Don’t Be The Bad News Bears
By: John A. Bermingham
Drug Delivery Technology June 2009 Vol 9 No 6
Ieverything. About 6 weeks after I joined Rolodex
Corporation to turn it around, I was invited by the
learned the hard way that there are two ways to say
Chairman of the holding company that owned Rolodex to
make a presentation to its Board of Directors on my
assessment of the company. As an early stage CEO, I made the
decision to do a “Howard Cosell” and tell-it-like-it-is
presentation.
I developed a laundry list of all the things wrong with
Rolodex, with my strategy being to show the Board how I had
quickly identified the problems and then the solutions I was
putting into place to deal with the problems.
What the Board heard was the laundry list of problems I
had identified. What they did not hear were the solutions going
into place because when I got to those solutions, they were still
back on the problems and heard nothing beyond that. The
Board put Rolodex up for sale a few months after that meeting.
What I should have said was something like “there a
solvable issues that are all being addressed, and we expect a
viable company going forward.” And then give a few examples
rather than giving the Board a litany of problems.
Not only did I learn from this negative presentation that I
put on for that Board, I have taught the “two ways to say
everything” philosophy to every management team I have led
since Rolodex. My belief is that you have to determine who
your audience is and what information they are seeking from
you. It is like a resume - you never have one, you have several.
Why?
Because while always staying within the boundaries of
total honesty, you should always tailor your resume to fit the
position for which you are interviewing. In my case, if the
interview is for a company in need of a CEO who can solve a
sales and marketing problem, then my resume and cover letter
will emphasize my sales and marketing background and
qualifications. If the interview is for a company that has
operations problems, then my resume and cover letter will
emphasize my operations experience.
When I joined my new company this past January, our
bankers asked me to meet with them to discuss the situation at
our company. Had I presented a Rolodex scenario, I believe the
bank might have pulled the plug on us.
What I did was present a general overview of the
company’s situation without drilling down into the minutia. I
then presented my plan for the company going forward to
include a very detailed 100-Day Recovery Plan that showed
the positive effects that plan would have on the company. I
concluded my presentation with the naming of the turnaround
project Project Orange Grove. Why?
Because there is so much low-hanging fruit in the
company that we can quickly address that which will show
immediate positive results. Our bank is now giving us very
strong support going forward to include temporary relief on
our covenants, additional liquidity, and plenty of time to turn
the company around.
It’s not just what you say…..it’s how you say it!
BIOGRAPHY
John A. Bermingham is the President & CEO
of Cord Crafts, LLC, a leading manufacturer and
marketer of permanent botanicals. Prior to Cord
Crafts, he was President & CEO of Alco Consumer
Products, Inc., an importer of house ware, home
goods, pet, and safety products under the Alco
brand name and through licenses from the
ASPCA and Red Cross. He successfully turned around the company
in 60 days and sold Alco to a strategic buyer. Mr. Bermingham
was previously the President & CEO of Lang Holdings, Inc. (an
innovative leader in the social sentiment and home décor
industries) and President, Chairman, and CEO of Ampad (a leading
manufacturer and distributor of office products). With more than
20 years of turnaround experience, he also held the positions of
Chairman, President, and CEO of Centis, Inc., Smith Corona
Corporation, and Rolodex Corporation. He turned around several
business units of AT&T Consumer Products Group and served as the
EVP of the Electronics Group and President of the Magnetic
Products Group, Sony Corporation of America. Mr. Bermingham
served 3 years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps with responsibility
for Top Secret Cryptographic Codes and Top Secret Nuclear Release
Codes, earned his BA in Business Administration from Saint Leo
University, and completed the Harvard University Graduate School
of Business Advanced Management Program.
