in June, I never stopped my reinvention efforts, but the change of scenery and the symbolic (and real) scaling of mountains on a bicycle helped me realize that new things were possible.

6. Focused on my “10,000 Hour Skills”: One of Gladwell’s “Outliers” chapters focused on skill sets, and how long it takes to become good at something. I realized that whatever new career I chose, I needed to capitalize on the tens of thousands of hours I’d spent working with entrepreneurial business owners and leaders of organizations.

7. Became the King of Lists: I had a “To -Do” list for dozens of tasks, people to contact, organizations to call on; for every conceivable task to guide me daily.

8. Champion Goal Setter: On the wall, I posted yearly “Personal Goals” and “Professional Goals.” Simple to understand reminders of what was important and easy to measure if I’d achieved them.

9. Network, Network, Network: I became relentless in attending networking events, meeting people, looking for how I could help them in their search and businesses, doing favors for others, and accepting them in return.

10. Early to Bed, Early to Rise: For me personally, my highest energy period is very early in the morning, so I began my days early with my reinvention tasks. Some days, I got more done by 7am than most people did by noon! No one asks for a punch in the mouthÐand they usually come when we least expect them. Printed at the bottom of my Goals list is a quote from Benjamin Mays that helps me daily: “The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” I’ve found that a good place to start every time I’m reinventing myself.

DeWitt, an independent interim Chief Financial Officer, can be reached at ken.dewitt@DeWittCFO.com

For further reading, web links …

“Fired to Hired - Finding an Executive Job is Tougher than Ever” - by Romy Ribitzky, Jan 15, 2010 from Portfolio.com

“Working Identity - Nine Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career” by Herminia Ibarra, 2/10/2003 Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge” Archive hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3312.html

“Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html

“100 Tips, Tools and Resources to Reinvent Your Career” Courtesy of JobProfiles.org, published July 2009

“Reinventing Yourself: The Ultimate Balancing Act” - By Helen Jonsen, Balancing Act 2008, Forbes.com

“Reinvent Your Career in Five Simple Steps” By Cheryl Lynch Simpson ezinearticles.com.

The Executive Job Search: a Comprehensive Handbook for Seasoned Professionals by Orrin Wood, www.amazon.ca/Executive-Job-Search-Comprehensive -Professionals/dp/0071409424

“Corporate Renewal Industry Overview”, online article by the Turnaround Management Association.

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