Facing Danger: CEO Must Race Against Time.

Everyone is right. Business community The myth of a comeback is always relish. There is no doubt that becoming a "savior" of an enterprise will also greatly contribute to the development of individual businesses. This is why many executives are willing to join the "problem companies" and expect to expand their skills.

But the time pressure for CEO to accept this challenge may be something they have never experienced before. In particular, in today's society, "timely gratification" prevails. Once investment returns are involved, they must be able to make achievements in a short time. It is not difficult to supervise the progress of the enterprises today.

Recently, some CEO have finally exhausted the patience of shareholders and been swept away. For example, YAHOO (Yahoo) former CEO Carol Bartz was unlucky earlier this month. In the eyes of shareholders, Bartz, who had been in office for two years, did not let the ailing YAHOO regain its former glory.

Similarly, AOL shareholders are worried about Tim Armstrong's revival strategy. It is reported that the income of AOL in recent quarters is very unsatisfactory. Many people in the industry are eager to see positive progress made by AOL.

But how long does it take for an enterprise to recover? The answer is 8 quarters by Mark Xie Fei, President of executive search firm Wyatt & Jaffe. He said, "I remember the deadline was 16 quarters, but that was before the emergence of the Internet bubble. In 90s twentieth Century, we will give people more time, because we think it will take longer to get one thing done. "

James Kellogg, a professor of management at Northwestern s Kellogg School of management, Northwestern University, said the 8 quarter was generous. The new CEO will achieve significant results in up to four quarters. Not only does he want to make profits, he also has to set up a clear plan, which should be convinced by experts, board of directors and shareholders.

Of course, the time needed to turn around the company's disadvantage is directly related to the company's disposable funds. Most companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy have no time to pursue the strategic goal of reinventing the brand. But for AOL, which has relatively abundant liquidity and too old business model, there is little room for maneuver.

　 A clear measure is the key.

Alan Mulally first took over the Ford Motor Co (Ford) and successfully reversed it by relying on a large amount of cash injected into Ford Motor Co at that time. In 2006, Alan Mulally joined Ford and raised $23 billion for the first time, which also made time for Mulally's revival strategy. But what is more convincing is that people have witnessed the success of this strategy step by step. Mulally has said he will produce cars that satisfy customers in the case of Ford's high profit margins. To this end, he shut down Ford Motor Co's poorly performing factories and stopped producing car brands that lost money at the expense of Jaguar and Land Rover (Land Rover), and began to develop affordable energy efficient cars for consumers.

To a certain extent, tracking the profitability of the auto industry is much easier, and Mulally has more advantages than CEO in other industries. Ford Motor Co produces and sells tangible products, which makes it easier for investors to track changes in their production costs.

In contrast, if Armstrong is in such a situation, CEO people The bones to be chewed down are much stiffer. Because the success or failure of a digital media company often depends on its advertising revenue, and advertising revenue comes from the number and click rate of advertising visitors. But so far, the industry has not yet formed a clear pattern in this area to ensure that the goal is achieved. Therefore, Armstrong not only needs to rectify the financial situation of AOL, but also devotes himself to the transformation of the company -- terminating its profitable and continuously losing network dial-up access business, transforming the company into a digital media magnate. Because the profit model of the digital media industry is extremely uncertain, the criteria for measuring Armstrong's success or failure, such as website's attention, are slightly vague.

If CEO wants to make its strategy stand, it can not simply apply some measurement standards. The key is to make people understand why these standards are achieved, no matter what these standards are. For example, if a CEO announces the sales team of restructured company and insists on it, it can win a certain degree of trust. However, if the CEO can use real data to illustrate that this initiative will help the company gain an advantage in competition, it will make it easier for shareholders to win the trust of shareholders. {page_break}

　　 Danger signal

In fact, any effective recovery strategy is more than just a set of figures. It is dangerous to strictly target the recovery strategy based on income. Reversing the Slide tells the story of Electronic Data Systems (Eds Company). In the 90s of last century, the company struggled to keep up with it. Technology industry Vigorous development. At that time, the company's performance continued to be sluggish. The CEO of the company finally worked hard, and began working with the navy in 2000 to reach a $6 billion 900 million engineering agreement to try to please many investors. But the coveted figures did not translate into real profits. In the end, the CEO was forced to give up his position and make way for those who were able to really save the company's fate.

Another common mistake in saving a company's peril is to blame the company's predicament on external causes. "Retailers all over the world blame bad weather for poor sales. This reason is of course classic. But at some point, CEO must go beyond this level to find out the real reason for the failure, "said Lisa Boleyn, chairman of Turnaround Management Association and partner of CRG management company.

What CEO needs to do is to solve these problems step by step. The faster the progress, the better the effect. This is especially true in today's society.