What problems should he tackle first? Which were operational and which were organizational? What timeline should he establish? How should he consider the people in the company? What should he ask them? How should he approach them to solicit their ideas for the turnaround?

How to begin the turnaround

As Liam sat in his office, he stared at the flip-chart sheets on his walls. During his first week, he had put up the sheets and began listing every issue or problem that he or others identified. After three weeks, there were now more than two dozen items. With this substantial list, Liam thought that he had a handle on the magnitude of the problems at Cote Construction. What he needed to do now was come up with a plan to address them. To begin, he had a number of decisions to make:

• What problems should he tackle first? Which were operational and which were organizational?
• What timeline should he establish?
• How should he consider the people in the company? What should he ask them? How should he approach them to solicit their ideas for the turnaround?
• How should he deal with Felix? Should he allow him to continue as head of Equipment and Operations? Should he sideline Felix and formally reduce his authority at
• What problems should he tackle first? Which were operational and which were organizational??
• Would it, in fact, be a relief to employees to know that Felix no longer played a role in the company?