Interim Executive Solutions

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Interim Executive Solutions

• Overview
• May 12, 2008
• Larta USDA Webinar

Alan Creutz Cerius Interim Executive
Solutions 858-688-2258 acreutz_at_ceriusinterim.com
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Definition

• Interim Executives are short-term contractors or
  temporary employees who focus, during their
  tenure with their client, on defining and
  delivering specific outcomes of strategic
  importance in combination with providing a
  short-term, bridging capacity for functional
  executive management.
• Interim Executive Solutions encompass defined
  strategic outcomes or temporary bridging
  executive management, defined in a Scope of Work,
  that leverage available interim executives to
  provide rapid, focused, cost-effective outcomes
  for a client company.
• the right executive talent, at the right time,
  for the right price.

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Two Types of Interim Executive

• Bridging or Transition (Incumbency)
• Fill a hole in your executive team
• While looking for a permanent hire
• During a leave of absence
• Focus on maintaining continuity of function and
  maintain stability
• Review, revise, prepare, and transition to a new
  incumbent
• Transformation
• Provide new leadership to transform company
• Provide specialized capabilities to execute
  change but perhaps not required long-term
• Emphasis on outcome rather than continuity
• Create sustainable company at new level of
  performance
• Usually also incumbency

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Interim vs. Corporate Executive

• Flexibility to shift executive strengths as
  challenges evolve
• Just-in-Time Executive
• Ideal for short term breakthrough initiatives
  or crisis resolution
• Easier to throttle investment
• As an Outsider, focused on outcomes
• Provides independent, third-party perspective
• Provides experience that may be otherwise
  out-of-reach
• Effective as change agent
• May have more freedom of action

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When to Use Interim Executives

• Transformation
• You want to embark on a new course you need a
  broader perspective, deeper experience, and
  new thinking you require stronger leader than
  typically available to you you need specialized
  skills at the executive level to transform
  the company, but not long term you need
  additional bandwidth to accomplish change you
  want flexibility in direction and level of
  effort you need a change agent to introducing
  new thinking and business approaches
• Focused more on a defined sustainable strategic
  transformation of the company than on the
  individual resume
• May be an executive team, each with particular
  capabilities, rather than a single individual

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When to Use Interim Executives

• Bridging or Transition
• You have lost an executive and will seek a
  replacement(or decided to add a new executive
  position) but cannot lose momentum or risk a
  break you have a corporate initiative underway
  that is in jeopardy you want to mitigate the
  risk of impatience during the hiring of your
  permanent executive you have a hole in your
  executive team and need flexibility to
  throttle costs during times of financial
  stress you really only need a part-time
  functional executive and prefer 1099 to
  W-2 relationship you simply need more
  bandwidth on your executive team on a
  short-term basis
• Usually focus is on the person and resume looks
  like a typical job search but with less risk
  because easier to correct
• Take the opportunity to also consider
  Transformation

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Examples

• My VP of Marketing just took a job as CEO of
  another company in the middle of a new product
  launch and I need to maintain momentum
• My VP of Operations is going on maternity leave
  and I need to maintain continuity
• We want to enter international markets / a new
  market segment and lack the experience or
  bandwidth in our current team
• We have just acquired a company and need
  leadership to integrate it into our operations
• We are about to make a substantial change in
  operations (outsourcing, moving or upgrading
  facilities, restructuring our organization, etc.)
  and I want a change agent at the executive level
  to focus on the change
• I need help in financing / debt restructuring
• We need new thinking to meet new challenges
  (e.g., current financial turmoil)
• As CEO I am feel the company needs to be
  revitalized
• I need special expertise in Intellectual Property
  and licensing

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What to Look For

• Quick study
• Balance between adaptability and independent
  thinking
• Outcome oriented rather than task driven
• Good communicator at all levels of organization
• Strong sense of organizational dynamics and how
  to achieve organizational change
• Ability to mesh with company leadership, without
  being co-opted into tradition
• Not seeking to be hired (unless you are using the
  rent to hire model)
• Explicit experience in your industry may be less
  important for non-technical roles

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Caveat

• A successful corporate executive especially if
  with one or two companies over a 20-30 year
  career does not imply strength as an interim
  executiveShort-term roles, focusing on
  outcomes, require very different skills than
  long-term success at climbing the corporate
  ladder even when that corporate success is
  characterized by major strategic achievement

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Cost

• May have a premium for specialized experience,
  world-class capabilities, etc.
• Typically based on level of effort / time
• Interims often work part-time
• Value the risk mitigation implicit in contracted
  services and solution-orientation rather than
  resume selection
• Compare fully-loaded full-time executive cost
  (including bonuses) with part-time, non-benefit
  cost
• Rarely includes benefits, etc.
• Performance-based bonus
• Usually on explicit milestones and outcomes
  rather than on continuing execution
• Must be clearly tied to the activities of the
  executive and on the transformations in company
  performance realized within a short-time frame

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The Engagement

• Expectations
• Incumbency requires a job description
• Transformation requires clear definition of
  expected outcome
• With flexibility to learn as engagement proceeds
• Decision points built into schedule
• Timeframe and milestones
• Reporting relationships
• Reporting
• Status / Progress / Plans
• Issues / Risks / Mitigations
• Recommendations
• When working with a solutions company (rather
  than an individual), include Account Management

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The Executive Value Graph
Level of Performance
Permanent
Interim
Time
In some situations, using Interim Executives as a
recurring solution may be preferable to hiring
long-term, permanent employees
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Interim Executive Solution vs. Consulting Project
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Suggested Reading

• Charles Besondy and Paul TravisHow Smart CEOs
  Tap Interim Management to Drive Revenue
• Susan H. Gebelein et al.Successful Executives
  Handbook Development Suggestions for Todays
  Executives

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Enabling companies to seize business
opportunities whilemitigating risk through
innovative interim executive leadership. Alan
Creutz acreutz_at_ceriusinterim.com 858-688-2258