Curry - From Red to Black

Praise for

From Red to Black

In From Red to Black: A Business Turnaround, Bob Curry brings his business acumen and puts it in the hands of business managers of both small and large companies looking to grow or regain their form. Bobs book should be a textbook in MBA classrooms and a fixture in corporate boardrooms. Effective and leadership-based tools are provided in each chapter, described so well by Bob that you feel as if you are actually in the room as critical decisions are made. The practical and scalpel-like approach offered by Bob Curry is in direct contrast to the sledgehammer approach of former and now disgraced turnaround guru, Albert J. Dunlap, as depicted in Chainsaw: The Notorious Career of Al Dunlap in the Era of Profit-at-Any-Price. How to build true positive leadership in successful companies defines the value of this book. A worthy study by anyone who is looking for ways to take their business across the finish line ahead of the rest.

Bob L. Harris, Esq., Messer Caparello, PA, 32-Year Consultant and Attorney for Private Colleges and Universities

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This book is must for every businesspersons library, and it should be on the top shelf. Bob Curry takes a time-tested business and leadership process and helps business owners turn their companies around. This book will truly be a GPS for any person in a company leadership position.

Michael Seifert , Smart Reach Digital and Entercom Marketing Solutions, VP of Marketing Solutions

From Red to Black: A Business Turnaround is a practical, easy read with stories that help the reader visualize the day-by-day scenes that led up to this business-turnaround success. Readers will gain the necessary skills and tools to be their own turnaround specialist or at least better understand the nuts and bolts of the process. This book includes lots of detailed documents and forms to aid readers as well. Brilliantly written by one of the best in his field.

Dr. Joe Pace , The Pacific Institute, Performance Psychologist and Chairman of the BoardGlobal Education

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Bob Currys expertise and detailed account of a business turnaround in From Red to Black shows the step-by-step process for improving the bottom line of your business and preparing for continued growth. It is a great read for any business owner, CEO, or executive.

Anthony Rolon , CEO, Tribeca Marketing Group

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Bob Curry hits it out of the park with From Red to Black: A Business Turnaround. Utilizing a single company as an example, he effortlessly illustrates both basic and advanced business principles germane to most any corporation of any size, sector, and scope. He brilliantly weaves hard-learned lessons on corporate culture, operations, accounting, negotiating, HR management, and numerous other critical skills necessary to navigate any present-day operation to profitability in a competitive marketplace. His reader-friendly format keeps the narrative moving and the pearls coming from cover to cover. A must-read for any business owner, manager or entrepreneur!

Robert Adami , DDS, Owner/President, Designer Family Dental

Disclaimer: This book is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. The publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal advice or any other professional services to the reader. If legal advice or other assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The reader should be aware that laws and rules applicable to their situation may differ from the information in this book. It is the responsibility of the reader to seek professional guidance whenever necessary. The author and publisher are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the information in this book.

The Matter of ABC Shutters is based on a real client. However, actual names and identifying characteristics have not been used, and any resemblance to a specific individual or company is coincidental.

Published by:

Red to Black Books

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Copyright 2017 by Robert S. Curry

Print ISBN-13: 978-1-7327891-0-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017947347

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Edited by Carol Killman Rosenberg www.carolkillmanrosenberg.com

Production by Gary A. Rosenberg www.garyarosenberg.com

To my wife, Esther Currymy best friend, partner, lover, advisor, and supporter.

Contents

Introduction

I am Bob Curry, a business turnaround specialist and business coach. The information you will find here is centered on a turnaround engagement of a small company that was in business for over twenty-eight years.

During my twenty-year career of working with business owners and distressed companies, I have learned so much about business that I did not learn in school. The clients I have worked with have ranged from an eight-attorney law firm to a convenience-store wholesale distributor with customers all over the Northeastern United States with annual sales of $1 billion. I have turned around businesses in many industries, including retail, healthcare, wholesale, manufacturing, distribution, and service.

When I start a turnaround with clients who are in full financial and operational disorder, I feel stress, and this is what propels me forward. I enjoy the feeling of success at the conclusion of each consulting job when the owners now-profitable business is managed by a team of qualified executives with financial goals, an operating budget, a clear and precise mission and vision statement, and timely, accurate financial reporting.

I realize I am only one person and can only do three or four turnarounds a year, or coach twenty business owners to improve their companys profitability by teaching them to manage their organization using good business practices. I also realize there are many business owners who need help. One of my goals in writing this book is to share information, my stories and experiences, and the tools I have used over the years of my career to help improve these businesses.

Every time I am involved with a turnaround engagement, I find myself continuously asking, Why? Why is the company losing money? Why is this manager failing? Why is this department operating so poorly? Why did the owner let this company get this bad? Why would the company ever hire this person? Why havent they fixed this problem? How do problems get this bad without someone standing up and saying, Hey, we have a problem here, someone needs to fix it, and fix it quickly.

As I start solving the why questions during the turnaround, the company naturally becomes profitable again. The most important why questions I focus on first during an engagement are about the owner. If the owner does a poor job, so does his management team. The owner controls the whole business, including the corporate culture, the personal growth of the managers and employees, and the overall company behavior with the customers, vendors, and employees. If I correct the owners problems or issues, then the solutions automatically roll down to the management team and the employees.

In the example I use throughout this book, ABC Hurricane Shuttersa real company but not the companys real nameslowly grew into a troublesome situation because the owner was not supervising the management team. Managing people was just not what he enjoyed doing. He was a mechanical engineer who loved to build thingsin this case, hurricane shutters. Unfortunately, as his company grew, he hired some weak managers who needed to be closely supervised to be productive, productive enough for the company to be profitable. With a few exceptions, his managers either were bad hires or needed much more direct supervision than the owner could provide for them to be effective. Another important issue missing from this company was accountability of the management team and their employees. There was no accountability for the actions and results of the management team to the owner. As you read this book, you will learn that the companys installation team had no accountability to the manager in charge of the department. The mechanics and helpers in this department came and went as they pleased. If they decided not to come to work because they partied too hard the night before, there were no consequences for their bad decisions. There were also situations in which an installation team would leave the office in the morning to go to their jobsite and arrive as scheduled, but ended up extending their lunch break by several hours instead of installing hurricane shutters. These installers knew that their manager did not know they were not at the jobsite.