Turning Stuff Around

A blog about the grit, grind, and occasional glory of turnarounds.

Category: Lessons from the Trenches

Lessons from the trenches of turnarounds.

  • The Change Tolerance

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    The Change Tolerance

    One of the first variables to measure, as you assess turnaround readiness, is the organization’s change tolerance. In other words, how much change can your organization handle before resistance turns into disengagement or even chaos? It is very much like a rubber band—stretch it too far and it breaks.

    Some organizations have a high tolerance and thrive on bold, sweeping transformations. Others have a low threshold, where even minor shifts can trigger disruption. Understanding where your organization stands on this spectrum is crucial. And the most critical element is your people. Consider the following key questions:

    Culture

    • Are people engaged?
    • Are there silos (geographical, functional or otherwise)?
    • How political is the organization?
    • Is there trust in leadership?
    • Does information flow freely throughout?

    Most of these questions can be answered by walking the halls and talking to team members. You’ll be positively surprised at what people share with you if you take the time and interest.

    People

    • Do we have the right skills and capabilities?
    • What is the talent pool looking like and can we lean on it more?
    • How fatigued—or fed-up—are people?

    Sit down with your HR team and function heads to explore these questions. If needed, augment your learnings with interviews with your leadership team’s direct reports.

    Leadership

    • Do you have the right skills and capabilities on the team?
    • Is the team cohesive?
    • Is there trust and healthy conflict, or only artificial harmony?
    • Is there buy-in to your plans?

    Beyond your own observations, I recommend seeking an objective, coach-led assessment—especially if you suspect lack of trust in the team, as people will hide their true colors in this setting. (If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading “The 5 Dysfunctions of A Team“ by Patrick Lencioni. It’s been my go-to model, and has worked wonders with every team I’ve led.)

    Building Change Tolerance

    Getting a well-informed reading on your people and leadership team should be a top priority. Remember, people challenges are often the most difficult and resource-intensive to address. They are also the most impactful to the rest of the organization, and have the potential of completely derailing your turnaround plans.

    Once you’ve assessed the change tolerance, ask yourself whether it aligns with the level of change your turnaround requires. If the answer is yes—great (consider yourself lucky!) But more often than not tolerance will be too low. If that is the case, then you have a bigger, more immediate challenge to tackle: increasing the change tolerance.

    Increasing tolerance isn’t done overnight. It requires intentional trust building—especially true if you’ve been parachuted into the organization from the outside. Since trust is built slowly, by delivering on promises, small wins matter even more and can help you build early momentum. This will demonstrate that change is both manageable and doable, and will ultimately allow you to stretch the change tolerance further.

    Finally, always stretch carefully. Continuously assess the tension with your team, and work to increase the organization’s capacity and resilience to change. Over time, culture will become more adaptive and capable of handling larger more transformative changes.

    Cranking up the change tolerance is an ongoing task. As the saying goes, change is the only constant, and this has never been truer than in today’s fast-paced world. Keep challenging the organization to achieve more—but ensure you’re doing so on the right foundation.

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  • Small Wins, Big Impact

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    Small Wins, Big Impact

    Beginning a turnaround is like staring at a half-finished jigsaw puzzle of the Mona Lisa. You’ve got a few key pieces in place—a hint of her nose and mouth, some scattered fragments of the lake in the background—but the full picture is still elusive. Being able to see the end state, and formulate a strategic plan to get there is critical. But when it’s time to set out, I’ve found small wins to be incredibly powerful at building momentum to steer the ship in the right direction.

    Small wins give you something to hold onto when the bigger picture feels out of reach. They help you—and the team—believe that change is possible, one step at a time. Especially in turnaround situations, small wins are critical for restoring confidence, building hope, and reminding everyone that progress is possible. And as progress happens, the end result begins taking shape in front of their eyes.

    In my experience, the most important decision you can make as you set out on your turnaround, is the decision to move—before “analysis-paralysis” grips you and the team. The key is to stop waiting for the stars to align to tackle everything at once. But to look for the first small thing you can fix, and fix it. The fix becomes a win; the win sparks momentum. And momentum powers continued progress.

    At my company, for example, after assessing the different areas that needed fixing, each function head set out to achieve one small win within three to four weeks. In the people function, we fixed company communications. In the commercial function, we addressed pricing. In finance, we made incremental cost-control improvements. And each of these small wins demonstrated progress towards our shared goal of turning around the company. (More on these moves later in the blog.)

    In turnarounds, finding problems, is like finding sand at the beach—they’re everywhere. Don’t focus on fixing everything. Instead find your next small win, then build from there.

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  • The Biggest Myths About Turnarounds

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    The Biggest Myths About Turnarounds

    Turnarounds are often glorified in stories and media. The fearless leader charges in, makes a few bold decisions, and everything miraculously falls into place.

    If only it were that simple…

    The reality of turnarounds is far messier and more nuanced than the myths would have you believe. And clinging to those myths can do more harm than good.

    Here are a few of the biggest myths about turnarounds—and the truths I’ve learned firsthand:

    Myth 1: It’s All About Bold, Big Moves

    When people imagine a turnaround, they picture sweeping changes—a major restructuring, a massive product launch, or a dramatic cost-cutting move. While big moves can have their place, most successful turnarounds are built on small, consistent wins. Addressing small inefficiencies, rebuilding trust, and fixing foundational problems often have a far greater impact than a single dramatic gesture. Turnarounds aren’t won with a sledgehammer; they’re carefully carved with a scalpel.

    Myth 2: One Leader Can Fix Everything

    There’s this romanticized idea of the lone savior who swoops in to save the day. But the truth is, no leader—no matter how skilled—can do it alone. Turnarounds rely on teams. The best leaders aren’t the ones who have all the answers; they’re the ones who inspire people to step up, collaborate, and own the solutions together. It’s not a solo act—it’s a team effort.

    Myth 3: Once You Fix the Problem, It’s Over

    People often assume that a turnaround ends when the immediate crisis is resolved. But that’s just the beginning. Turnarounds require sustained effort to stabilize and grow. The real work starts after the major fires are out—ensuring the changes stick and the culture evolves to prevent another collapse.

    Myth 4: Turnarounds Always Succeed

    I wish that were true! The hard truth is that not every turnaround has a happy ending. I’ve seen many companies die in spite of the effort put in to try and fix them.

    The Reality of Turnarounds

    If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that each turnaround represents a unique challenge of varying complexity and conflicting priorities. In those circumstances, the chances of a silver bullet—a bold move, a fearless leader, or a quick fix—solving everything are slim. Instead, it’s small wins, by a solid team, that set you on the right path. Allowing you to adapt, reiterate, and keep the forward momentum going, step by step.

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