September 3, 2024 • 50 mins
Welcome back, Bridge Builders, to another hard-hitting episode of Bread to Lead. I'm your host, Dr. Jake Tayler Jacobs, and today we're diving into the trenches of corporate turnarounds. As a corporate fixer, I'm the person companies call when they're in dire straits. We'll explore the realities of diagnosing problems, making tough decisions, and implementing strategies to turn things around.
In this episode, we peel back the curtain on the brutal yet necessary work of corporate turnarounds. Whether it's a hospital's sterile processing department or a struggling business, the principles remain the same. We'll discuss the top leadership roles crucial for organizational survival, and the universal strategies that can be applied across various sectors.
Join us as we cover the signs that a turnaround is needed, from declining financial performance to high employee turnover. We'll also delve into the step-by-step process of diagnosing issues, stopping the bleeding, developing a turnaround strategy, and implementing and monitoring it effectively. Real-world examples and personal stories will illustrate these concepts, making them actionable for you.
If you're ready to roll up your sleeves and do what's necessary to save an organization, this episode is for you. Let's build those bridges, even when it feels like everything is crumbling around you. Tune in and discover how to navigate through organizational crises and drive meaningful change.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome back, Bridge Builders, to another hard-hitting episode of Bread to Lead. I'm your host, Dr.
J. Taylor Jacobs, and today we're diving into the trenches of corporate turnarounds.
Before we begin, for those who are new to the podcast, let me introduce myself.
I'm what's known in the business world as a corporate fixer. What does that mean?
(00:21):
I'm the person that companies call when they're in dire straits,
When they're bleeding money, losing market share,
facing potential collapse, maybe needing adjustment because what they used to
do is not working as much or hit a ceiling. We've done everything that we can.
We just don't know what else to do.
(00:42):
My job is to come in and diagnose the problems, make tough decisions.
And implement strategies to turn things around.
It's not pretty it's not easy
but it's necessary work that can
mean the difference between an organization's survival or
(01:02):
its demise today we're going to peel back the curtain on the realities of corporate
turnarounds while me personally i have never been called to turn around a full
hospital us as a company sips healthcare very so often we're called to turn
around central or sterile processing departments,
(01:22):
departments that just are having a hard time making things click to support
the surgeons and the nurses that are in the OR.
And for my personal career, turning around businesses.
Corporations, organizations outside of healthcare from places of demise or places
of just stagnant growth has been the areas that we intertwine.
(01:47):
OK, but the information that we're going to share today, again,
like every episode is absolutely and will be universal and can absolutely be
applied to not only the health care sector,
but also any other sector that we believe or that we deem is important for what
you are doing to be able to grow and build and develop an organization, department,
(02:12):
business system, hospital system that would do amazing things.
So if that's you, there's something here for you. But I want to start with the hard truth.
Turnarounds are brutal. They're not for the faint of heart.
If you're squeamish about making difficult decisions, about potentially letting
people go, or about dismantling longstanding but ineffective processes,
(02:35):
then turnaround work isn't for you.
But if you're ready to roll up your sleeves and do what's necessary to save an organization.
You may be someone who has the gumption or the gall to to become a turnaround
executive or specialist.
And before we move forward, I kind of wanted to create a ranking.
Right. I wanted my team to create a ranking on what will be the most important
(02:59):
leadership skill set or leadership position when coming into an organization.
Top five from CFO, COO, CEO, division or department leaders or or corporate turnaround executive.
And Data was able to pull out that the number one leadership role is a corporate
(03:20):
turnaround executive. Why?
The importance is the highest. The role is crucial for the survival and revival
of struggling companies.
They are responsible for making significant strategic decisions,
often under immense pressure to stabilize and turn around a failing organization.
Pay is the highest due to high stakes and expertise that's required.
Corporate turnaround executives are typically compensated at the top of the leadership pay scale.
(03:44):
The second on the leadership pay scale that's at the top or very high.
The second is the CEO, the overall leader of the organization responsible for
setting the strategic vision and ensuring the company's long term success.
The pay for CEO typically are very high and generally amongst the highest paid
of executives, especially in a large corporation.
The third highest paying leadership role is chief financial officer.
(04:08):
That's the person who's responsible for managing the company's financial health,
including budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, you name it. OK, the pay is high.
The compensation for CFOs is substantial, particularly in organizations where
financial oversight is key to success.
Number four, the fourth in position is the chief operating officer.
(04:29):
High because the COO oversees daily operations within a company,
ensuring that everything runs smoothly, smoothly and efficiently.
Sufficiently, the pay for a CEO is high.
They're compensated extremely well, though typically slightly less than a CEO
or the CFO, depending on the company structure.
And then the last but not least, highest paying position in leadership is a
(04:55):
division lead, department lead or business unit leader.
OK, the importance is medium to high.
The leaders of individual divisions, departments or business units are critical
in executing on company structure.
The pay is medium to high. Compensation can vary on the size and profitability
of the division or the business unit that they manage.
(05:16):
So if you're in a department like sterile processing, for an example.
That is not a money earner for the company. You're on the profit side.
So how well you run that organization, how much under budget you can keep that
department and how well you can keep compounding profitable quarters,
profitable months, profitable years on top of each other will show good management
(05:39):
skills within that department's reach.
Now, on the OR side, the surgeon side, those that are on that space,
that's where the money is made.
That's where people are coming in. They're getting their revenue.
Typically, you see the best high performing hospitals are usually the ones that
do the most difficult surgeries.
And that's just the truth. OK. And so if you're not in a revenue position within
(06:01):
your organization, you're on what we call the profit side. That's what we call a defense.
If you are in any of the department or services that make the company run,
that help them revenue, you're on the offensive side of the business,
which requires different sets of skills.
So when we're looking at what a corporate turnaround specialist is able to do,
(06:21):
those are the things that we're going to discuss inside of this podcast.
And it doesn't matter where you are, what industry that you're in,
healthcare, technology.
Finance, every organization at some point in time, especially when you're winning
or you're hiring all types of people, maybe don't have a training onboarding
system, maybe don't have a structure, people don't know the vision.
(06:42):
There are a lot of reasons why a company can hit what we call plateau areas
or hit danger zones where it's complete.
Every year, it seems like it's trending down. This is usually when you will see.
Turnaround, especially come in in a in a in a turnaround executive or a corporate
fixer has almost have to have a chameleon type of approach,
(07:03):
meaning whatever role of the C-suite, whether it's departmental leads at the
bottom, mid, mid level leadership to mid management leadership to executive leadership.
That's CRO, that chief, that chief risk officer,
some like to call it one of the chief risk officer, um the
chief chief restructuring officer is sometimes
(07:23):
what you will call a corporate executive a turnaround executive
or a corporate fixer their number one job
you have to be able to know all things you have to be able to create new revenue
lines you have to be able to restructure an entire organization you have to
be great at uh building developing recruiting hiring and then you find these
little specialties but as you all are growing in this bread to lead community
(07:45):
as you you are becoming better and better as a bridge builder.
This is why I tell you, don't leave a position until you mastered it.
And a lot of people are leaving positions for promotions and for pay and kudos
to you. If that's your journey, that is your journey.
But if you're not mastering every single role that you're in and understanding
why it's so important to the overall scope of the entire organization or the
(08:08):
entire health system or the entire corporation that you're in,
you're You're missing out on all of the extra gems and tools that you'll need
as you continue to climb your way up.
And you will start to see it. The more responsibility kind of sits on your shoulders
as a leader, the more anxiety that you have, the more a fear of making decisions
will let you know you may be out of what we call your comfort zone or your fly zone.
(08:32):
You're too far and you have to readjust down and learn the skills that you need
to be able to grow. Okay. So first.
Let's talk about the signs that a turnaround is needed.
This is when you're going to know that if your department, if your company,
if your hospital system, if your business, if it needs a turnaround.
One, declining financial performance.
This is often the most obvious sign. If revenue are constantly falling or if
(08:57):
you're operating in the red, it is a clear indication that something needs to change.
Number two, the second reason you may need a full turnaround executive or specialist
or fixer like us, fixer like myself to come in would be loss of market share.
If your competitors are growing while you're shrinking, that's a huge red flag.
And here's the biggest thing.
(09:17):
A lot of people like to live on the success of the past and die because of their
lack of execution for the future.
And we can't get so caught up in doing the things only to do the things that
help you kind of just stay afloat because these things won't allow for your
company to thrive and exist long-term.
The third reason you will need to turn around a fixer or a corporate fixer is
(09:41):
you have high employee turnover.
Good people leaving in droves is often a symptom of a deeper organizational issue.
And usually within the space that we're in in healthcare, you will see hospital
systems that call upon us for interim leadership, interim support, interim staff.
Maybe some SPD turnaround specialists that bring us in for an interim period,
(10:03):
but don't allow for enough time for us to actually fix the root of the issue,
which is the cause of employee turnaround.
And it usually has a lot to do with processes, hiring the wrong people,
promoting the wrong people, not developing enough in the people that you're
putting responsible over departments or over leaves.
These all have to matter. You can't just hire someone into a new role without
(10:28):
making sure they fit the culture and the needs of the hospital system or the organization.
The fourth reason when it comes to knowing that you need some type of turnaround
is customer dissatisfaction in a hospital setting.
This might manifest as declining patient satisfaction scores or increased complaints.
If I'm looking at my hospital, if I'm looking at my department and the complaints
(10:51):
are going up, can I tell you all something? Now, there are people that do complain.
OK, we get that. There are people that just live their life complaining.
Complaining but for the most part in all complaints
there are some truths in there and you have to
ask yourself are these truths so bad
that it's actually causing and affecting patients that
(11:11):
we're serving or customers that you're providing a service to is it truly affecting
them and in our world of central store processing our job is to support the
or i don't care what anyone is telling you if you're in our industry our job
is to be a great support to the surgeon See you next time.
The surgeon and the nurses in the OR provide support to the patient.
(11:34):
Our job is to the surgeon. So if the surgeon isn't happy, if the nurses are
not happy, it is our job to say, hey, there's a high dissatisfaction score.
We're getting increased complaints versus saying they should do this.
They should do that as a leader and someone who wants to specialize in turning around departments.
You want to be somebody that people call when there is a fire burning,
(11:57):
not just when things are great. You want them to call you when you have to put
your firefighter hat on because that provides greater opportunities for you
to actually prove the value of your leadership skills.
So in these spaces, this customer dissatisfaction, who is dissatisfied and are
there justifications for that satisfaction, for that dissatisfaction?
(12:17):
If there are, we got to fix it. Number five, the fifth reason that you would
need a corporate fixer or someone to fix an issue or come in there and turn
a full department around.
Is outdated technology and processes.
If you're still using systems or methods that rest on your industry,
that the rest of your industry has moved on from, you're likely falling behind, okay?
(12:40):
If you are still using systems or methods that the rest of your industry has
moved on from, you are likely falling behind.
And number six, lack of clear strategy or direction.
If your organization seems to be drifting without a clear purpose or a goal, that's a problem.
Without vision, the people shall perish. If I don't know where we're going as
(13:02):
a department and if I don't know where we're going as a unit,
if I don't know where we're going as a team, if I don't know where we're going
as a hospital or even a hospital system,
how can you galvanize people to want to give all of themselves to an organization
that doesn't know how to give all of itself back to his people?
These are the things that matter. OK, so now let's say that you've identified
(13:25):
that your organization needs a turnaround. around, what would be next?
Here's where the real work begins.
It's easy to diagnose the problem. Every single person or quote unquote leader
that I meet, they can easily diagnose the problem.
And unfortunately, within organizations, everyone knows the problem.
(13:48):
The issue is no one is is effectively not only fixing the solution,
but ensuring that it never comes back.
I have a rule that I will always go by. True accountability happens through transparency.
If we cannot be transparent about what we're doing, when we're doing it,
how we're doing it, and being effective with the things that we're doing so
(14:09):
that they can be looked at transparently,
accountability is right around the corner if we can do that. If we cannot do that,
If we cannot be transparent, then you cannot expect accountability because transparency
and accountability go hand in hand.
Go together like horse and carriage. This I'll tell you all the you can't have one without the other.
(14:39):
I'm sorry. If you all are new to the podcast, I am absolutely crazy.
I kind of have to be to enjoy being a turnaround or corporate fixer.
I have to be. I have to be a little psycho in my pants.
So you guys may be saying, hey, Dr. Jake, well, what brought you to Sips? Sips hit a plateau.
Sips is the is is one of the pioneers.
(15:02):
Of consult in the consulting space of central store processing,
traveling Sips is a pioneer. The issue is.
What happens when other people are stealing your plans? What happens when other
people are developing and seeing what you've done and made different iterations to it?
So Sips brought me in one to be a fresh eye.
(15:24):
Our new CEO, our newest CEO, Donnie Payne is a genius.
And Donnie, in her infinite wisdom with our founder, Karen, was like,
hey, we need somebody that did not come from the health care space that can
see things a little bit differently.
Because coming from the private sector of business, we see so many new transitions
and new changes of technology that systems like health care or government entities typically won't see.
(15:47):
And it takes a long time to kind of curate and turn it around.
So my job was to bring a new light and to reintroduce SIPs to the central store
processing world in the way that it should be as the mother. I'm kidding.
But when we talk about diagnosing this problem, the first thing I do when I
step into a turnaround situation is to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis diagnostic.
(16:10):
This isn't just about looking at financial statements.
It's about talking to employees at every level, observing operations firsthand,
digging into every aspect of the organization.
In a hospital setting, this might involve reviewing patient outcomes and satisfaction
data, analyzing financial performance by department,
assessing staff morale and turnover rates, evaluating the efficiency of key
(16:36):
processes like patient intake, discharge and billing.
Examining the hospital's reputation in the
community assessing the state of the hospital's
technology and equipment can i tell you something the best
place to go is not to go to a hospital especially if
you want to be a turnaround leader especially if you want to be a turnaround
leader or you want to be known for um creating environments that are healthy
(17:00):
for patients the best hospital systems to go are not the ones that had everything
it's the ones that lack a lot lot of things because your impact can be seen a whole lot more.
And staying there to see projects all the way through are important.
When you're scaling and you're growing as a leader, your development and your
track record is more important than a revenue or money you can make from a deal.
(17:22):
Listen, if you want to be known as a turnaround leader, someone that can go
into any space and turn it around, regardless of industry or regardless of department,
regardless of sector, regardless of community,
regardless of culture, you have to get good at mastering the minors.
And then from mastering the minors, putting those things together and understanding
(17:44):
that you seeing projects go through and become successful.
Building your resume of success is far more important than jumping doing career ladder moves,
moves because you'll end up in a leadership role lacking the ability to execute
because you didn't master every role and you will put the hospital in a much
(18:07):
worse situation because you wanted to just check the available opportunities
that were out there. Okay.
So the goal is to do a 360 degree view. You may say, Dr. Jake,
I am not that type of leader yet. I'm the lowest on the totem pole.
I'm trying to work my way up. Let me tell you something.
Never go into an environment where Where you know little about the place that you're going. Never.
(18:29):
Never. You want to take a job? Ask them, can I do a walkthrough?
You should know just as much of about the hospital or the company that you're
working in, the department that you're in, as much as you can,
as much as an executive can.
You should know how many beds, you should know how many trays,
you should know how many cases, you should know how many this.
(18:53):
Why? Because a great leader knows that you cannot manage what you cannot measure.
You may say, Dr. Jake, but that's not my role. If you want that to be your role,
you have to start training now. Now, no matter what role that I've ever been
in, I've always tried my best to be the best leader for the organization,
regardless of the space that I'm in.
It doesn't mean that I always have had the opportunity to say what I feel,
(19:15):
but I did want to gather the data.
I looked at every opportunity of employment or opportunity of growth,
buying a company, fixing it up.
I wanted to ensure that I was just as aware of everything going around as I could.
I wanted to be a part of the solution, not the problem. I wanted to hang with
the people that create the solutions, not the people that complain about the problem.
(19:36):
Because if you hang around with the people that complain about the problem,
when you do get promoted, you will be the next problem to have.
OK, if you want to be uncommon, you cannot hang with the commoners.
Now, I'm not saying common as far as people, everyone not having importance.
What I'm saying common, if if there's an issue in your department or in your company.
(20:01):
But you're hanging with the people that's consistently complaining about the
problems in the company and not creating the solution.
You will end up becoming the problem when you want to implement a solution.
So separating yourself and ensuring that you're thinking about organizational
(20:21):
goals, If you're coming into a department that is terrible with instrumentation,
how about you volunteer to take over that project?
Because now you have that in your belt. Now you can make sure that profitability goes down.
Now you'll be given more responsibility as a bread, as a bridge builder in a
bread to lead community.
It is your job to build whatever bridge that you can to leadership at whatever capacity that you can.
(20:45):
So, number one, I diagnosed the problem. Number two, I try to stop the bleeding.
Once you've diagnosed the problem, the next step is to take immediate action
to stop the situation from getting worse.
This often involves making some tough and unpopular decisions.
In hospital turnaround, this may include closing underperforming departments
(21:05):
or services, reducing staff in overstaffed areas,
renegotiating contracts with suppliers or insurance companies,
implementing stricter financial controls, addressing any immediate patient safety concerns.
In regular business, you do the same thing.
You close down any products or services that are underperforming.
(21:26):
We're spending too much money in an area that's not performing. It has to die.
We immediately begin to reduce the staff, not top down.
You begin to start reducing the staff based on who's the least productive for
the role that they're in.
It's important. Number three, renegotiating contracts with suppliers.
We want to start renegotiating immediately.
(21:48):
So as you begin to start seeing everything I'm talking about in business is
the same that happens in health care.
Everything that happens in health care is the same thing that's happening in business.
If I want to, when we're talking about stricter financial controls,
I want to start getting control of that lever.
Where's the money going out? Why is it going out? Let's tighten it up.
(22:11):
Let's tighten it up until we can figure out where the leaks are.
What do you do when you're trying to fix a leak?
First, I need to turn the water off, analyze with my hands, with my eyes,
with whatever tools I have to see if I can fill for the hole.
If I can't, I will slow leak it and find where the hole is.
(22:32):
If it's not there, I turn it off and I tape off another area.
I slow leak it until I find the area where there's a problem.
I turn off the water and then I fix that problem. Then I let it flow again.
A lot of people don't like to turn off those financial controls because we don't
like to tell people what needs to be done.
But in honest, the great leaders know know how to cut it off.
And you have to sometimes cut it off to turn it on.
(22:54):
And the last thing that we look at when we're talking about stopping the bleeding
is addressing any immediate customer or patient concerns.
What are the immediate patient or
customer concerns that are absolutely affecting our growth as a company?
These actions are often extremely painful, but they're necessary to create a
(23:14):
stable foundation for the turnaround.
The third thing that I do is now I develop a turnaround around strategy.
With the immediate crisis addressed, it's time to develop a longer,
a long-term strategy for turning the organization around.
This strategy should address the root causes of the organization's problem, not just the symptom.
(23:36):
This will include one investing in new technology to improve efficiency and
customer and patient care.
Number two, implementing new qualities, control measures, new quality control
measures. What this means is simply this.
How can I ensure that the product that we're putting out is actually as quality
(23:57):
as we say, as we are saying, claiming or marketing that it is?
Let me ensure that I have these quality control measures. The best position
to be is that everyone in their position performs a bit of quality control before they pass it.
The interim thing to do is to hire quality control technicians,
(24:18):
quality control specialists, quality control professionals.
That can be the third party until it's ingrained in the culture of the company
or the culture of the department that everyone seeks quality before leaving.
Number three in my step three, the third part is we begin developing new service
lines to diversify revenue streams.
(24:41):
Develop new service lines.
OK, so what does this mean in leadership? The first thing I'm looking to do
is how can I develop a new service line that doesn't take a lot of the resources of the current company?
And how can we test it out and roll it out and get attention to it so that we
can begin pumping new money and new flow into the company?
Remember, if you're doing a turnaround, that means something that is being done
(25:03):
is not done effectively.
So if I'm looking at the hospital system, they may be known for doing one type of surgery.
When the market is seeing an influx in another type of surgery,
adding a new service line, moving these surgeons to be able to do this if they
are capable and seeing that the revenue line can actually continue.
You may say, Dr. Jake, what if I'm in a position that we can't just add new
(25:26):
or diversify revenue streams because we're in the side of profit?
Like you said, well, being on the side of profit is very simple,
especially when I'm in the SPD world.
If I am if I'm hearing that turnaround is around a new CEOs in place as as as
a as a leader in central store processing,
you want to have your ear on what surgeons and what their specialties are,
(25:49):
what surgeons the executives are bringing in.
What are their specialties? And ensure that your department will be ready for
whatever those new service lines are. The later, the longer it takes you to
revolve around that change, the longer it's going, the more it's going to affect your department.
Very simple. If you want to be a leader that is known and want to be kept around
(26:10):
long term, you have to be a leader that is open to change.
I have a saying that says when facts change, so do I.
What do you mean, Dr. Jake? It's very simple. If we've been doing something
one way, but I get new information that lets me know that the thing or the way
that we've been doing is not the most efficient,
(26:31):
not the most effective, not the most profitable and won't get us to our desired
result on time or at the pace that we want.
When those facts change, I immediately change my thought process immediately.
Who the company was or what our identity was prior to the new facts will determine how I move forward.
(26:51):
Leaders that are not capable of that or see organizations that fail will see
the new fact, acknowledge its truth and still fight against it because of comfort of old times.
It's very important that we understand that if I'm in the position,
say central sterile processing, I'm hearing that new doctors are coming on board to the hospital.
(27:11):
As a leader, you want to be doing all the research that you can on that new surgeon,
on that new leader coming in to figure out what they're known for bringing to
an organization and ensuring that all the end services are done within your
department to prepare for the influx or influx influx of new surgeons or new surgeries.
(27:33):
And see the surgeons that are leaving, what areas of your business that were
probably in the department that were a lot of your time.
If those surgeons are leaving and bringing in a new surgeon that specializes
in a new line of business more than other, you have to be able to adjust your department to that.
(27:54):
OK, turnaround will be creating new partnerships with local health care providers
to expand your reach, implementing a leadership development programs to build
a stronger management team. Listen, let me tell you something.
I cannot tell you any more than I tell you on every single episode.
(28:16):
The power of investing in leadership development.
It's not a commodity. It's a necessity.
The perfect example that I can give is say you get a beautiful horse. Gorgeous.
(28:38):
Absolutely gorgeous.
Stallion. But you never train her.
Gorgeous, fast, aggressive, never trained. Yes, it's a horse.
Yes, it can provide great genetics and breed amazing untrained horses.
(28:59):
Versus a horse that may not be a thoroughbred.
Oh, but they're trained. You invested in all the training.
You feed it the good food. You make sure it's in a perfect environment.
Which horse do you think will perform the best, more effectively and efficiently?
Very simple. The horse that you invested in.
(29:20):
Now, I hate to make people horses.
But it's funny that when we talk about leadership, if we think about agriculture,
if we think about entertainment, if we think about sports, in any other sector,
investing in that person's talent is just as important to the organization as anything else.
(29:52):
The last thing I'm looking for is rebranding efforts to improve the hospital's image.
So as you all have seen, if you're familiar with SIPs Healthcare,
we are formerly known as SIPs Consultants.
The very first thing when turning around an organization is absolutely changing the branding image.
The look, the clean, if you change the name, if you can update the tagline to
(30:15):
give people that are looking outwardly in a new thought that there is something new.
Man, Dr. Jake, but, you know, we're in the business. We don't have our own business. How can I do that?
Well, if you're new to the department, how are you marketing that there are
new things happening into in your department amongst your entire hospital or health care system?
(30:40):
How are you marketing that something's new? How are you branding your team?
How are you telling the world that, hey, we're not like the old team?
Those things matter. Some may say, hey, you're promoting yourself too much.
Hey, if we're promoting ourselves, talking about the new things that we're doing,
getting people excited.
It breathes about excitement in all other departments. If other departments
(31:03):
don't get excited from newness, that will kind of let you know what areas you
need to focus on and turning it around.
Step four, implement and monitor.
Once you have your strategy, it's time to put it into action.
This is where many turnaround.
Efforts fail. Well, it's not enough to have a good plan. You need to execute it effectively.
(31:27):
This involves clear communication of the plan to all stakeholders,
setting specific and measurable goals and timelines,
assigning clear responsibilities for each aspect of the plan,
regularly monitoring and reporting on progress,
being willing to adjust the plan
(31:48):
as needed based on results in a
hospital setting you might implement daily huddles to
track key metrics weekly leadership meetings to discuss progress and challenges
and monthly town halls to keep all staff informed and engaged one of the best
things i loved about coming up in sports was the importance of film session
(32:10):
our huddles our Our timeouts.
These were for adjustments, not for celebration.
Huddles are for adjustments, not just celebration.
What adjustments are we making day to day? What plans have we put in place to
(32:31):
do it and what progress have we made yesterday from the day before and the day before?
If we're just meeting up for huddles to get along, to get along and not challenging
people to hold up their end of the
bargain. This is typically when you see organizations have crappy results.
(32:54):
Those huddles, you got to fix them. And it should feel uncomfortable.
Can I tell you something? Accountability is not comfortable.
But accountability is confirming when you're doing everything you're supposed to do.
There's no better feeling to be held accountable in every in somebody asks you
something. You say, yep, I did that. I did that. I did that.
Here's the report. Here's this. Here's that.
(33:16):
There's no greater feeling. It's like when you're a child.
And your parents come home fussing at you. And while coming home and fussing at you.
They're telling you all of the stuff. That you need to do, and then you look
(33:38):
at him and smile and say, Mom, Dad, I actually did all of that the moment that I walked into the house.
Their face of like a proud moment, but like it's the most fulfilling feeling that you'll ever find.
And when I did that with my parents, I started to beat them to the punch.
Because I hated being interrupted in my flow. So I knew the questions that they
(34:03):
would ask. And I would just say, yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. I did this, this and that.
When you're building your organizations, your huddles, you want your leaders
and the people that you're holding accountable.
When you say, did you do this? Yes, I did. Oh, matter of fact,
when I saw this, I made this adjustment.
You know, your organization is moving forward when you start to see your leaders
(34:23):
become proactive in and almost predicting what your questions will be because they thought of it.
And then the fifth thing that I do, here's the fifth thing that I do.
The fifth thing that I do, I build for the future. A successful turnaround is
not just about getting back to break even.
It's about positioning the organization for long term success.
(34:45):
This might involve developing a strong leadership pipeline. Listen,
hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog.
What we're building within health care systems are our next up.
Leadership system. We're teaching health care systems the importance of developing
the next step leader before the role is open. Why?
(35:08):
The stronger your pipeline, the stronger your organization.
If you want your organization to be able to leverage against vendors,
leverage against executives for pay, leverage against whatever,
when you're able to show the strength of your roster, that will let you know
the strength of your organization.
(35:28):
If your organization is dependent upon one or two people to move it through,
your organization is a very weak organization.
I can promise you your leaders are going to deal with burnout faster than you can imagine.
Number two, investing on ongoing staff training and development that helps the
pipeline, building a culture of continuous improvement, staying ahead of industry's
(35:48):
trends and innovation, and developing a strategic partnership for future growth.
This is my saying. I typically would say this. If people aren't waiting to get
in to come work with you, your organization, your company, your hospital or
your department, you're missing something.
You want people all over to be waiting to get in to work with you.
(36:10):
Now, we're going to talk about some of these challenges, so to speak.
But before we start talking about these challenges, I want to tune in to our first break.
Bridge builders, are you facing a crisis in your health care organization?
(36:31):
SIP's health care turnaround services might be exactly what you need.
Our team of experienced corporate fixers can help diagnose your problems and
implement solutions that get results.
Visit SipsHealthcare.com to learn more about how we can help you navigate your
organization's toughest challenges. So let's talk about.
(36:51):
Some of those challenges you're likely to face in a turnaround situation. One.
The very first challenge that you're going to find is resistance to change.
People are naturally resistant to change, especially when it threatens their
comfort or job security.
You'll need to overcome this resistance through clear communication,
(37:12):
involvement of the staff and the change process and sometimes removal of those
who refuse to get on board.
Number two. One of the change that the second challenge would be limited resources in a turnaround.
You're often working with limited financial resources. You'll need to be creative
in how you allocate these resources for maximum impact.
(37:35):
Number three, time pressure is another. There's another challenge.
Turnarounds are often needed to happen quickly before the organization runs out of runway.
You'll need to balance the need for speed with the importance of making well-considered decisions.
Now, the best the best image I can give you of this is like a mission impossible,
(37:58):
Where the bomb is ticking.
There's like 45 seconds. The world is about to end.
The agent is upside down, needing you falling and needing to.
Turn off the bomb really quickly. And then it's the last minute they turn it
off and voila, things are saved.
(38:19):
I promise you, turnarounds are just like that.
Being a turnaround, being a corporate fixer, a turnaround specialist,
one of the hardest positions, but yet most fulfilling and rewarding positions
that anyone can ever have. Can I tell you why?
Because the amount of relief in the in the smiles and the tears that happen
when you turn around an organization, when people thought this is it.
(38:41):
It's better than any hug that you can ever get. It's so rewarding.
And being a leader that doesn't just want to get in when things are great.
That's not leading, that's managing. Being bred to lead says,
send me in the burning house and I'm going to come out saving everybody in the
foundation of the house, if you can.
(39:03):
The fourth challenge is stakeholder management. In a hospital setting,
you may be dealing with a wide range of stakeholders, patients,
staff, doctor, board members, community leaders.
Balancing their often competing interests can be a significant challenge.
It's quite funny how in an organization.
(39:26):
At every level there's a
different vision for the same company so usually
when it comes to an organization being able
to push something through it has a lot to do with politics someone is seeing
something different that saw something different that is seeing something different
within the organization and those differences are exactly what stops impeding
(39:51):
or or impedes a turnaround.
So your job as a turnaround leader is to get all stakeholders together as fast
as possible to get decisions to be made. Very important.
And the fifth challenge is burnout.
Turnarounds are intense, high pressure situations.
You're moving at the speed of light and it's easy for you and your team to burn out.
(40:14):
You'll need to find ways to maintain energy and motivation over the long haul. Let me share with you.
A personal story. I'm going to share with you a personal story.
A few years ago, I was called in to turn around a midsize company.
(40:37):
When I arrived, morale was at rock bottom.
The company had gone through three CEOs in two years. It was losing money hand over fist.
And had a reputation for poor quality products.
One of the first things I did was gather all of the employees for a town hall meeting.
(41:02):
I laid out the stark reality of our situation if things did not change.
The company would be bankrupt within six months. I then asked for their help.
I said, I don't have all the answers, but I bet many of you do.
You're the ones on the front lines every day.
What do you think that we need to do to turn this ship around?
(41:26):
Can I tell you something? The response was absolutely overwhelming.
People started sharing ideas, some good, some not so good.
But all coming from a place of wanting to save their company.
We implemented many of these ideas from changes to the production process to
(41:47):
new control, quality control measures. Can I tell you something?
When I'm doing a turnaround, I always go talk to the front line first.
And I don't care how long it takes me. I don't care if I got to sit and talk
with every single person.
Because the people that are actually on the front line are the ones that are
dealing with the problems more often than the stakeholders or the leaders.
(42:08):
So you have to touch base with the people that's really doing the work.
But here's the tough part.
After all of the changes and things that were needed, we also had to let go
of about 20 percent of the workforce.
These were painful decisions. As it was one of my first like major layoffs.
(42:28):
It was necessary for the company's survival. Bible. We were as transparent as
possible about why these decisions
needed to be made and provided support for those that were let go.
Fast forward 18 months, the company was profitable again.
Product quality was up, customer complaints were down, and employee engagement
(42:49):
scores had improved dramatically.
It wasn't easy. There were plenty of sleepless nights along the way,
but we managed to turn things around.
The lesson here, turnarounds require a combination of tough decisions and genuine
engagement with your people.
You can't sugarcoat the reality of the situation, but you also need to give
(43:13):
people hope in a sense of ownership in the turnaround process.
Now, let's bring this back to health care. While I haven't personally turned
around a hospital as of yet.
With our company, we've been a part of numerous department turnarounds and I've
also studied numerous hospital turnarounds. And the principles are the same.
(43:38):
Here are a few key lessons that apply specifically to hospital turnarounds.
One, focus on quality first.
In health care, quality of care must always be top priority.
Any cost cutting measures that can compromise patient care should be off the table.
(44:01):
Number two, engage physicians.
Physicians are key stakeholders at any hospital.
Their buy in. And engagement is crucial for a successful turnaround.
If this were a business, I would say your top salespeople would be like your physicians.
Those that are out there front line killing it. Number three, leverage data.
(44:26):
Hospitals generate enormous amounts of data. Use this data to drive decision-making
and to track the progress of your turnaround efforts. Can I tell you a secret?
You cannot effectively and consistently produce successful turnarounds from gut feelings.
Gut feelings only come from experiences that you've had.
(44:50):
If you've never experienced a certain situation that you're going into,
you need data to help you guide, to guide you on the decisions that you're making.
You're reading the heart monitor of the business and you're reading the vitals
and looking at all the vitals to see if they're in the ranges that they should be.
(45:12):
And I'm looking at this data to help me create the best circumstance to turn
a hospital around or a business.
Number four, don't neglect culture. A hospital's culture can make or break a turnaround effort.
That's even in a business focus on building a culture of excellence,
accountability, impatient and customer centeredness.
(45:35):
If the organization is focused on coddling the people that are performing the jobs.
You have a backwards organization. The organization's full focus should be servicing
who your primary customer is.
And lastly, we want to think systematically.
(45:59):
I said systematically. We want to think systematically. Hospitals are complex
systems and so are businesses.
A change in one area can have unforeseen consequences in another.
Always consider the systemic impacts of your decisions. This is why I tell people
often you can't fix just one department and not expect it to mess up everything else.
(46:24):
Whatever departments are touching the department that you're fixing will be affected.
So doing a partial turnaround really doesn't make sense for the overall good
of the hospital, if the OR.
So we turn around the SPD, but don't turn around the OR.
The SPD, the central sterile processing department will be clean on point.
But the O.R. is still inefficient.
(46:46):
So now a lot of those inefficient ways will eventually trickle down into SPD
or there will always be a clash.
So if I'm fixing one department, I have to fix the other. You cannot fix the
sales department without fixing fulfillment.
You cannot fix fulfillment without fixing the product process.
You cannot fix the product process if you don't fix operations.
(47:06):
When you're looking at how all things work in a complex system of business,
health care, government, whatever have you.
Every department or portion of the system affects the other portion or department
of the system and it all has to be unveiled revealed band-aid pulled off and addressed immediately.
(47:30):
Pod break, pod break. Listen, as we discuss the challenges of corporate turnarounds,
it's crucial to have the right resources at your fingertips.
My book, Bred to Lead, provides in-depth strategies for navigating organizational
crisis and driving meaningful change.
Available now on Amazon and major bookstores. Don't just lead,
(47:50):
be bred to lead through any challenge.
This podcast is an outward expression or continuation from the basis of our
book, Bred to Lead. Again, you can go get it on any platform,
especially Amazon. See you later.
Hey, Bridge Builders, I'm back again. In times of organizational crisis,
(48:10):
you need a steady hand at the helm.
Sips Healthcare offers interim leadership services to guide your organization
through turbulent times.
Our experienced executives can step in in a moment's notice to provide the leadership
you need to weather any storm. Visit SibsHealthcare.com to learn more about
our interim leadership solutions.
(48:31):
Remember, Bridge Builders, sometimes leadership means making hard choices for
the greater good of everyone.
It means being willing to ruffle feathers, challenge the status quo.
But it also means inspiring people, giving them hope and helping them see what's
possible if everyone pulls together. other.
(48:52):
There's nothing quite like the feeling of taking an organization from the brink
of failure to a position of strength and success.
If you find yourself in a turnaround situation, remember these key points.
One, be honest about the reality of the situation.
Two, make tough decisions quickly but not recklessly. Three,
(49:13):
engage your people in the turnaround around process.
Four, focus on root causes, not just symptoms.
Five, communicate, communicate, communicate.
And six, build for the long-term, not just the short-term survival.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is the end of the podcast.
(49:33):
Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Bred to Lead. If you're facing
organizational challenges and need expert guidance, don't hesitate to reach out to Sips Healthcare.
Our team of corporate fixers and and interim leaders are ready to help you navigate
even the toughest situations.
Visit SipsHealthcare.com to
learn more about our services. And I can't forget our podcast spotlight.
(49:55):
Before we go, let's shine a spotlight on our partners at Asenco.
In times of organizational turnaround, efficient asset management is crucial.
Asenco's sonar system can help you optimize your surgical operations,
potentially saving millions in unnecessary costs. Visit asynco.com to learn
more about how sonar can be a key tool in your turnaround efforts.
(50:18):
Until next time, keep building those bridges, even when it feels like everything
is crumbling around you.
This is Dr. Jake Taylor Jacobs, and I'm signing off.
Welcome back, Bridge Builders, to another hard-hitting episode of Bread to Lead. I'm your host, Dr.
J. Taylor Jacobs, and today we're diving into the trenches of corporate turnarounds.
Before we begin, for those who are new to the podcast, let me introduce myself.
I'm what's known in the business world as a corporate fixer. What does that mean?
(00:21):
I'm the person that companies call when they're in dire straits,
When they're bleeding money, losing market share,
facing potential collapse, maybe needing adjustment because what they used to
do is not working as much or hit a ceiling. We've done everything that we can.
We just don't know what else to do.
(00:42):
My job is to come in and diagnose the problems, make tough decisions.
And implement strategies to turn things around.
It's not pretty it's not easy
but it's necessary work that can
mean the difference between an organization's survival or
(01:02):
its demise today we're going to peel back the curtain on the realities of corporate
turnarounds while me personally i have never been called to turn around a full
hospital us as a company sips healthcare very so often we're called to turn
around central or sterile processing departments,
(01:22):
departments that just are having a hard time making things click to support
the surgeons and the nurses that are in the OR.
And for my personal career, turning around businesses.
Corporations, organizations outside of healthcare from places of demise or places
of just stagnant growth has been the areas that we intertwine.
(01:47):
OK, but the information that we're going to share today, again,
like every episode is absolutely and will be universal and can absolutely be
applied to not only the health care sector,
but also any other sector that we believe or that we deem is important for what
you are doing to be able to grow and build and develop an organization, department,
(02:12):
business system, hospital system that would do amazing things.
So if that's you, there's something here for you. But I want to start with the hard truth.
Turnarounds are brutal. They're not for the faint of heart.
If you're squeamish about making difficult decisions, about potentially letting
people go, or about dismantling longstanding but ineffective processes,
(02:35):
then turnaround work isn't for you.
But if you're ready to roll up your sleeves and do what's necessary to save an organization.
You may be someone who has the gumption or the gall to to become a turnaround
executive or specialist.
And before we move forward, I kind of wanted to create a ranking.
Right. I wanted my team to create a ranking on what will be the most important
(02:59):
leadership skill set or leadership position when coming into an organization.
Top five from CFO, COO, CEO, division or department leaders or or corporate turnaround executive.
And Data was able to pull out that the number one leadership role is a corporate
(03:20):
turnaround executive. Why?
The importance is the highest. The role is crucial for the survival and revival
of struggling companies.
They are responsible for making significant strategic decisions,
often under immense pressure to stabilize and turn around a failing organization.
Pay is the highest due to high stakes and expertise that's required.
Corporate turnaround executives are typically compensated at the top of the leadership pay scale.
(03:44):
The second on the leadership pay scale that's at the top or very high.
The second is the CEO, the overall leader of the organization responsible for
setting the strategic vision and ensuring the company's long term success.
The pay for CEO typically are very high and generally amongst the highest paid
of executives, especially in a large corporation.
The third highest paying leadership role is chief financial officer.
(04:08):
That's the person who's responsible for managing the company's financial health,
including budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, you name it. OK, the pay is high.
The compensation for CFOs is substantial, particularly in organizations where
financial oversight is key to success.
Number four, the fourth in position is the chief operating officer.
(04:29):
High because the COO oversees daily operations within a company,
ensuring that everything runs smoothly, smoothly and efficiently.
Sufficiently, the pay for a CEO is high.
They're compensated extremely well, though typically slightly less than a CEO
or the CFO, depending on the company structure.
And then the last but not least, highest paying position in leadership is a
(04:55):
division lead, department lead or business unit leader.
OK, the importance is medium to high.
The leaders of individual divisions, departments or business units are critical
in executing on company structure.
The pay is medium to high. Compensation can vary on the size and profitability
of the division or the business unit that they manage.
(05:16):
So if you're in a department like sterile processing, for an example.
That is not a money earner for the company. You're on the profit side.
So how well you run that organization, how much under budget you can keep that
department and how well you can keep compounding profitable quarters,
profitable months, profitable years on top of each other will show good management
(05:39):
skills within that department's reach.
Now, on the OR side, the surgeon side, those that are on that space,
that's where the money is made.
That's where people are coming in. They're getting their revenue.
Typically, you see the best high performing hospitals are usually the ones that
do the most difficult surgeries.
And that's just the truth. OK. And so if you're not in a revenue position within
(06:01):
your organization, you're on what we call the profit side. That's what we call a defense.
If you are in any of the department or services that make the company run,
that help them revenue, you're on the offensive side of the business,
which requires different sets of skills.
So when we're looking at what a corporate turnaround specialist is able to do,
(06:21):
those are the things that we're going to discuss inside of this podcast.
And it doesn't matter where you are, what industry that you're in,
healthcare, technology.
Finance, every organization at some point in time, especially when you're winning
or you're hiring all types of people, maybe don't have a training onboarding
system, maybe don't have a structure, people don't know the vision.
(06:42):
There are a lot of reasons why a company can hit what we call plateau areas
or hit danger zones where it's complete.
Every year, it seems like it's trending down. This is usually when you will see.
Turnaround, especially come in in a in a in a turnaround executive or a corporate
fixer has almost have to have a chameleon type of approach,
(07:03):
meaning whatever role of the C-suite, whether it's departmental leads at the
bottom, mid, mid level leadership to mid management leadership to executive leadership.
That's CRO, that chief, that chief risk officer,
some like to call it one of the chief risk officer, um the
chief chief restructuring officer is sometimes
(07:23):
what you will call a corporate executive a turnaround executive
or a corporate fixer their number one job
you have to be able to know all things you have to be able to create new revenue
lines you have to be able to restructure an entire organization you have to
be great at uh building developing recruiting hiring and then you find these
little specialties but as you all are growing in this bread to lead community
(07:45):
as you you are becoming better and better as a bridge builder.
This is why I tell you, don't leave a position until you mastered it.
And a lot of people are leaving positions for promotions and for pay and kudos
to you. If that's your journey, that is your journey.
But if you're not mastering every single role that you're in and understanding
why it's so important to the overall scope of the entire organization or the
(08:08):
entire health system or the entire corporation that you're in,
you're You're missing out on all of the extra gems and tools that you'll need
as you continue to climb your way up.
And you will start to see it. The more responsibility kind of sits on your shoulders
as a leader, the more anxiety that you have, the more a fear of making decisions
will let you know you may be out of what we call your comfort zone or your fly zone.
(08:32):
You're too far and you have to readjust down and learn the skills that you need
to be able to grow. Okay. So first.
Let's talk about the signs that a turnaround is needed.
This is when you're going to know that if your department, if your company,
if your hospital system, if your business, if it needs a turnaround.
One, declining financial performance.
This is often the most obvious sign. If revenue are constantly falling or if
(08:57):
you're operating in the red, it is a clear indication that something needs to change.
Number two, the second reason you may need a full turnaround executive or specialist
or fixer like us, fixer like myself to come in would be loss of market share.
If your competitors are growing while you're shrinking, that's a huge red flag.
And here's the biggest thing.
(09:17):
A lot of people like to live on the success of the past and die because of their
lack of execution for the future.
And we can't get so caught up in doing the things only to do the things that
help you kind of just stay afloat because these things won't allow for your
company to thrive and exist long-term.
The third reason you will need to turn around a fixer or a corporate fixer is
(09:41):
you have high employee turnover.
Good people leaving in droves is often a symptom of a deeper organizational issue.
And usually within the space that we're in in healthcare, you will see hospital
systems that call upon us for interim leadership, interim support, interim staff.
Maybe some SPD turnaround specialists that bring us in for an interim period,
(10:03):
but don't allow for enough time for us to actually fix the root of the issue,
which is the cause of employee turnaround.
And it usually has a lot to do with processes, hiring the wrong people,
promoting the wrong people, not developing enough in the people that you're
putting responsible over departments or over leaves.
These all have to matter. You can't just hire someone into a new role without
(10:28):
making sure they fit the culture and the needs of the hospital system or the organization.
The fourth reason when it comes to knowing that you need some type of turnaround
is customer dissatisfaction in a hospital setting.
This might manifest as declining patient satisfaction scores or increased complaints.
If I'm looking at my hospital, if I'm looking at my department and the complaints
(10:51):
are going up, can I tell you all something? Now, there are people that do complain.
OK, we get that. There are people that just live their life complaining.
Complaining but for the most part in all complaints
there are some truths in there and you have to
ask yourself are these truths so bad
that it's actually causing and affecting patients that
(11:11):
we're serving or customers that you're providing a service to is it truly affecting
them and in our world of central store processing our job is to support the
or i don't care what anyone is telling you if you're in our industry our job
is to be a great support to the surgeon See you next time.
The surgeon and the nurses in the OR provide support to the patient.
(11:34):
Our job is to the surgeon. So if the surgeon isn't happy, if the nurses are
not happy, it is our job to say, hey, there's a high dissatisfaction score.
We're getting increased complaints versus saying they should do this.
They should do that as a leader and someone who wants to specialize in turning around departments.
You want to be somebody that people call when there is a fire burning,
(11:57):
not just when things are great. You want them to call you when you have to put
your firefighter hat on because that provides greater opportunities for you
to actually prove the value of your leadership skills.
So in these spaces, this customer dissatisfaction, who is dissatisfied and are
there justifications for that satisfaction, for that dissatisfaction?
(12:17):
If there are, we got to fix it. Number five, the fifth reason that you would
need a corporate fixer or someone to fix an issue or come in there and turn
a full department around.
Is outdated technology and processes.
If you're still using systems or methods that rest on your industry,
that the rest of your industry has moved on from, you're likely falling behind, okay?
(12:40):
If you are still using systems or methods that the rest of your industry has
moved on from, you are likely falling behind.
And number six, lack of clear strategy or direction.
If your organization seems to be drifting without a clear purpose or a goal, that's a problem.
Without vision, the people shall perish. If I don't know where we're going as
(13:02):
a department and if I don't know where we're going as a unit,
if I don't know where we're going as a team, if I don't know where we're going
as a hospital or even a hospital system,
how can you galvanize people to want to give all of themselves to an organization
that doesn't know how to give all of itself back to his people?
These are the things that matter. OK, so now let's say that you've identified
(13:25):
that your organization needs a turnaround. around, what would be next?
Here's where the real work begins.
It's easy to diagnose the problem. Every single person or quote unquote leader
that I meet, they can easily diagnose the problem.
And unfortunately, within organizations, everyone knows the problem.
(13:48):
The issue is no one is is effectively not only fixing the solution,
but ensuring that it never comes back.
I have a rule that I will always go by. True accountability happens through transparency.
If we cannot be transparent about what we're doing, when we're doing it,
how we're doing it, and being effective with the things that we're doing so
(14:09):
that they can be looked at transparently,
accountability is right around the corner if we can do that. If we cannot do that,
If we cannot be transparent, then you cannot expect accountability because transparency
and accountability go hand in hand.
Go together like horse and carriage. This I'll tell you all the you can't have one without the other.
(14:39):
I'm sorry. If you all are new to the podcast, I am absolutely crazy.
I kind of have to be to enjoy being a turnaround or corporate fixer.
I have to be. I have to be a little psycho in my pants.
So you guys may be saying, hey, Dr. Jake, well, what brought you to Sips? Sips hit a plateau.
Sips is the is is one of the pioneers.
(15:02):
Of consult in the consulting space of central store processing,
traveling Sips is a pioneer. The issue is.
What happens when other people are stealing your plans? What happens when other
people are developing and seeing what you've done and made different iterations to it?
So Sips brought me in one to be a fresh eye.
(15:24):
Our new CEO, our newest CEO, Donnie Payne is a genius.
And Donnie, in her infinite wisdom with our founder, Karen, was like,
hey, we need somebody that did not come from the health care space that can
see things a little bit differently.
Because coming from the private sector of business, we see so many new transitions
and new changes of technology that systems like health care or government entities typically won't see.
(15:47):
And it takes a long time to kind of curate and turn it around.
So my job was to bring a new light and to reintroduce SIPs to the central store
processing world in the way that it should be as the mother. I'm kidding.
But when we talk about diagnosing this problem, the first thing I do when I
step into a turnaround situation is to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis diagnostic.
(16:10):
This isn't just about looking at financial statements.
It's about talking to employees at every level, observing operations firsthand,
digging into every aspect of the organization.
In a hospital setting, this might involve reviewing patient outcomes and satisfaction
data, analyzing financial performance by department,
assessing staff morale and turnover rates, evaluating the efficiency of key
(16:36):
processes like patient intake, discharge and billing.
Examining the hospital's reputation in the
community assessing the state of the hospital's
technology and equipment can i tell you something the best
place to go is not to go to a hospital especially if
you want to be a turnaround leader especially if you want to be a turnaround
leader or you want to be known for um creating environments that are healthy
(17:00):
for patients the best hospital systems to go are not the ones that had everything
it's the ones that lack a lot lot of things because your impact can be seen a whole lot more.
And staying there to see projects all the way through are important.
When you're scaling and you're growing as a leader, your development and your
track record is more important than a revenue or money you can make from a deal.
(17:22):
Listen, if you want to be known as a turnaround leader, someone that can go
into any space and turn it around, regardless of industry or regardless of department,
regardless of sector, regardless of community,
regardless of culture, you have to get good at mastering the minors.
And then from mastering the minors, putting those things together and understanding
(17:44):
that you seeing projects go through and become successful.
Building your resume of success is far more important than jumping doing career ladder moves,
moves because you'll end up in a leadership role lacking the ability to execute
because you didn't master every role and you will put the hospital in a much
(18:07):
worse situation because you wanted to just check the available opportunities
that were out there. Okay.
So the goal is to do a 360 degree view. You may say, Dr. Jake,
I am not that type of leader yet. I'm the lowest on the totem pole.
I'm trying to work my way up. Let me tell you something.
Never go into an environment where Where you know little about the place that you're going. Never.
(18:29):
Never. You want to take a job? Ask them, can I do a walkthrough?
You should know just as much of about the hospital or the company that you're
working in, the department that you're in, as much as you can,
as much as an executive can.
You should know how many beds, you should know how many trays,
you should know how many cases, you should know how many this.
(18:53):
Why? Because a great leader knows that you cannot manage what you cannot measure.
You may say, Dr. Jake, but that's not my role. If you want that to be your role,
you have to start training now. Now, no matter what role that I've ever been
in, I've always tried my best to be the best leader for the organization,
regardless of the space that I'm in.
It doesn't mean that I always have had the opportunity to say what I feel,
(19:15):
but I did want to gather the data.
I looked at every opportunity of employment or opportunity of growth,
buying a company, fixing it up.
I wanted to ensure that I was just as aware of everything going around as I could.
I wanted to be a part of the solution, not the problem. I wanted to hang with
the people that create the solutions, not the people that complain about the problem.
(19:36):
Because if you hang around with the people that complain about the problem,
when you do get promoted, you will be the next problem to have.
OK, if you want to be uncommon, you cannot hang with the commoners.
Now, I'm not saying common as far as people, everyone not having importance.
What I'm saying common, if if there's an issue in your department or in your company.
(20:01):
But you're hanging with the people that's consistently complaining about the
problems in the company and not creating the solution.
You will end up becoming the problem when you want to implement a solution.
So separating yourself and ensuring that you're thinking about organizational
(20:21):
goals, If you're coming into a department that is terrible with instrumentation,
how about you volunteer to take over that project?
Because now you have that in your belt. Now you can make sure that profitability goes down.
Now you'll be given more responsibility as a bread, as a bridge builder in a
bread to lead community.
It is your job to build whatever bridge that you can to leadership at whatever capacity that you can.
(20:45):
So, number one, I diagnosed the problem. Number two, I try to stop the bleeding.
Once you've diagnosed the problem, the next step is to take immediate action
to stop the situation from getting worse.
This often involves making some tough and unpopular decisions.
In hospital turnaround, this may include closing underperforming departments
(21:05):
or services, reducing staff in overstaffed areas,
renegotiating contracts with suppliers or insurance companies,
implementing stricter financial controls, addressing any immediate patient safety concerns.
In regular business, you do the same thing.
You close down any products or services that are underperforming.
(21:26):
We're spending too much money in an area that's not performing. It has to die.
We immediately begin to reduce the staff, not top down.
You begin to start reducing the staff based on who's the least productive for
the role that they're in.
It's important. Number three, renegotiating contracts with suppliers.
We want to start renegotiating immediately.
(21:48):
So as you begin to start seeing everything I'm talking about in business is
the same that happens in health care.
Everything that happens in health care is the same thing that's happening in business.
If I want to, when we're talking about stricter financial controls,
I want to start getting control of that lever.
Where's the money going out? Why is it going out? Let's tighten it up.
(22:11):
Let's tighten it up until we can figure out where the leaks are.
What do you do when you're trying to fix a leak?
First, I need to turn the water off, analyze with my hands, with my eyes,
with whatever tools I have to see if I can fill for the hole.
If I can't, I will slow leak it and find where the hole is.
(22:32):
If it's not there, I turn it off and I tape off another area.
I slow leak it until I find the area where there's a problem.
I turn off the water and then I fix that problem. Then I let it flow again.
A lot of people don't like to turn off those financial controls because we don't
like to tell people what needs to be done.
But in honest, the great leaders know know how to cut it off.
And you have to sometimes cut it off to turn it on.
(22:54):
And the last thing that we look at when we're talking about stopping the bleeding
is addressing any immediate customer or patient concerns.
What are the immediate patient or
customer concerns that are absolutely affecting our growth as a company?
These actions are often extremely painful, but they're necessary to create a
(23:14):
stable foundation for the turnaround.
The third thing that I do is now I develop a turnaround around strategy.
With the immediate crisis addressed, it's time to develop a longer,
a long-term strategy for turning the organization around.
This strategy should address the root causes of the organization's problem, not just the symptom.
(23:36):
This will include one investing in new technology to improve efficiency and
customer and patient care.
Number two, implementing new qualities, control measures, new quality control
measures. What this means is simply this.
How can I ensure that the product that we're putting out is actually as quality
(23:57):
as we say, as we are saying, claiming or marketing that it is?
Let me ensure that I have these quality control measures. The best position
to be is that everyone in their position performs a bit of quality control before they pass it.
The interim thing to do is to hire quality control technicians,
(24:18):
quality control specialists, quality control professionals.
That can be the third party until it's ingrained in the culture of the company
or the culture of the department that everyone seeks quality before leaving.
Number three in my step three, the third part is we begin developing new service
lines to diversify revenue streams.
(24:41):
Develop new service lines.
OK, so what does this mean in leadership? The first thing I'm looking to do
is how can I develop a new service line that doesn't take a lot of the resources of the current company?
And how can we test it out and roll it out and get attention to it so that we
can begin pumping new money and new flow into the company?
Remember, if you're doing a turnaround, that means something that is being done
(25:03):
is not done effectively.
So if I'm looking at the hospital system, they may be known for doing one type of surgery.
When the market is seeing an influx in another type of surgery,
adding a new service line, moving these surgeons to be able to do this if they
are capable and seeing that the revenue line can actually continue.
You may say, Dr. Jake, what if I'm in a position that we can't just add new
(25:26):
or diversify revenue streams because we're in the side of profit?
Like you said, well, being on the side of profit is very simple,
especially when I'm in the SPD world.
If I am if I'm hearing that turnaround is around a new CEOs in place as as as
a as a leader in central store processing,
you want to have your ear on what surgeons and what their specialties are,
(25:49):
what surgeons the executives are bringing in.
What are their specialties? And ensure that your department will be ready for
whatever those new service lines are. The later, the longer it takes you to
revolve around that change, the longer it's going, the more it's going to affect your department.
Very simple. If you want to be a leader that is known and want to be kept around
(26:10):
long term, you have to be a leader that is open to change.
I have a saying that says when facts change, so do I.
What do you mean, Dr. Jake? It's very simple. If we've been doing something
one way, but I get new information that lets me know that the thing or the way
that we've been doing is not the most efficient,
(26:31):
not the most effective, not the most profitable and won't get us to our desired
result on time or at the pace that we want.
When those facts change, I immediately change my thought process immediately.
Who the company was or what our identity was prior to the new facts will determine how I move forward.
(26:51):
Leaders that are not capable of that or see organizations that fail will see
the new fact, acknowledge its truth and still fight against it because of comfort of old times.
It's very important that we understand that if I'm in the position,
say central sterile processing, I'm hearing that new doctors are coming on board to the hospital.
(27:11):
As a leader, you want to be doing all the research that you can on that new surgeon,
on that new leader coming in to figure out what they're known for bringing to
an organization and ensuring that all the end services are done within your
department to prepare for the influx or influx influx of new surgeons or new surgeries.
(27:33):
And see the surgeons that are leaving, what areas of your business that were
probably in the department that were a lot of your time.
If those surgeons are leaving and bringing in a new surgeon that specializes
in a new line of business more than other, you have to be able to adjust your department to that.
(27:54):
OK, turnaround will be creating new partnerships with local health care providers
to expand your reach, implementing a leadership development programs to build
a stronger management team. Listen, let me tell you something.
I cannot tell you any more than I tell you on every single episode.
(28:16):
The power of investing in leadership development.
It's not a commodity. It's a necessity.
The perfect example that I can give is say you get a beautiful horse. Gorgeous.
(28:38):
Absolutely gorgeous.
Stallion. But you never train her.
Gorgeous, fast, aggressive, never trained. Yes, it's a horse.
Yes, it can provide great genetics and breed amazing untrained horses.
(28:59):
Versus a horse that may not be a thoroughbred.
Oh, but they're trained. You invested in all the training.
You feed it the good food. You make sure it's in a perfect environment.
Which horse do you think will perform the best, more effectively and efficiently?
Very simple. The horse that you invested in.
(29:20):
Now, I hate to make people horses.
But it's funny that when we talk about leadership, if we think about agriculture,
if we think about entertainment, if we think about sports, in any other sector,
investing in that person's talent is just as important to the organization as anything else.
(29:52):
The last thing I'm looking for is rebranding efforts to improve the hospital's image.
So as you all have seen, if you're familiar with SIPs Healthcare,
we are formerly known as SIPs Consultants.
The very first thing when turning around an organization is absolutely changing the branding image.
The look, the clean, if you change the name, if you can update the tagline to
(30:15):
give people that are looking outwardly in a new thought that there is something new.
Man, Dr. Jake, but, you know, we're in the business. We don't have our own business. How can I do that?
Well, if you're new to the department, how are you marketing that there are
new things happening into in your department amongst your entire hospital or health care system?
(30:40):
How are you marketing that something's new? How are you branding your team?
How are you telling the world that, hey, we're not like the old team?
Those things matter. Some may say, hey, you're promoting yourself too much.
Hey, if we're promoting ourselves, talking about the new things that we're doing,
getting people excited.
It breathes about excitement in all other departments. If other departments
(31:03):
don't get excited from newness, that will kind of let you know what areas you
need to focus on and turning it around.
Step four, implement and monitor.
Once you have your strategy, it's time to put it into action.
This is where many turnaround.
Efforts fail. Well, it's not enough to have a good plan. You need to execute it effectively.
(31:27):
This involves clear communication of the plan to all stakeholders,
setting specific and measurable goals and timelines,
assigning clear responsibilities for each aspect of the plan,
regularly monitoring and reporting on progress,
being willing to adjust the plan
(31:48):
as needed based on results in a
hospital setting you might implement daily huddles to
track key metrics weekly leadership meetings to discuss progress and challenges
and monthly town halls to keep all staff informed and engaged one of the best
things i loved about coming up in sports was the importance of film session
(32:10):
our huddles our Our timeouts.
These were for adjustments, not for celebration.
Huddles are for adjustments, not just celebration.
What adjustments are we making day to day? What plans have we put in place to
(32:31):
do it and what progress have we made yesterday from the day before and the day before?
If we're just meeting up for huddles to get along, to get along and not challenging
people to hold up their end of the
bargain. This is typically when you see organizations have crappy results.
(32:54):
Those huddles, you got to fix them. And it should feel uncomfortable.
Can I tell you something? Accountability is not comfortable.
But accountability is confirming when you're doing everything you're supposed to do.
There's no better feeling to be held accountable in every in somebody asks you
something. You say, yep, I did that. I did that. I did that.
Here's the report. Here's this. Here's that.
(33:16):
There's no greater feeling. It's like when you're a child.
And your parents come home fussing at you. And while coming home and fussing at you.
They're telling you all of the stuff. That you need to do, and then you look
(33:38):
at him and smile and say, Mom, Dad, I actually did all of that the moment that I walked into the house.
Their face of like a proud moment, but like it's the most fulfilling feeling that you'll ever find.
And when I did that with my parents, I started to beat them to the punch.
Because I hated being interrupted in my flow. So I knew the questions that they
(34:03):
would ask. And I would just say, yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. I did this, this and that.
When you're building your organizations, your huddles, you want your leaders
and the people that you're holding accountable.
When you say, did you do this? Yes, I did. Oh, matter of fact,
when I saw this, I made this adjustment.
You know, your organization is moving forward when you start to see your leaders
(34:23):
become proactive in and almost predicting what your questions will be because they thought of it.
And then the fifth thing that I do, here's the fifth thing that I do.
The fifth thing that I do, I build for the future. A successful turnaround is
not just about getting back to break even.
It's about positioning the organization for long term success.
(34:45):
This might involve developing a strong leadership pipeline. Listen,
hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog.
What we're building within health care systems are our next up.
Leadership system. We're teaching health care systems the importance of developing
the next step leader before the role is open. Why?
(35:08):
The stronger your pipeline, the stronger your organization.
If you want your organization to be able to leverage against vendors,
leverage against executives for pay, leverage against whatever,
when you're able to show the strength of your roster, that will let you know
the strength of your organization.
(35:28):
If your organization is dependent upon one or two people to move it through,
your organization is a very weak organization.
I can promise you your leaders are going to deal with burnout faster than you can imagine.
Number two, investing on ongoing staff training and development that helps the
pipeline, building a culture of continuous improvement, staying ahead of industry's
(35:48):
trends and innovation, and developing a strategic partnership for future growth.
This is my saying. I typically would say this. If people aren't waiting to get
in to come work with you, your organization, your company, your hospital or
your department, you're missing something.
You want people all over to be waiting to get in to work with you.
(36:10):
Now, we're going to talk about some of these challenges, so to speak.
But before we start talking about these challenges, I want to tune in to our first break.
Bridge builders, are you facing a crisis in your health care organization?
(36:31):
SIP's health care turnaround services might be exactly what you need.
Our team of experienced corporate fixers can help diagnose your problems and
implement solutions that get results.
Visit SipsHealthcare.com to learn more about how we can help you navigate your
organization's toughest challenges. So let's talk about.
(36:51):
Some of those challenges you're likely to face in a turnaround situation. One.
The very first challenge that you're going to find is resistance to change.
People are naturally resistant to change, especially when it threatens their
comfort or job security.
You'll need to overcome this resistance through clear communication,
(37:12):
involvement of the staff and the change process and sometimes removal of those
who refuse to get on board.
Number two. One of the change that the second challenge would be limited resources in a turnaround.
You're often working with limited financial resources. You'll need to be creative
in how you allocate these resources for maximum impact.
(37:35):
Number three, time pressure is another. There's another challenge.
Turnarounds are often needed to happen quickly before the organization runs out of runway.
You'll need to balance the need for speed with the importance of making well-considered decisions.
Now, the best the best image I can give you of this is like a mission impossible,
(37:58):
Where the bomb is ticking.
There's like 45 seconds. The world is about to end.
The agent is upside down, needing you falling and needing to.
Turn off the bomb really quickly. And then it's the last minute they turn it
off and voila, things are saved.
(38:19):
I promise you, turnarounds are just like that.
Being a turnaround, being a corporate fixer, a turnaround specialist,
one of the hardest positions, but yet most fulfilling and rewarding positions
that anyone can ever have. Can I tell you why?
Because the amount of relief in the in the smiles and the tears that happen
when you turn around an organization, when people thought this is it.
(38:41):
It's better than any hug that you can ever get. It's so rewarding.
And being a leader that doesn't just want to get in when things are great.
That's not leading, that's managing. Being bred to lead says,
send me in the burning house and I'm going to come out saving everybody in the
foundation of the house, if you can.
(39:03):
The fourth challenge is stakeholder management. In a hospital setting,
you may be dealing with a wide range of stakeholders, patients,
staff, doctor, board members, community leaders.
Balancing their often competing interests can be a significant challenge.
It's quite funny how in an organization.
(39:26):
At every level there's a
different vision for the same company so usually
when it comes to an organization being able
to push something through it has a lot to do with politics someone is seeing
something different that saw something different that is seeing something different
within the organization and those differences are exactly what stops impeding
(39:51):
or or impedes a turnaround.
So your job as a turnaround leader is to get all stakeholders together as fast
as possible to get decisions to be made. Very important.
And the fifth challenge is burnout.
Turnarounds are intense, high pressure situations.
You're moving at the speed of light and it's easy for you and your team to burn out.
(40:14):
You'll need to find ways to maintain energy and motivation over the long haul. Let me share with you.
A personal story. I'm going to share with you a personal story.
A few years ago, I was called in to turn around a midsize company.
(40:37):
When I arrived, morale was at rock bottom.
The company had gone through three CEOs in two years. It was losing money hand over fist.
And had a reputation for poor quality products.
One of the first things I did was gather all of the employees for a town hall meeting.
(41:02):
I laid out the stark reality of our situation if things did not change.
The company would be bankrupt within six months. I then asked for their help.
I said, I don't have all the answers, but I bet many of you do.
You're the ones on the front lines every day.
What do you think that we need to do to turn this ship around?
(41:26):
Can I tell you something? The response was absolutely overwhelming.
People started sharing ideas, some good, some not so good.
But all coming from a place of wanting to save their company.
We implemented many of these ideas from changes to the production process to
(41:47):
new control, quality control measures. Can I tell you something?
When I'm doing a turnaround, I always go talk to the front line first.
And I don't care how long it takes me. I don't care if I got to sit and talk
with every single person.
Because the people that are actually on the front line are the ones that are
dealing with the problems more often than the stakeholders or the leaders.
(42:08):
So you have to touch base with the people that's really doing the work.
But here's the tough part.
After all of the changes and things that were needed, we also had to let go
of about 20 percent of the workforce.
These were painful decisions. As it was one of my first like major layoffs.
(42:28):
It was necessary for the company's survival. Bible. We were as transparent as
possible about why these decisions
needed to be made and provided support for those that were let go.
Fast forward 18 months, the company was profitable again.
Product quality was up, customer complaints were down, and employee engagement
(42:49):
scores had improved dramatically.
It wasn't easy. There were plenty of sleepless nights along the way,
but we managed to turn things around.
The lesson here, turnarounds require a combination of tough decisions and genuine
engagement with your people.
You can't sugarcoat the reality of the situation, but you also need to give
(43:13):
people hope in a sense of ownership in the turnaround process.
Now, let's bring this back to health care. While I haven't personally turned
around a hospital as of yet.
With our company, we've been a part of numerous department turnarounds and I've
also studied numerous hospital turnarounds. And the principles are the same.
(43:38):
Here are a few key lessons that apply specifically to hospital turnarounds.
One, focus on quality first.
In health care, quality of care must always be top priority.
Any cost cutting measures that can compromise patient care should be off the table.
(44:01):
Number two, engage physicians.
Physicians are key stakeholders at any hospital.
Their buy in. And engagement is crucial for a successful turnaround.
If this were a business, I would say your top salespeople would be like your physicians.
Those that are out there front line killing it. Number three, leverage data.
(44:26):
Hospitals generate enormous amounts of data. Use this data to drive decision-making
and to track the progress of your turnaround efforts. Can I tell you a secret?
You cannot effectively and consistently produce successful turnarounds from gut feelings.
Gut feelings only come from experiences that you've had.
(44:50):
If you've never experienced a certain situation that you're going into,
you need data to help you guide, to guide you on the decisions that you're making.
You're reading the heart monitor of the business and you're reading the vitals
and looking at all the vitals to see if they're in the ranges that they should be.
(45:12):
And I'm looking at this data to help me create the best circumstance to turn
a hospital around or a business.
Number four, don't neglect culture. A hospital's culture can make or break a turnaround effort.
That's even in a business focus on building a culture of excellence,
accountability, impatient and customer centeredness.
(45:35):
If the organization is focused on coddling the people that are performing the jobs.
You have a backwards organization. The organization's full focus should be servicing
who your primary customer is.
And lastly, we want to think systematically.
(45:59):
I said systematically. We want to think systematically. Hospitals are complex
systems and so are businesses.
A change in one area can have unforeseen consequences in another.
Always consider the systemic impacts of your decisions. This is why I tell people
often you can't fix just one department and not expect it to mess up everything else.
(46:24):
Whatever departments are touching the department that you're fixing will be affected.
So doing a partial turnaround really doesn't make sense for the overall good
of the hospital, if the OR.
So we turn around the SPD, but don't turn around the OR.
The SPD, the central sterile processing department will be clean on point.
But the O.R. is still inefficient.
(46:46):
So now a lot of those inefficient ways will eventually trickle down into SPD
or there will always be a clash.
So if I'm fixing one department, I have to fix the other. You cannot fix the
sales department without fixing fulfillment.
You cannot fix fulfillment without fixing the product process.
You cannot fix the product process if you don't fix operations.
(47:06):
When you're looking at how all things work in a complex system of business,
health care, government, whatever have you.
Every department or portion of the system affects the other portion or department
of the system and it all has to be unveiled revealed band-aid pulled off and addressed immediately.
(47:30):
Pod break, pod break. Listen, as we discuss the challenges of corporate turnarounds,
it's crucial to have the right resources at your fingertips.
My book, Bred to Lead, provides in-depth strategies for navigating organizational
crisis and driving meaningful change.
Available now on Amazon and major bookstores. Don't just lead,
(47:50):
be bred to lead through any challenge.
This podcast is an outward expression or continuation from the basis of our
book, Bred to Lead. Again, you can go get it on any platform,
especially Amazon. See you later.
Hey, Bridge Builders, I'm back again. In times of organizational crisis,
(48:10):
you need a steady hand at the helm.
Sips Healthcare offers interim leadership services to guide your organization
through turbulent times.
Our experienced executives can step in in a moment's notice to provide the leadership
you need to weather any storm. Visit SibsHealthcare.com to learn more about
our interim leadership solutions.
(48:31):
Remember, Bridge Builders, sometimes leadership means making hard choices for
the greater good of everyone.
It means being willing to ruffle feathers, challenge the status quo.
But it also means inspiring people, giving them hope and helping them see what's
possible if everyone pulls together. other.
(48:52):
There's nothing quite like the feeling of taking an organization from the brink
of failure to a position of strength and success.
If you find yourself in a turnaround situation, remember these key points.
One, be honest about the reality of the situation.
Two, make tough decisions quickly but not recklessly. Three,
(49:13):
engage your people in the turnaround around process.
Four, focus on root causes, not just symptoms.
Five, communicate, communicate, communicate.
And six, build for the long-term, not just the short-term survival.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is the end of the podcast.
(49:33):
Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Bred to Lead. If you're facing
organizational challenges and need expert guidance, don't hesitate to reach out to Sips Healthcare.
Our team of corporate fixers and and interim leaders are ready to help you navigate
even the toughest situations.
Visit SipsHealthcare.com to
learn more about our services. And I can't forget our podcast spotlight.
(49:55):
Before we go, let's shine a spotlight on our partners at Asenco.
In times of organizational turnaround, efficient asset management is crucial.
Asenco's sonar system can help you optimize your surgical operations,
potentially saving millions in unnecessary costs. Visit asynco.com to learn
more about how sonar can be a key tool in your turnaround efforts.
(50:18):
Until next time, keep building those bridges, even when it feels like everything
is crumbling around you.
This is Dr. Jake Taylor Jacobs, and I'm signing off.
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