CEO COACH AND TURNAROUND EXPERT WITH WALTER SIMSON | E047 PODCAST

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Walter Simson is a highly accomplished turnaround management expert with over 35 years of experience in guiding middle-market companies toward sustainable profitability and growth. As the founder and principal of Ventor Consulting, Walter specializes in helping CEOs of traditional industries identify their core products and customers, driving margin improvement and long-term success. Known for his strategic, collaborative approach, Walter avoids typical cost-cutting measures in favor of crafting targeted, efficient strategies that yield high-impact results.

Walter’s extensive career includes more than 40 successful turnaround engagements, encompassing bank workouts, Chapter 11 restructurings, performance improvement assignments, and executive leadership roles as both CEO and CFO in private equity-backed firms. With a unique background that combines hands-on management with deep financial expertise, Walter studied under bankruptcy pioneer Dr. Edward I. Altman at NYU’s Stern School of Business, where he earned his MBA. His early career began at Chase Bank, where he completed several international assignments, building a solid foundation in global finance.

Whether transforming struggling companies or advising on leadership and strategy, Walter’s mission is clear: to help businesses restore growth and profitability with proven methodologies and unwavering commitment. He also contributes thought leadership through columns for Inc. Magazine, sharing insights on leadership, business transformation, and turnaround strategies. Walter holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

Walter’s Website:
https://ventorconsulting.com/walter-simson/
Walter’s LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/waltersimson/

George Stroumboulis sits down with Walter Simson in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things business, CEO coaching, company turnarounds, management advice, profitability and so much more.

“identify the proper customer, put our resources into that, into something that was cash positive as opposed to something that wasn’t.”
— Walter Simson

MEDIA RELATED TO THE EPISODE

George Stroumboulis sits down with Walter Simson in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things business, CEO coaching, company turnarounds, management advice, profitability and so much more.

George Stroumboulis sits down with Walter Simson in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things business, CEO coaching, company turnarounds, management advice, profitability and so much more.

On the Invigorate Your Business Podcast, George Stroumboulis interviews Walter Simson in Newport Beach, California, diving into topics like business strategy, CEO coaching, management advice, company turnarounds, and boosting profitability.

In Newport Beach, California, George Stroumboulis sits down with Walter Simson on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to explore company turnarounds, CEO coaching, profitability strategies, management tips, and a variety of business topics.

George Stroumboulis hosts Walter Simson on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast from Newport Beach, California, for an engaging discussion about business, management advice, company turnarounds, profitability, and CEO coaching.

ABOUT THE “INVIGORATE YOUR BUSINESS” PODCAST

The Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis podcast features casual conversations and personal interviews with business leaders in their respective fields of expertise. Crossing several industry types and personal backgrounds, George sits down with inspiring people to discuss their business, how they got into that business, their path to the top of their game and the trials and tribulations experienced along the way. We want you to get inspired, motivated, and then apply any advice to your personal and professional lives. If there is at least one piece of advice that resonates with you after listening, then this podcast is a success. New episodes weekly. Stream our show on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, Amazon and all other platforms.

ABOUT GEORGE STROUMBOULIS

George Stroumboulis is an entrepreneur to the core, having launched several ventures across multiple industries and international markets. He has held senior-level positions at progressive companies and government institutions, both domestically and internationally, building an extensive portfolio of business know-how over the years and driving profit-generating results. George’s ability to drive real change has landed him in several media outlets, including the front page of the Wall Street Journal. George was born in Toronto, Canada to his Greek immigrant parents. Family first. Flying over 300,000 miles a year around the world puts into perspective how important family is to George’s mental and emotional development. With all this travel to global destinations, the longest he stays even in the most far-out destination is 3 days or less - a personal rule he lives by to make sure he is present and involved in family life with his wife and three daughters. To read about George’s global travels, stay connected with his blog section.

FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT

George Stroumboulis: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Invigorate your Business with George Stroumboulis. Today I sit down with Walter Simson. He is a company turnaround expert. Has helped over 50 companies in his career go from distressed into profitability. He is an expert in this arena. He's an executive coach and coaches CEOs to get to the path of profitability. He has also written several articles for Inc Magazine in the business space in various industries across the United States. So enjoy this episode starting now.

George Stroumboulis: 0:35

My name is George Stroumboulis and I'm extremely passionate about traveling the world, meeting new people and learning about new businesses. Join me as I sit down with other entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys. This episode of Invigorate your Business starts now, so we'll jump right into this. So I am sitting here with Walter Sim0son. He is when it comes to business, business consulting, executive leadership, turnaround of mid-sized companies. You are an expert. Tremendous experience over decades turning around over 50 companies to date. Like 5-0,. 50 companies to date. Based on your career, that's pretty impressive.

George Stroumboulis: 1:21

I had the pleasure several years ago meeting you on a flight from New York to California and we happen to be sitting in coach right Just economy plus coach shows the hustle, but I was working on a lighting presentation for a big client at the time and we're rubbing elbows literally, and you had seen something lighting and we just started talking. So, for the balance of the flight, you know, it's not too often that you sit next to someone who knows lighting or is interested in lighting and that's where we first met and ever since then, you know, just seeing what you're doing with the companies that you've been involved with you're active on LinkedIn, going back and reading your articles from Inc Magazine and just you know, the thought provoking dialogue that you create has been incredible and useful for me and it doesn't end now Like I obviously want to keep. You know, keep that conversation going. So I appreciate you sitting down with me today, walter.

Walter Simson: 2:14

Thank you for having me. This is an amazing opportunity.

George Stroumboulis: 2:16

Absolutely appreciate it. So talk to me. How do you describe your business and what you do?

Walter Simson: 2:21

So I call it turnaround management. It's not a popular term these days. People often don't want to be reminded that they need a turnaround, but it's the truth. Sometimes, if the bank calls and says they're not going to renew the loan, your investor has decided they're not going to invest. Cash flow is tight. People recognize that they have got to change things. They want someone they can rely on for advice or for a consultation. I get a call, sometimes referred by a bank, sometimes referred by their professional service providers their lawyer, their accountant and we have a personal relationship where we help the business.

George Stroumboulis: 3:01

Absolutely. So you do that now. You do it for midsize companies across all industries, right? You understand business, you understand the science of it, you understand all the details, the finances, everything. So you can apply that to any type of industry. But go, go back to your education. You know what you studied and what that career path was, cause you have a unique background.

Walter Simson: 3:23

So when I was was a young man, I became interested in languages and I was a big reader and I went to columbia and studied comparative literature. I studied french and russian literature in in the original languages and it was just an amazing opportunity to to to be able to study the great, the great books. But at the same time I you know, when you are in literature, sometimes getting involved in the minutiae of literary analysis is wearing. And so I said, yeah, I'm going to take a break. I've got some language ability, I'm going to take some time off and learn about business and see how the world works. I'll come back to literature. So I went to a bank training program and they gave me a language test beforehand and I went. I was at the Chase Manhattan Bank the training program in 1977.

Walter Simson: 4:11

In New York, in New York, yep, and the idea was that I would get some international business experience and use that as a way to get back into maybe the publishing industry or something where language and literature and writing was more central and it kind of took over. Chase was an amazing opportunity. I got to travel the world for them, met some amazing people and this was a day and a time when you know they used to give. There used to be training in this country. If you wanted to learn sales, you'd go to IBM or to Xerox, and if you wanted to learn retail, you'd go to Macy's. And if you wanted to learn sales, you'd go to IBM or to Xerox. And if you wanted to learn retail, you'd go to Macy's. And if you wanted to learn banking, you'd go to Chase, and the companies would teach people, and I benefited from that.

Walter Simson: 4:54

It was a tremendous opportunity, and after about five or six years I got a call from my father, who had a printing company and he, unfortunately, was going blind. He had a condition called retinitis pigmentosa and so his health was giving us some issues. And he said you know something's happening in this business. Could you take some time off and find out what's going on? And so I got into the turnaround business, I guess through DNA.

George Stroumboulis: 5:18

From that request coming in. Sure.

Walter Simson: 5:21

I'll help out.

George Stroumboulis: 5:22

You weren't involved in the business up until that point.

Walter Simson: 5:24

I didn't I? I didn't want to be, I thought I was going to be spending my time and traveling the world. Yeah, that for a while I was. I kind of cursed that. So you know, turn around. So to make a long story short printing company with a lot of issues.

Walter Simson: 5:39

Um, eventually that we turned this company around and I'll tell you, my first business course was probably my best business course at something called the Printing Industries of Metropolitan New York. It was the trade association gave cost accounting for printers. I realized that what we thought of being as profitable products we had mismeasured how we were operating the business. From this course on 8th Avenue in New York City and I learned that we've got to do some different costing. Knowing the cost gave us the power to say, hey, maybe we're not prospering as much from this product as we thought we were.

Walter Simson: 6:19

So I said, okay, if we want to prosper, to turn the company around, the company that's making a little less money pardon me, the product that's making a little less money has got to be de-emphasized. We'll emphasize the product that makes more. And it was a matter of because I spent a year looking at the P&L going. I've got to cut costs. How do we cut costs? You don't cut costs. So I just just this happy event. I took a printing industry course that taught me cost accounting. Go back to look at the books and records and go, wow, we'll prosper faster If we de-emphasize product A and emphasize product B.

George Stroumboulis: 6:56

So when your father asked you, was he open to saying, look, I'm going to have my father, my son's help, and he was on board for you coming back. He was.

Walter Simson: 7:09

But it's interesting. Without getting into too many of the details, family businesses are difficult and putting a new person into the business changed the family dynamics such that after about three years I realized I couldn't stay at that company and actually I went back to Chase. Chase asked me back and I didn't go back into the New York International Department. I said I wanted to do something with troubled companies and with middle market companies. That was fun, let's do it again. And so I worked for a while with middle market companies in the New York metropolitan area.

George Stroumboulis: 7:44

How would you define middle market companies for those you know?

Walter Simson: 7:47

everyone defines it differently. I think at the time we were talking $200 million to $1 billion in sales. Okay, and there, as a banker, I would look at a privately or publicly held company and say I'm going to project your capital needs for the next couple of years and go to talk to the CFO and they would say boy, no one's ever come to me, to you know, having done the projections before the first meeting. And it was only because I'd been there before and I said this is interesting, I want to work with you. And then again, through a happy circumstance, someone said I understand that you're interested in turnarounds. I'm interested in buying a company that needs a turnaround. Do you want to help out? Sure, what could possibly go wrong? Right, just married baby on the way, let's Risk it all, let's risk it all. So I went to work in a shoe company.

George Stroumboulis: 8:41

Okay.

Walter Simson: 8:43

On behalf of an investor in New York.

George Stroumboulis: 8:45

So they saw what you were doing, so you finished your schooling, nyu Stern. Yeah, nyu MBA Okay so NYU, columbia, right, like impressive, back to back. You go into the banking world financing, right. Your father says, hey, we need help in the family business. You go back, turn that around. You go back into banking, you start seeing this and then now you're being pulled from what people saw through your work?

Walter Simson: 9:10

Yeah, I guess I mean I was just talking to people about turnarounds. I was meeting as many people as I could to learn about how is business working. I was in my early 30s, okay, so it was still just talking to folks and people said, yeah, you've done something that not many people have done before. Take a company that wasn't making money, helped it make money. Do you want to do that again? Absolutely.

George Stroumboulis: 9:31

So you were required to step away from Chase at this point.

Walter Simson: 9:34

And I left Chase at this point and went to a shoe company that had some serious issues with its lenders and had a long history of lack of profitability, had a possibility of getting some new capital and it needed a plan. So that was the challenge. Okay, we're going to put a plan for this company. I remembered the lesson from working in the printing company, which is you are probably not going to get there by cutting expenses. It's really hard to look at a P&L and say this is where you have to cut. So the hypothesis was that the company has made a strategic decision that took them down the wrong path. So I asked a simple question what are your core products and who are your core customers? And the answer was well, we've developed this beautiful men's dress loafer very high end and we're selling it through the most prestigious retailers in the country. Fair enough, does it make money? Oh, yes, we think it makes a lot of money.

Walter Simson: 10:39

Well, on investigation, those products weren't making a lot of money and they didn't have the systems. The shoe company didn't have the systems in place to actually show them real time where they were making and losing money. They made an error. Okay, it was a measurement error. The measurement error permitted them to be selling a product that was not making money. That got them in trouble with the bank, got them in trouble with their shareholders, and we simply corrected the error. Heavens to Betsy, we're not making as much money as we thought. As a matter of fact, this product is cashflow negative. Is there anything else we could do? The answer was yes. The company had previously done a military dress shoe. For people who know shoes, it was considered an ugly shoe. Okay, it was very unappealing to the people who had changed the company around. They wanted a beautiful men's dress loafer. This shoe was making a 50% gross margin, selling to the US government.

George Stroumboulis: 11:32

And they walked away from that.

Walter Simson: 11:33

They walked away from it. Guess what? You misidentified your core product. The core product is a military dress shoe. That's cash flow positive and that turnaround didn't take very long because it was a strategic error. It wasn't cost cutting.

George Stroumboulis: 11:45

So what's the turnaround from the time they engage you? Is that a 12-month turnaround, 18-month?

Walter Simson: 11:50

Probably less, because we didn't have the 18 months. The banks were mad at us. Investors weren't putting in more money. The plan was we're going to take our cash, put it into a men's dress shoe, get the return from that, invest in more excuse me, a military shoe, invest in more military shoes. So it had to be within four or five months. Okay, that would be identify the proper product, identify the proper customer, put our resources into that, into something that was cash positive as opposed to something that wasn't.

George Stroumboulis: 12:20

So this is exciting me because now over 50 companies that you've helped turn around, right, we're talking about the first, second, printing, and then the shoe company. So right early on in your career, just talk to me when you get asked to go there and you physically are now working for the shoe company, what are the dynamics Like? Do you have carte blanche to to do whatever you need to to turn around the company? Who are you working with? Who's making the final shots? Like, how does that work? Just those dynamics, because then you came from the safety or the comfort of, okay, this is a family business, I can help. I did help. Now you're going here. You know what I mean. Like that evolution, what does that look like?

Walter Simson: 12:59

Yeah. So for most companies I go as the turnaround manager. I have a boss. I think the idea is to first show a plan. That's rational. So in very few times do I go and say I have complete carte blanche.

Walter Simson: 13:19

In some bankruptcy situations or receiverships there's no one else looking at you. But even in bankruptcy you have a plan, you have a committee, there are people who are watching you. So you have to have a measure of humility. So the first thing I do is to say let's have a plan. Ask questions, talk to everybody, make sure that you have all of the knowledge of the company at least available to you.

Walter Simson: 13:40

And I try to study the company to say what does the CEO know? What are the relationships, what are the strategies, what is the product development profile? What is he hoping to do? And the CFO? What are the costs, what are the procedures, what are the issues that he or she sees? Put them all together and say what must we do to turn the company around? For me it's a simple hypothesis. We have to find a core product and sell it to core customers, meaning cash profitability today, because a turnaround, by definition, is a short-term strategy. There's no long-term capital. We can't say I'm going to be investing in this and have a robo-taxi or have something that's very, very long-term development. Your capital is constrained. The strategy's got to be short-term.

George Stroumboulis: 14:28

So you're called in when companies are truly distressed.

Walter Simson: 14:37

Very often, very often, it doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be, but very often it doesn't bother me that the bank is mad at you. The bank said, listen, I'm not going to renew the line. That's a moment of truth, right, absolutely. Bank says I'm not going to renew the line. That means you may have run out of cash.

Walter Simson: 14:51

Someone with some expertise in cash management and the financial side of things, as well as the strategy, that's when it makes sense to call these people. When I was starting, there was something called the Turnaround Management Association. It didn't exist yet. Turnaround Management Association is probably 1989. And I was talking to people about doing this in the mid-1980s. It was at the time. Believe it or not. It was actually very easy to get customers. You have expertise in this In New York City, the capital of banking and finance. I called on the then emerging LBO companies and then emerging foreign banks and the workout departments of some of the New York banks. Yeah, we could use some help. Now it's been professionalized. There are people in companies, large and small, doing this all over the place.

George Stroumboulis: 15:37

But are banks lending as much as they were back then? Oh there.

Walter Simson: 15:41

I Probably not, but it's a different world there too.

George Stroumboulis: 15:46

Right, yeah, that's a whole separate it's a.

Walter Simson: 15:49

It's a different world, but so the idea was boy, there were two or three banks in the shoe company and they said that worked out well. I'd like to. I'd like to keep you in my Rolodex. A couple of people on the board of directors said thank you for helping. You know, I have an idea for you. I'd like to introduce you to another bank, and it was simply a matter of doing good work, making friends and seeing if there's someone else who could help.

Walter Simson: 16:13

And I did this as a fee for service. Sometimes people say, hey, I'll give you X percent of the company if you help me turn it around. Sure, at what strike price? And the funny thing is, if someone says I'll give you a piece of the company, you have to negotiate the price. And that's a hard discussion. Say, gee, I don't think your company is worth very much, I would need half of it. And then says, gee, I thought you were going to be my friend and now I'm insulted. So the by and fee for service Go in. Help the company, not a long-term relationship. A long-term relationship not a long-term engagement. Some of the people I've worked with I'm on second generation, helping the second generation in their companies.

George Stroumboulis: 16:59

Just a totally different company.

Walter Simson: 17:01

They say boy, I remember what you did for our family. I could use some help in figuring out a question now and for you the relationship was long-term, but the engagement lasted three, four, five months.

George Stroumboulis: 17:14

Right, and for you it doesn't matter what the industry or the product or the service is. Is there one industry where you're more comfortable in, or for you it's just okay? This is a new industry, industry.

Walter Simson: 17:23

let me just figure out certain dynamics and then the rest is your methodologies just applied and you can help yeah, I would like to say so in, but, in all humility, I have not worked a lot in in very, very high technology. If you have something that needs a lot more capital to become successful and I'm asking questions about what's your core product and who are your core customers it may not be the right question for that industry. Gotcha Right You're, you're developing something that doesn't have a customer yet and doesn't have a. It's not a product yet or is getting there Now. I'm helping some companies, some friends, with that business model canvas and going through the discussion about what will the company look like. But that's more kind of for fun. Sure, I haven't worked with a whole lot in real estate.

Walter Simson: 18:08

Yeah, again, the questions and the decisions I like to make are short-term and operating and sometimes those are capital deployment and sales-related, where the decision outside of the four walls of the company is probably not going to be best for me. The decision outside of the four walls of the company Probably not going to be best for me. I like manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality, dealerships, current operations. There might be a measure of complexity, there might be some family dynamics, there may be some skill gaps that need to be applied, companies that you know, there might be a few thousand of them in the country. They're not not. They haven't yet gone public. Those are the kind of companies I like.

George Stroumboulis: 18:50

Absolutely Well, even before. We've chatted several times over lunch and, you know, even in Athens and here and I always feel like I'm learning right just from my own business, selfishly talking to you and your wealth of experience but when you're brought on by a company, do you set up certain metrics Like how does that actually work? If they're bringing you on, are there metrics and goals that they want to hit? And then there's a timeline and then you go Like, what of all the 40 companies you worked with? I'm sure you have this formula that you deploy, sure?

Walter Simson: 19:23

And every company has had a different contract. But by and large, the idea is we feel that we're stuck, we need to get out of this. We need a plan and, by and large, I'll talk to the company for a day or two, maybe travel there, visit with them before we do anything formally and say look, I think we can have a plan in six or eight weeks. And the plan is let's identify the steps that have to be taken, let's identify some of the critical issues, put them into recommendations for what we're going to do and show in a financial format what that will do to your cashflow. I could promise a plan what that will do to your cash flow. I could promise a plan. How effective the plan is is going to depend on who's putting it in place.

George Stroumboulis: 20:13

So, when you have a plan ready, what are the biggest barriers that you face on seeing a plan through proper execution where you're happy with everything?

Walter Simson: 20:22

Well, I guess every company is different. So let's say I'll use an example. Well, the shoe company we talked about earlier. The plan was we're going to reverse the strategy to enter one market and revert back to another. Now there were people who were very unhappy with that because some of the employees and some of the owners had placed a great deal of prestige and time to move that strategy forward. My job was simply to say this is the truth. As I see it, it's not providing the cash flow you need. And so we brought it to the stakeholders in the company a board of directors we made a presentation to the bank and said if we do this, cash flow will improve. At that point that's when people say, yeah, we'd like to go forward. Often it takes, you know, you have to do 98% of the work to find out if you're going to be, if you're going to cash flow.

George Stroumboulis: 21:27

Right, absolutely.

Walter Simson: 21:28

So it's. So. What are the barriers? Often it's psychological. When I was working with my father, I came up with the plan that said this product is making less money than this product. Actually, it's losing money. We have to emphasize this. And you know what? He was angry. Why he was angry? Why he put a lot of time and effort to develop it and it was upsetting to him that something that he had put so much hope in and where customers were currently buying it. He said gee, what do I tell the customers? Fine, we'll continue to support customers in this way, but we've got to negotiate it so that cash flow comes to us as well as to them. So changing strategy in a company is an emotional as well as a rational decision, and I try to be respectful of that. I learned the hard way when you work for a family.

George Stroumboulis: 22:19

Well, yeah, and the family business. Well, talking about family, you said it became difficult personally with family. Why? Because dinner table was never just. How was your day? Because business comes home. I'm speaking from experience, like growing up in a family business. There's no line on what's business, what's family time. Was that similar?

Walter Simson: 22:38

Yeah, I did not know at the time that, not to say, you always do that, right, I was speaking in emotional terms about a business context. Or my father would say why are you doing this when you? So we brought in a personal style of communication to a business discussion and there were other members of the family involved, and so the emotions started to run hot, even as we were successful, right, right. So what I've learned over the years is to try to be dispassionate about it and to not speak in personal terms and when, when there are family members involved in a in a business, to try to encourage them to do the same. Let's talk about business in business terms and we'll leave some of the personal relationships outside of it.

George Stroumboulis: 23:28

Right, yeah, and it's a challenge. I want to talk about truth, telling the truth in business, versus people say you know you got to do whatever it takes to succeed. There's that school of thought of you know, step on whoever's neck, you need to get to the top. And then there's the other side of be a good person, good guy, good woman in business or nice guys, finish last there's. There's all these narratives. We had a conversation before we started recording just about telling the truth, right, and I recently went through a shift in my company's business model and having those tough conversations with partners that we've had and just being truthful on what we're trying to do. You gave me some encouragement just on feedback, but just talk to me how important is it to be truthful in your business dealings across the board?

Walter Simson: 24:09

Well, sure so let's talk about it first in a turnaround context. So let's say you have a plan, someone has presented you with a plan, and it says that you have two warehouses and one is not making money and there's no capital available and we've got to promote the business. One warehouse should be closed, move some of the material over to another warehouse, sell out of the profitable warehouse and move forward. I said, boy, that's a difficult conversation. That's a difficult moment. It's emotionally wrenching when I put so much into it and think of the people who are in the warehouse. I said fine, it is all of that. It is a difficult conversation.

Walter Simson: 24:53

It has the ultimate benefit, though, of being the truth. If it's not currently making money and you don't have the capital resources in your back pocket to provide it not you, george, but you anyone. We don't have the capital resources in your back pocket to provide it. Not you, george, but you, anyone. We don't have the resources and we've got to go to our short-term strategy. The short-term strategy is we've got to save the business. It is not a character flaw to want to save a business, so let's save the business. And when you have a difficult discussion, you comfort yourself by saying I'm having a discussion with someone who's losing their job, and it's a horrible time, but I'm simply telling the truth, as I see it, what we're going to do with this business going forward. Telling the truth gives you great power and, by the way, people who lie, I think, often get tripped up because they can't keep all of the. So I try to think about what are the facts in the business, and there's not enough brain space to lie. It's so true.

George Stroumboulis: 25:49

Even in personal life right.

Walter Simson: 25:51

So what I say is I have analytical capabilities that some people don't because I've seen. So what I say is I have analytical capabilities that some people don't because I've seen. I learned this from making all the mistakes. I'll give you the analysis. I will show you what I've understood from my perspective. This is the truth, and that's something that we use as the bedrock to make a decision. And then you can then say to the people who are being affected this is the only way I know to save the business. It's painful, but at least it has the advantage of being the truth, yeah, yeah, and you don't.

George Stroumboulis: 26:20

It's just lies. I feel like even having this discussion is crazy, but lying is the worst thing possible of just trying to keep up with lies, right, and what you said and everything. So yeah, I went through this period of just truth and you know, I wake up every day now. Since that time I'm like I have nothing to hide, I've been truthful with the people that matter and we just carry on and do our business. You know it's. It's been a refreshing you. I just try to put myself in your shoes. On for 50 plus turnaround turnaround in 35, 40 years in this career.

Walter Simson: 26:52

Yeah, yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 26:53

Yeah, do the math. But like going into a company now and being responsible for a turnaround, that can't be easy. Like just the challenge of going in culturally right, just trying to figure out even the culture you know, you have the analytics, you got to figure out the culture, you got to see where they want to go Just kind of resetting that you're averaging at least one plus a year turnaround, that just seems insane, right, just being able to go and do that. How has it become easier?

Walter Simson: 27:22

Yeah, I guess it has become easier. Okay, so I think I told you my the first company was a printing company and I stared at the P&L every day for an hour a day, saying there's gotta be an expense here I can cut. And then I came to an understanding, say maybe I'm not cutting expenses, maybe it's just figuring out. Where do I prosper faster? Is there a customer? If I sold to that customer more than another customer, I would prosper faster. Maybe there's a product where I'd prosper faster. And it took me to a cost accounting course. Let's figure out where we're making and losing money. When you figure out where you're making and losing money, then your first job is let's stop losing money, right, right. So now, in the turnaround space, very, very often I'm simply an advisor to the CEO. So I'm going to come in. I'll be there three days a week for X number of days. I'm going to talk to as many people as I can. I'm going to look at as many of the figures as I can. I'm going to try to read every contract you've got in the company and put it on a financial forecast that makes sense to all of us and dilute it down, excuse me, distill it down to. If this is what we understand here's how things are going and get agreement on that. The role isn't one where I have ultimate power. The role is simply one of trying to come in, understand, explain and get common ground in a language that the CEO understands, the CFO, the bank, your capital suppliers. So that's called the plan. There are three things we're going to need here. We're going to need the plan, and that's the first thing.

Walter Simson: 29:01

I deliver and put it in words or figures that everyone can understand and there's no particular power there. If I'm wrong, someone will tell me right. So you try to validate all of your conclusions and not put something on something that will embarrass yourself. But also, I always advise talk to everyone in the company. The people on the loading dock may know something about how the company operates that no one else knows. You want to know that. So I try to interview everyone in the company, understand where the company is going and very often when we come up with the plan, say we're going to emphasize product X and de-emphasize product Y, the guy in the loading guy goes. I told him to do that. I've been saying that for 10 years Because very often the knowledge in the company about what works and what doesn't work is there already and the way things work. We don't always see it or we don't recognize the expertise in the company. I try to recognize the expertise in the company.

George Stroumboulis: 30:05

That's incredible, Right down to that level, which ties into a conversation on just leadership style, right? Just, you work with CEOs. You've been a CEO multiple times. You work to help them achieve their goals. You know what makes a good CEO and what are some traits or things that some CEOs do that do not make for a good CEO.

Walter Simson: 30:25

I think there are probably as many good CEOs as there are, as there are people. From my perspective, I think misusing the word strategy is a sin. Misusing the word strategy is a sin. So strategy is when you take something rational and you effectuate a plan using your team. Using the word strategy to say I have a dream for something that really has no plans behind it, then you're making wild bets, using someone else's capital to get to a place where there's really no strong foundation.

Walter Simson: 30:58

Now, by and large, I think that kind of CEO doesn't last very long. But in family companies or private companies or a place where maybe the power dynamics are not well understood, that can go on. To me, I don't know. Ceos are good listeners, they're good salespeople. They understand the numbers, they understand how to work a team and make their employees more valuable over time. That's ideal. They're respectful, do we see that? But bringing in the business? The owners might say, well, it's not my style, but we overlook that. It's not something I admire, but they're bringing in the dollars. When that stops working, that kind of CEO fails quickly because they don't have the team and they don't have the plans. Right, right, yep, because your turnaround is going to need three things. It needs that plan. It have the team and they don't have the plans. Right, right, yep, because your turnaround is going to need three things. It needs that plan, it needs the team and it needs the financing. If you don't have all of that, the team isn't willing to work for you.

George Stroumboulis: 32:05

You're not going to have a turnaround Plan, team financing those are the three elements. Those are the three.

Walter Simson: 32:10

You can't do it without it.

George Stroumboulis: 32:12

And with the plan, I know you said, hey, six to eight weeks, I'm going to pull together a plan. Part of those six to eight weeks is that, typically you talking to the guy that's on the loading dock, talking to the C-level, talking to middle managers?

Walter Simson: 32:24

Sure, so what I like to do is I'll give a list of documents that I'd like to read and financial reports I'd like to read before even coming on site. The list is probably two pages long, so I'd like to read the contracts. I'd like to see the marketing material. I'd like all the financial reports. I'd like to see what are the assets, what are the liabilities. So I understand everything.

Walter Simson: 32:46

The CFO understands, asks their questions about, at least on a preliminary basis, what do you think are your core products and your core customers? Then get on site and talk to people and say how's it working, how does it go? What core customers? Then get on site and talk to people and say how's it working, how does it go? What are the procedures? How do we work together? What are the customers saying?

Walter Simson: 33:05

Now I've got kind of the view from people on the ground, and that's the time when you set the hypothesis. Hypothesis is I haven't worked here very long. I've talked to people about what would you like to do to make it better and they've given me some ideas. Let's test them against what we know about the financials and what the customers and etc. And the plan comes from either the ideas of the folks or saying, listen, we've got to find a core product, we've got to find a core customer. That's usually hypothesis one that that's, it's in here somewhere, right, right, it's in here somewhere, and that's that. We can prove or disprove that, usually in a matter of weeks so you get through that phase and then it's now you've identified.

Walter Simson: 33:46

you've identified something that that's can sustain a business. May not be the same size business you have today, may not be the the same, you may be taking the business back to where it was a few years earlier or you may have to abandon an expansion project, but at least you've identified something that's a sustainable business. Now the plan is but I'm putting some steps on a piece of paper and seeing if the owner board on a piece of paper and seeing if the owner board managers will support it. And that's the psychological part, because often there are impediments to that. Gee, we have to change the dream.

George Stroumboulis: 34:28

Yeah, we're going to change the dream, it's hard, it's very hard, it's hard being a business owner myself. There was a statement before you had mentioned about doing dental work on yourself. Right, if you were to just elaborate on that, because it's you run your own business, you're making some money. Some years you're not. You think you're doing a great job and you don't want to hear outside. It's not criticism, it's advice, it's insight, but it's so needed, it's so much needed Like I'm in the stage right now where I'm dying for that outside validation and encouragement in addition to strategy reinforcement.

Walter Simson: 35:03

Yeah, yeah. So we all have blind spots. We all have blind spots, and so one of the things I might do if I go into a company and say, gee, let's start to have routine reports where we're looking, what are our top 50 customers doing in terms of sales? Let's look at costing models. Let's make sure that our costs are in line from where they were before. Let's make sure that we're having a staff meeting once a week and making sure that everyone has plans to improve their business. Let's make sure we have procedures.

Walter Simson: 35:32

Now someone is going to learn from that, Even before we've improved the business. Just to say there's a level of rigor in what's going on here. And so, short term, but we've got something that we're changing behaviors, changing expectation about who you're talking to and how you're making decisions. And then, when it comes to making tough decisions, they can be tough decisions. You can be delayed in your own mind. So having someone from the outside saying you know, we do have a bank meeting in eight weeks we promised that when we do something I think it's time to address some serious concerns here.

Walter Simson: 36:12

And you gently bring people through that, and what you're referring to is, I said, a turnaround is something you can do it yourself, right, you can. You can identify the plan, you can identify the team, you can secure the financing. But it's a little bit like doing dentistry on yourself. It's painful and someone's got to hold the mirror and very often what I'm doing is holding the mirror right. The expertise is in the company. I'm simply there to help bring the facts as I see them to your attention. You're the owner, I'm not. Let's make some decisions together. I suggest we go to say that we can turn the company around in one year and you say, no, let's put together a plan that says six months. Okay, you're going to be here, let's make sure that the plan has credibility and that you understand what you're signing up for. Sure, ultimately, I'm really an advisor. So the turnaround and, by the way, when I say, in all humility, 50 turnarounds, 50 partnerships in turning around a company, that's probably a better way to put it 50 partnerships.

George Stroumboulis: 37:20

It has to be a partnership it has to be a partnership.

Walter Simson: 37:23

I mean again, there are times when I've gone in on behalf of the court. They say go fix this. There's no one left in senior management. Reconstitute the team. But by and large, the joy of it is to go into a company and say you've got a great thing here, let's see what we can do to make it better. And I'm convincing the owners, the managers, the family at the same time as we're convincing the bank. And it's not my effort alone. It's a little bit like if you've ever had someone have a terrible disease and you see a specialist and the specialist says I think I know how to help you and you get through that terrible disease. You remember that that expert, that that person, with a certain respect and a certain fondness. They helped us at that time. Right, that's what that's what I'd like to be is you know, that was that chapter. This fellow came in, helped us during the chapter, absolutely.

George Stroumboulis: 38:17

Are there any situations where you've gone in and said there's nothing I could do to help this, this situation, whatever they're in?

Walter Simson: 38:27

I try not to be engaged in a company. I feel bad if I were taking money as a professional and saying I can't help. In the last several months I had someone call and say the owner has been indicted, he is still the CEO, he'd like some help. The banks are very angry. They're very concerned. They're not only suing him but a US attorney is involved and I said you know there is probably so much litigation and so much risk that rather than even rather than trying and failing, I'm probably not the guy for you. Tell me, give the bad news up front, right.

George Stroumboulis: 39:06

You're not just looking for a paycheck. You're assigning your name, your reputation, everything's assigned to this Life is too short.

Walter Simson: 39:11

So so that's, that was a true story. I mean so that was a true story. I mean I talked to the CEO several times about what someone is writing attestations to a bank. They say to the bank I have assets of this and this account. Or here's my borrowing base report. A borrowing base report shows that you've got assets and liabilities of a certain character and the bank is continuing to lend based on that. And they say oh, I just add a little extra here, because they've never caught me, not the exact words that you use, but someone might say something like they're too stupid to know otherwise. You know what? This isn't for me. Yep, this isn't for me, so I will refuse. I'll refuse if I don't have the expertise. Again, by and large, real estate is not something I've said. There are people who specialize in real estate. They remarketed, or engineers that come in and fix a real estate company Let me see if I can find someone who can help you Right or if there's obvious criminality or obvious psychological desperation. So maybe it's not for me.

George Stroumboulis: 40:37

Easier to step away, yeah.

Walter Simson: 40:38

Right, if I can't help it, it's not going to help anybody to start. Yeah, yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 40:46

For the listener to really understand, we're talking 50 plus companies. That's not a small pool of, like hey, five companies I've turned around, which, again, any company you've been able to turn around 50 is a large enough pool to be able to pull a tremendous amount of data, information, experiences over the years Of these 50 plus companies. Is it safe to say at some point they were a healthy, thriving business? Oh sure, before you got involved, oh, yeah, okay. So yes, at some point they were thriving, healthy and at some point they came into distress. They needed help, they needed to turn it around. So I'm asking this on like what's a common theme that you think these companies went from thriving at some point to turning around? Not talking about market conditions, I understand, like there's depressions and recessions and all this stuff, but internally, what's the common theme that you see on why this company lost focus?

Walter Simson: 41:39

So I think there are three types of errors companies make. We talked about one, a strategy error. I had a beautiful business and I went into another one. The shoe company went into the wrong kind of shoe. You can buy a company and say, oh, I'm going to buy a new business and it's not working out. That's a strategy error where you've essentially made a bet that the company can go into a new direction and it doesn't work out. And then we talked about the printing company. I think I'm selling dollar bills for $1.25. And you do the cost accounting and you say, oh heavens to Betsy, you're selling dollar bills for $0.80. And you're putting $0.30 per dollar bill on promotion. You're spending advertising money to lose money. That's a measurement error Very, very common, especially in companies that make things.

Walter Simson: 42:36

If you are in the injection molding business or printing or metal bending or soft goods or furniture and you're doing something custom, it's very easy to have a machine that you think costs a dollar to run and it costs three, right, so it's very, very common. Also, if you are in the custom manufacturing business of any kind, you're a landscaper, you're a construction company and you're putting together something that's custom manufacturing and you're not checking your estimate to your actual. You were thriving yesterday, but if this job, you know, if you're in the job business, every job's got to be profitable, otherwise you're going to be a turnaround company. Right, got to be profitable, otherwise you're going to be a turnaround company. So construction companies who lose focus on their costs or a project goes bad, many companies are one project away from needing some help.

Walter Simson: 43:27

Absolutely so very, very common. The project manager left, supplier changed the cost, scope creep or scope changed and, holy crap, I went from being a 15% positive to 5% negative and I didn't know it right. But there's a company that needs some help and it's not going to be an easy. It's not an easy fix. You don't just say what do you say when you're to that? That's where there's some education, there's some processes, some systems.

Walter Simson: 44:01

And then the third is execution. You've got a company that it's in the right business, it's measuring things properly and the customer service department, for whatever reason, for example, puts down the wrong address. You're picking the wrong distribution center and you down the wrong address. You're picking the wrong. You're a distribution center and you pick the wrong product and it goes to the wrong address and it's not the right date. You executed poorly and you're losing money on that.

Walter Simson: 44:27

It's very hard to say that's my core product when you make so many mistakes and it costs you points in margin. So how can a company be a turnaround? Typically those three reasons. It's a strategy error, a measurement error, execution errors, and I'm attuned to those kinds of things. Again, if I go into a company, if I go into my house and there's a box there and the morning I go in I say what's this box doing here? And it's new. But after six weeks if the box is there, that's just a box, it's always been there.

Walter Simson: 45:02

If you're in a company and things have changed, it only takes six weeks to make it feel normal. You need a new set of eyes to say what's that doing here? So that's where the partnership comes in the new set of eyes. I come in with a hypothesis about how we're going to make improved margins and you've got industry expertise. We're trying to make it a partnership. I think I've learned just in this conversation if I say that I turned around 50 companies, I used to have a friend in the business. He says if you use I too much, I'm going to take you to the eye doctor. That's we. So let's say we turned around 50 businesses, right? So that's because we have to have a measure of humility, and often you know it's humility to go back and say let's check the basic principles here.

George Stroumboulis: 45:50

Yeah, that's great insight, by the way, like that's just, that's great to hear, because even good companies, when you're busy and you're making sales and you're paying your bills and you're putting money in the bank, sure there's inefficiencies, but you're making sales, cures everything, so you don't spot a lot of this. It's when those hey, we lost our major account, there's a downturn in the economy, we lost the key employee on the team. That's when you start seeing it.

Walter Simson: 46:22

And I've gone through these cycles in my own company and it's just being able to talk to professionals like you. Right, listen, we mentioned that we met in a plane and we've probably now we've met five or six times from a conversation on a plane. I'll tell you a story. There was a time when a plane spoke to a man and he said I'm in a restaurant, especially the restaurant industry. Oh really, tell me about the restaurant. He says oh, we're setting up new locations as fast as we can. Huh, what kind of financial infrastructure do you have? He goes financial infrastructure, I'm making money too fast to even care. I said oh well, say I.

Walter Simson: 46:50

In my experience, even high growth companies, high profit companies, need the financial infrastructure to know where are you making or losing money. Two years later he called me and he said the bank is so mad at me because we've lost money and I've got 15, 20 locations. And for me it was just like can you help me figure this out? Wow, right, very successful company without some infrastructure. And so there was kind of an education process about what kind of professionals do you need? What do you do to make a fabulous, successful company sustainable? Right, right.

George Stroumboulis: 47:27

Yeah, exactly, and I know that firsthand because I'm experiencing it. So would you say, you as Walter, are you more of an introvert or an extrovert? Hmm, it's funny and we're going to tie into leadership before you answer like just what types of leaders.

Walter Simson: 47:43

Yeah, so so I think I'm an introvert, except when I'm talking about something I'm excited about Gotcha, right, yeah. So I like talking about companies and helping things. So this is a conversation I could have for a long time, right, if we were to talk about, about, you know, different topics. I talk about different topics. I might be more in the background.

George Stroumboulis: 48:04

Yep, so we talked about CEOs. What makes a good CEO versus a poor CEO or not as strong? How important is leadership in general? It doesn't have to be in the C level, but throughout an organization. Again, from your experience with all these companies you work with. What makes a good leader?

Walter Simson: 48:21

Boy. So yeah, I mean, I think any company needs someone who's attentive to the top line. Let me put it this way If you put together a budget, I call a budget a promise that we'd like to keep to ourselves, a promise we're making. Are we keeping our promises? So a good CEO keeps promises. Are we achieving our top line? Do we have the processes in place so that it's repeatable? Because a good CEO never blames people. We blame process, not people. If you don't have the process in place, you're going to find someone to put into the box and yell at. I don't think good CEOs yell at people. Let's find process errors and fix them.

Walter Simson: 49:08

Are you developing your people? Are your people richer at the end of the year from experience and from the confidence that you've given them? Are you helping to develop them? Because if you're not, they're going to be poor at the end of the year and so will you. So those are the kinds of things that come to mind. For me is it's making sure you know your numbers and making sure you've got the developing people, or we've used the word team. It's the team there ready to help you Absolutely. Are you supporting them? You know there was a there's a while. A lot of times, people talked about a servant leadership where the higher you come into their organization, the more you want to help people to do their jobs. I think there's something to that. I think there's something to that yeah right, absolutely and it's the, the blaming.

George Stroumboulis: 49:59

There's always going to be mistakes. How you handle it. That's when you, when you see true leadership as a company as well. Let me ask you someone who wants to get into the space and deal with turnaround and help companies obviously with all those companies under your belt, working with people to make it happen. What about the younger person who's just starting a career in this? What advice would you give Walter 35 plus years ago?

Walter Simson: 50:26

knowing this was a career that you would pursue. Yeah, so I mean, you've always got to invest in yourself. So being a good consultant means also being a good coach. A good consultant knows the data. A good coach knows how to talk to people to affect change. And we all come into our careers with the skills that orient us towards one or the other, and one thing you might do is say which one am I better at. Let me shore up the other side, of course.

Walter Simson: 50:51

We talked about training earlier, where in the old days, someone would spend a year training you. Today that's not as prevalent, but there are turnaround companies, some of whom are large multinational organizations. They will take you in and put you in the right spot and allow you to be the analyst on a case, to see how things work and to begin to understand the turnaround process how to talk to clients, how to talk to your colleagues, how does business work? Absolutely. So there are a lot of opportunities now in the performance improvement field. Turnaround is not a very common word anymore. Performance improvement is the consulting style that we use. Performance improvement is going into a company and helping them get to a different level of economic achievement.

George Stroumboulis: 51:40

Gotcha Right, so you've been amazing with the time as well. I would love to talk about one of the final segments of just being a digital columnist for Inc Magazine. Don't want to poo-poo Inc Magazine, obviously big publication it's known for, about business oriented right, Becoming a better leader, becoming a better employee, everything just advice. And then you've transitioned now onto LinkedIn as well. But how did you even become a columnist for Inc Magazine and how did that start?

Walter Simson: 52:08

So I think I told you that. So I was interested in writing and publishing and I thought I'd go back to it. And there came a point where I said, boy, it's not happening very easily. So I started writing for Madison Magazine in Madison Wisconsin and then In Business Magazine in Madison Wisconsin. I happened to be working at a turnaround company there and I really enjoyed the opportunity to write 750 words about business, business and life and the executive life in general.

Walter Simson: 52:39

And when we moved from Madison I just found that there was a gap there and some of the folks at Inc were very nice and I said, gee, what does it take to do something here? They said, boy, you're obviously interested, let's try a couple of things. And so I probably wrote we don't call them columns. I think I probably wrote 40 posts, something like that, about business and the great thing was it was a wonderful publication. The bad thing was that I think I and my mother clicked on them. So I was realizing that I was putting a lot of effort into it and but it wasn't, it wasn't necessarily my audience right and now you know I'm, I'm coming to the age where am I going to be partnering with more companies to turn them around?

Walter Simson: 53:32

I don't know, it was a. It was an intense effort traveling around the country, around the world, right, working side by side with companies. Now I'm interested in helping the advisors, the people who are going to come up and do it next. I'm very interested in helping them do that. It'll be a little bit easier on my frequent flyers. It'll help them and I figured the way to do that is in a business environment LinkedIn and I'll write some things about how to improve the business. And who's been interested in it? Not the manufacturers, distributors, restaurant owners, the analysts or the consultants who want to come up. They say, well, that was interesting, I am interested in doing this myself, or I've got a case. Do you mind talking about it? And I've been very, very happy to have that kind of relationship with the consulting community and it seems to fit where LinkedIn has a lot of aspiring people in it, in the advisory space. It's been a perfect audience for me.

George Stroumboulis: 54:30

Well and it's truly engaging. Linkedin in general it still seems like it's not as tapped in as some of the other social networks, like this social network with a purpose, but you see instantly how close you are to decision makers, so I love seeing your post. Even Inc just being able to say you were writing posts for them. That's a big deal. They don't just let anyone do that. Do you have a book in your head?

Walter Simson: 54:54

that you want to get. Oh, I have a meeting this afternoon with my editor.

George Stroumboulis: 54:59

Okay, great, so can you talk about it?

Walter Simson: 55:02

Sure. So I've written a book and the question is now is it going to be self-published or traditional published? And I'm thinking self-published because it's quicker. Yeah, and it's going to be oriented towards people who want to help companies. Okay, People who want to help companies.

George Stroumboulis: 55:21

So I am not the audience. It's people who want to help companies. Okay, people who want to help companies. So I am not the audience. It's people who want to.

Walter Simson: 55:24

You may be, because you are obviously interested in business and the title of your podcast is Invigorate your Business. Right, you've got an intense interest in helping companies, but some company owners may not have the introspection or the passion for something else. So you, I think, would probably like it, but others may not. At some point I get into some of the technicalities there's got to be some discussion of cost accounting. That is not the formula for a bestseller if you're selling to a general audience, but if you are very, very interested in helping companies get to the next level, it's a natural discussion point and so it's going to be for an audience of advisors.

George Stroumboulis: 56:04

Yeah, that's exciting. I mean all the stuff you've written over the years and the experience. A book or a series of books? I don't think one book will do justice on what you think There'll be a cost accounting intensive Right? And when would you think so? What's the deciding factor of self-publish versus going through a publisher, and when would you think so? What's the?

Walter Simson: 56:21

deciding factor of self-publish versus going through a publisher. So you know the publishing world right now is it's probably not the best business model. Here's what publishing says. George, you have a podcast and you want to write a book. How many people do you have in your podcast? Hmm, I would rather that it be 10,000 more than you have watching every week. When you get to that level of audience, we'll publish your book, we'll take the profits. But you better build up that audience first. And I'm at that point where they're saying, hmm, how big is the audience? And my question is if I'm building up an audience in the meantime, do I go to a traditional publisher and work that audience together, or do I do it myself?

George Stroumboulis: 57:04

And it's a natural discussion. A discussion. A friend of mine in Toronto, fotini. She's a negotiations expert. She went with a publisher for her own book Say Less, get More Shout out to her and she was explaining to me on. You know, for her next one it's 100% going to be self-publishing, even though she had a great experience and how the cash advance. I know nothing about that world but it was interesting to hear it from her perspective, so that's exciting.

Walter Simson: 57:29

So cash advance means nothing to me. I simply want to get the right audience. I simply want to get the right audience and, just as I've partnered with companies to help them turn around, now partnering with advisors to get them to the next level in their career or to give some, that's the goal.

George Stroumboulis: 57:51

Absolutely Well. Are you thinking 2026 for the book to come out, or?

Walter Simson: 57:55

I think I'm hoping 2025. 2026 would be traditional publishing. They talk 18 months, 24 months out, Right.

George Stroumboulis: 58:06

Let's see if we can do something a little faster. That's amazing.

Walter Simson: 58:08

Amazing.

George Stroumboulis: 58:09

Finally, talk to me about chat GBT. Is that affecting your world at all? You're seeing a lot of right. You write, you put your intellect, you put everything into what you write and then you have this tool that people are just pumping out a bunch of information. Some of it's garbage. There's no person behind it. What are your thoughts in general as a tool?

Walter Simson: 58:29

So I have a friend who has tried. He's taken my ink columns, put them into a chat GPT filter and said can I make an article that? Can I do business, articles that are like Walter? And my answer is no, right. So for me there's a joy in writing that I don't want to give up. So I have to confess I've never used ChatGPT to produce anything on the page. The people who use ChatGPT best tell me that you use it the way you would use a smart intern. Help me to order my thoughts, help me to order the data, help me to set some priorities so I can make better decisions. To me, at this point, if you're using ChatGPT for a creative output, I think you're probably going to be disappointed. And more to the point, because writing is a creative process that involves flow and personal satisfaction and pleasure. Why would you give yourself? Why give that? Give that up to another tool? Absolutely so I to. To me, maybe I'm of the you know the old school that that finds pleasure in the craft of writing.

George Stroumboulis: 59:47

And creating not just the writing, the photography, the videos, the minute I see and they have to tag it most of them have to say generated by AI. I do not watch it just because I already know it's spit out by a computer Just for me right now. I'm probably not the norm, but I'm the same way. I personally use ChatGPT. If I just came out of a meeting and I'm going into another one and I do the voice to text, it just met with so-and-so reminder we got to do this, this and this. We talked about this, this, this. Please organize it. Actionable items for my team go. It's amazing for that.

Walter Simson: 1:00:22

It's an intern.

George Stroumboulis: 1:00:23

It's an intern, exactly Cause I don't have an assistant or an intern. From that standpoint, I love it. Yep, right. But from the creative and write me a blog and do this, it's come on.

Walter Simson: 1:00:34

Look, let me. Let me thank you again for inviting me here today, but look at what you've done with this podcast. Imagine if that creative impulse was somehow dulled by a chat, gpt, we wouldn't have your personality, we wouldn't have the people that you've met along the way and the smiles that you've created To me. You know, one thing about our connected world is I've met, virtually and in person, some amazing people whose talents would never have been seen unless we had had these connection tools. Why would you use those connection tools to then not see the beauty that people can?

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:09

bring forward. That's such a great point and I appreciate the feedback as well. Yeah.

Walter Simson: 1:01:14

Yeah, I mean, look, there's some wonderful business podcasts. Yours is among them. I appreciate it. I put you, so I love yours. I love Scott Galloway Amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Shout out to Stern right.

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:29

Oh, yes, professor, at Stern Okay.

Walter Simson: 1:01:31

Yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:32

Which you told me before we chatted the book on Stoic.

Walter Simson: 1:01:37

No, that's Ryan Holiday.

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:38

Ryan Holiday okay.

Walter Simson: 1:01:39

So when we were talking about you know so? Everyone in business needs something that's non-business, something that helps you mentally or spiritually. Yep, ryan Holiday has written some books about Marcus Aurelius. Let me put it this way you never want, if you're in business, you never want your bedside table to have a book. Principles of Accounting 2. Right, your bedside table should be something that is enlightening. I have the Iliad Emily Wilson's new translation of the Iliad. It's amazing, right, having read Lattimore's and Fitzgerald put something that's enlightening. It gets you out of your own little head on your bedside table. Ryan Holiday is a popular author who took the principles of Marcus Aurelius, the great Stoic, and said let's show people what it's like to have a little bit of philosophy on your bedside table. I think it's a great idea, especially in business, where it can be wearing. We can bring our problems. If we have a long day, you bring the problems to your sleep time, boy. It's not healthy. No.

George Stroumboulis: 1:02:52

And what sparked that conversation before we started the podcast was I have a poster in my office that says you're going to die, and that's what triggered the conversation.

George Stroumboulis: 1:03:01

What were your escapes over the years being in corporate America dealing? Right, you go home, you have three sons, you have a wife like, what was your escape for me? Like, my escape is obviously my kids. Right, when I'm trying to just unplug recently, the last couple of years, doing a podcast, I'm not there's no intention here and I'm not trying to monetize, I'm not trying to do that but it pushes me out of my comfort zone, right, we're having a conversation today about stuff that's not in my world but kind of in my world the business side, and with people that I talk with. I love being out of my comfort zone, creating something and getting these one to two hour gaps a week For me. It just fulfills me, like my creative side, so I love that type of stuff. What are some of the things that have kept you creative and motivated over the years?

Walter Simson: 1:03:46

So the business columns I find them endlessly fascinating. About five years ago I took a playwriting course and I found that to be interesting. Here in Southern California, the South Coast Repertory Company is a theater company that also gives courses, and it's an online course live Zoom and I found that to be very, very interesting and through that I've had a couple of things short plays shown in the LA and Orange County area Excellent. So you know, I made the promise to myself that I would, that I was going to go into business and someday I'd get back to writing. I thought it was going to be two years and it turned out to be a little bit longer than that. But for me, I've enjoyed. I've enjoyed writing, I like. I like going to the gym and I did have three sons. They were hockey players. There were, I'd say, 15 years where my wife and I would barely have time to make dinner and do the laundry. I mean, there was no, there was no downtime, nope do you miss those?

George Stroumboulis: 1:04:49

my sister has three boys in canada, all hockey players, and she's like it's so chaotic, but now her last son is finishing off his hockey career yeah and she's, she's sad right, because it's for 15 years. You're just consumed. Yeah, do you miss that?

Walter Simson: 1:05:02

Absolutely, yeah, absolutely yeah. There's something about supporting an athlete and about seeing how they do something better and, by the way, I found that inspiring. You know, I was never. I was not much of an athlete growing up. So you take a little kid and you put them on the ice and you see that what's fun for them is they got better at something. So, god, I learned something in my business career from that we all want to get better at something and so my kids were the kind of guys that got on the ice and it was to get better and have a coach that saw that. To get better and have a coach that was saw that. What a privilege to step to be to, to support a kid and say we're going to help you do something where you're going to feel like you're growing as a person yeah, absolutely, and one of your sons ended up playing for the junior senators in ottawa right.

George Stroumboulis: 1:05:52

So seeing that progression, it's impressive yeah yeah, and then he and then he.

Walter Simson: 1:05:56

Um, he played in division three, uh, college, and the other guys were. The other guys played AAA amateur hockey in the Devils system. New Jersey Devils. We had a blast. Yeah, we had a blast, that's incredible. Made them better as kids and really to see them wanting to be better at something. That was not something that I learned, that wasn't part of my DNA growing up. Right, we didn't have elite sports In my day. The parents said go outside and play, did you have fun?

George Stroumboulis: 1:06:28

today Figure it out, yeah, absolutely.

Walter Simson: 1:06:32

And I wasn't particularly athletic on team sports, so I learned when you become a parent, you reform yourself in some ways. I watch my kids and they help me a lot, yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 1:06:43

That's the best escape, right, if you can and you do have kids and you could be involved. Yeah, it's the best escape. Yeah, venture consulting, venture consulting we're going to put the links up your LinkedIn, make sure people spam you. Maybe some good opportunities, maybe not, but just to make sure to follow exactly what you're doing as well and the content that you're putting out there.

George Stroumboulis: 1:07:03

Yeah, lovely, yeah and then when the book comes up, I would love to have you on frequently on the podcast when we talk about different business topics, uh, as we go, and then, obviously, when your book comes out too, we need to get you back on here and talk about that.

Walter Simson: 1:07:15

Oh perfect yeah, love to, but I appreciate your time. Is there anything from?

George Stroumboulis: 1:07:19

your end like what? Anything up and coming for you, anything worth mentioning?

Walter Simson: 1:07:23

Boy. You know, just right now my time is spent pretty much writing the column, writing the book, so I don't have anything particularly exciting. I'm working with a couple of advisors on their problems, problem cases, and I've got one or two companies I'm working with now to help them get to the next level and having some fun with it. It's exciting.

George Stroumboulis: 1:07:46

Walter, I appreciate you sitting down with me.

Walter Simson: 1:07:48

Thank, you so much. This has been an amazing opportunity for me.

George Stroumboulis: 1:07:52

Thank you, we'll get this live and it's going to be beautiful. I appreciate it. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO

00:00:00 Business Expert Walter Simson Joins the Podcast

00:02:00 Turnaround Management Defined

00:06:00 Family Business Turnaround of a Printing Company

00:07:45 Middle Market Companies Defined

00:10:30 Measurement Error on Profitability

00:11:10 Know Your Core Product - Military Shoe Example

00:12:10 Experience with Company Turnarounds

00:16:10 How Much is Your Company Really Worth?

00:17:00 Metrics to Fixing an Existing Company

00:20:17 Barriers to Executing a Strategic Plan

00:23:00 Family Business Dynamics

00:33:05 Helping Businesses Through Turnarounds

00:40:46 Leadership and Business Turnaround Insights

00:51:43 Book Writing and Self-Publishing Discussion

01:03:41 Creativity, Motivation, and Parenting in Business

01:07:24 Working With Companies to Succeed

What are the best resources for business owners to turn to

Here’s a comprehensive list of top resources for business owners, covering education, financial tools, networking, and more:

1. Educational Platforms and Online Courses

  • Coursera: Offers courses from universities like Yale and Stanford on business topics such as entrepreneurship, marketing, and finance.

  • Harvard Business School Online: Courses on leadership, financial accounting, and business analytics, providing high-quality insights into running and growing a business.

  • LinkedIn Learning: Offers short courses on essential skills like management, sales, and leadership.

  • Udemy: Affordable courses on various aspects of business ownership, from marketing to finance to digital transformation.

2. Business Mentorship and Coaching

  • SCORE: A nonprofit resource offering free mentorship and workshops from experienced business professionals. They provide invaluable insights into running a business.

  • Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO): A global network that provides peer-to-peer learning, mentorship, and support for business owners.

  • Vistage: A membership organization that offers executive coaching and peer advisory groups designed to help business owners improve leadership and decision-making.

3. Business Tools and Software

  • QuickBooks: Essential for accounting and bookkeeping, this software simplifies invoicing, payroll, and tax management.

  • Asana or Trello: Project management tools that help you organize tasks, manage teams, and ensure productivity.

  • Slack: A communication tool that helps businesses streamline team collaboration and project communication.

  • HubSpot: A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool for managing customer relationships, marketing automation, and sales pipelines.

  • Google Workspace: A suite of tools (Docs, Sheets, Drive) that helps manage documents, spreadsheets, and collaboration with ease.

4. Financial Resources

  • Fundera: Provides a comparison of loan options and financing solutions for small businesses. Ideal for those seeking funding or managing cash flow.

  • Kabbage: An online financial platform offering lines of credit for small businesses, helping with working capital needs.

  • Small Business Administration (SBA): Offers loans, grants, and counseling services to small businesses, including information on how to apply for government-backed loans.

  • Bench: Bookkeeping services that handle monthly financials and deliver accurate financial reports to help business owners focus on growth.

  • AngelList: Helps connect startups and small businesses with angel investors and venture capital, making it easier to raise funds.

5. Legal Resources

  • LegalZoom: Provides business owners with legal services such as business formation, trademarks, contracts, and compliance at a lower cost than traditional law firms.

  • Rocket Lawyer: Offers similar services as LegalZoom but also includes the ability to work with attorneys for more personalized legal help.

6. Business News and Industry Insights

  • Harvard Business Review (HBR): Offers articles and insights on leadership, management, and strategy. It's one of the top business publications for business leaders.

  • Inc. Magazine: Focuses on entrepreneurial success stories and offers practical advice for growing businesses.

  • Forbes: A leading source of business news and analysis on global markets, startups, and leadership strategies.

  • Entrepreneur Magazine: Covers everything from startup advice to tips for scaling your business and marketing strategies.

  • Fast Company: Focuses on innovation, technology, and leadership, making it ideal for business owners interested in staying ahead of market trends.

7. Podcasts and YouTube Channels

  • How I Built This with Guy Raz: Features stories from successful entrepreneurs and business leaders on how they built their companies.

  • The Tim Ferriss Show: Offers deep dives into strategies, tools, and tactics from top performers, including business leaders and innovators.

  • Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman: Focuses on how companies can grow and scale, featuring interviews with CEOs and founders of successful startups.

  • GaryVee Audio Experience: Practical tips on marketing, business growth, and entrepreneurship, delivered with high energy and inspiration.

8. Networking and Professional Associations

  • Local Chambers of Commerce: Offer networking opportunities, advocacy, and resources to help businesses grow locally and regionally.

  • BNI (Business Network International): A global network where business owners build professional relationships and receive business referrals.

  • LinkedIn Groups: Industry-specific groups where professionals share insights, collaborate, and support each other in growing businesses.

9. Crowdfunding Platforms

  • Kickstarter: A crowdfunding platform where businesses can raise funds for new products, particularly in creative industries like design, tech, and media.

  • Indiegogo: Similar to Kickstarter but more flexible in terms of campaign goals and timelines, it allows businesses to raise funds directly from consumers.

10. Consulting and Advisory Services

  • McKinsey & Company: A leading consulting firm that provides strategic and management advice to help businesses scale and succeed.

  • Deloitte: A consulting firm offering expertise in strategy, risk management, and financial advisory for businesses looking to grow.

  • Y Combinator Startup School: Provides free online resources and programs for startups, including access to industry experts and mentors.

11. Grants and Funding Opportunities

  • Grants.gov: A centralized portal that lists available government grants for small businesses, research, and development opportunities.

  • Amber Grant for Women: A grant program that awards women-owned businesses $10,000 each month to help them grow and succeed.

  • Kiva: A platform for small business owners to access microloans through crowdfunding, with interest-free loans available for qualifying entrepreneurs.

12. Growth and Scaling Frameworks

  • Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS): Outlined in the book "Traction" by Gino Wickman, this system provides a framework for growing businesses by streamlining vision, people, data, issues, and process.

  • Scaling Up by Verne Harnish: Focuses on helping businesses scale effectively by improving leadership, strategic planning, and operational efficiency.

13. Human Resources and Employee Management

  • BambooHR: A cloud-based HR software that helps small businesses manage employee data, benefits, onboarding, and performance tracking.

  • Gusto: Payroll and HR services designed to help small businesses manage payroll, benefits, and compliance.

14. Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

  • B Lab: A nonprofit that certifies B Corporations, helping businesses balance profit with purpose and make a positive impact on the environment and society.

  • Green Business Bureau: Provides businesses with resources and certifications to improve sustainability practices and reduce their environmental footprint.

Conclusion

Business owners can turn to a variety of resources to support their growth and management needs, ranging from educational platforms and financial tools to networking organizations and legal services. Leveraging these resources will help streamline operations, foster innovation, and enable long-term success.

WHat is an interim CEO or Management team and when are they used

An interim CEO or interim management team refers to experienced executives or leadership teams temporarily brought in to lead an organization during a transition period or crisis. These professionals step into leadership roles on a temporary basis to stabilize operations, manage critical challenges, or guide the company through specific phases of transformation. They are typically experienced leaders with specialized skills in crisis management, business restructuring, or leadership transitions.

When are Interim CEOs or Interim Management Teams Used?

  1. Leadership Transitions:

    • Sudden Departure: When a CEO or key executive unexpectedly departs due to resignation, illness, or death, an interim CEO can ensure continuity while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

    • Planned Transition: During planned leadership changes, such as retirement, the board may bring in an interim CEO to bridge the gap between the outgoing leader and a newly hired one.

  2. Business Turnaround and Crisis Management:

    • Financial Distress: Companies facing financial difficulties, such as declining revenues, liquidity issues, or bankruptcy, may hire an interim CEO or management team to implement turnaround strategies. These professionals focus on identifying core issues, restructuring, and restoring profitability.

    • Performance Decline: When a company is underperforming due to ineffective leadership, market challenges, or operational inefficiencies, an interim management team can step in to drive performance improvements.

  3. Mergers, Acquisitions, or Divestitures:

    • Integration Challenges: After a merger or acquisition, interim CEOs or teams may be brought in to manage the integration of companies, harmonize operations, and navigate cultural differences.

    • Sale or Divestiture: When a company or division is being prepared for sale, interim management teams help streamline operations, make the company more attractive to potential buyers, and ensure a smooth transition during the process.

  4. Organizational Restructuring:

    • Reorganization Needs: Companies undergoing significant restructuring—whether due to changing markets, cost-cutting, or strategic realignment—may need interim executives to implement the necessary changes quickly and effectively.

    • Crisis Stabilization: In times of internal turmoil, such as legal issues, regulatory investigations, or public relations crises, an interim CEO can step in to stabilize the situation, restore trust, and manage communication.

  5. Specialized Projects or Growth Phases:

    • Scaling and Expansion: Companies entering new markets, launching major products, or experiencing rapid growth may require interim management with specific expertise in scaling businesses or handling rapid change.

    • Specialized Expertise: When a company requires a specific set of skills or knowledge (e.g., digital transformation, restructuring, or innovation), an interim management team with deep expertise in these areas can lead the charge.

  6. Board or Shareholder Mandates:

    • Board Decisions: In cases where boards or shareholders lose confidence in the existing leadership, they may bring in interim executives to reset strategy, regain trust, and lead the company through strategic shifts.

    • Private Equity Backing: Private equity firms often use interim CEOs when they acquire companies in distress or those requiring operational improvements. These interim leaders work closely with the firm's vision to increase value and prepare the company for sale or growth.

Key Benefits of Using Interim CEOs or Management Teams

  1. Immediate Availability: Interim executives are available on short notice and can quickly step into leadership roles, providing immediate stability and leadership.

  2. Objective Perspective: Interim CEOs bring an external viewpoint, unclouded by internal politics, allowing them to make impartial, objective decisions in the company’s best interest.

  3. Specialized Expertise: Interim leaders often have deep experience in turnaround management, crisis handling, or specific industries, bringing highly specialized skills that may not exist within the current leadership team.

  4. Short-Term Commitment: Companies can bring in experienced leadership without a long-term commitment, allowing them to evaluate and make strategic decisions without rushing into permanent hires.

  5. Focused Problem Solving: Interim CEOs are typically laser-focused on specific objectives, whether stabilizing a business, addressing performance issues, or managing a specific project.

Conclusion

Interim CEOs and management teams are crucial during times of transition, crisis, or transformation. They offer businesses the expertise, stability, and leadership necessary to navigate complex challenges and position the company for future success. These professionals are especially valuable in turnaround situations, leadership gaps, or when specialized expertise is required for specific projects or strategic shifts.

Best way to turn your business around and build profitability

Turning around a struggling business and building profitability requires a strategic and disciplined approach, focused on understanding the root causes of underperformance, optimizing operations, and driving growth. Here are the best steps to take for a successful business turnaround:

1. Assess the Situation and Identify the Root Causes

  • Conduct a Full Audit: Review your company’s financial health, operations, product lines, customer base, and market position. Identify key areas where performance is lagging.

  • Analyze Financial Statements: Look for red flags such as declining revenue, shrinking margins, or mounting debt. Break down costs, cash flow, and profitability by department, product line, and customer segment.

  • Identify Root Problems: Determine if the issues are due to declining market demand, operational inefficiencies, poor cash management, leadership issues, or other factors. Knowing the root causes is key to designing an effective turnaround strategy.

2. Improve Cash Flow and Liquidity

  • Tighten Cash Management: Address immediate cash flow challenges by reducing expenses, extending payment terms with suppliers, and negotiating with creditors for more favorable terms.

  • Optimize Working Capital: Focus on faster collections, reduce inventory levels, and delay non-essential capital expenditures. Freeing up working capital helps improve liquidity.

  • Dispose of Non-Core Assets: Sell off underperforming assets or non-essential divisions of the business to generate cash and focus on core strengths.

3. Focus on Core Products and Core Customers

  • Identify Core Products: Analyze which products or services contribute the most to your profits. Discontinue or streamline those that are underperforming or have low margins.

  • Focus on Core Customers: Identify your most loyal and profitable customers, and build stronger relationships with them. Prioritize servicing their needs while potentially phasing out less valuable clients.

4. Cost Cutting without Damaging the Business

  • Eliminate Non-Essential Costs: Look for unnecessary overhead and operational costs that can be cut without compromising your core offerings. Examples include reducing discretionary spending or renegotiating vendor contracts.

  • Improve Operational Efficiency: Streamline processes to reduce waste and improve productivity. This might involve adopting automation, improving supply chain management, or restructuring workflows to cut costs without impacting product quality or service.

  • Layoffs as a Last Resort: While cutting labor costs can be necessary, it’s essential to consider how layoffs will impact morale and productivity. Focus on keeping top talent and key departments intact while making surgical cuts where necessary.

5. Refine Your Business Strategy

  • Revisit Your Value Proposition: Ensure your products or services still solve a relevant problem for your target market. Consider refining your offerings to meet changing customer needs.

  • Find New Revenue Streams: Explore new markets, product lines, or services that align with your core business. Innovation can help drive growth and improve long-term sustainability.

  • Differentiate from Competitors: Assess your competitors and find areas where you can differentiate your business. This might be through improved customer service, unique product features, or more competitive pricing.

6. Boost Sales and Marketing Efforts

  • Strengthen Customer Relationships: Focus on customer retention by improving customer service, offering loyalty programs, or providing personalized experiences. Happy customers are more likely to become repeat buyers and brand advocates.

  • Enhance Marketing Efficiency: Optimize marketing campaigns for ROI by focusing on high-performing channels. Use data analytics to understand where your marketing efforts yield the best results and double down on those strategies.

  • Explore Digital Marketing: If you're not already investing in digital marketing, build a strong online presence. Use SEO, social media marketing, email campaigns, and paid ads to drive traffic and convert leads.

7. Reinforce Leadership and Organizational Culture

  • Strengthen Leadership: Evaluate the leadership team to ensure you have the right people in place to drive change. In some cases, bringing in new leadership (interim or permanent) with turnaround experience may be necessary.

  • Foster Accountability: Set clear goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), and timelines for each department. Ensure everyone in the company is aligned with the turnaround objectives and is accountable for their role in achieving them.

  • Engage Employees: Transparency and communication are critical during a turnaround. Keep employees informed about the changes being made, provide reassurance, and motivate them by fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.

8. Improve Financial Management and Controls

  • Implement Strong Financial Controls: Establish or strengthen financial controls to prevent unnecessary spending, fraud, or inefficiencies. Monitor spending closely and ensure all departments are operating within budget.

  • Create Accurate Financial Forecasts: Develop realistic financial models and cash flow forecasts to project future revenues and expenses. This helps in planning for future investments, paying down debt, and managing operations effectively.

  • Focus on Profit Margins: Constantly track and improve profit margins by refining pricing strategies, reducing operational costs, and increasing productivity.

9. Leverage External Expertise

  • Engage a Turnaround Consultant: If the situation is particularly dire, consider hiring a turnaround expert or consultant who specializes in helping businesses recover from financial distress. They bring objectivity and expertise in restructuring and crisis management.

  • Seek Legal and Financial Advice: In cases of severe financial distress, especially when dealing with potential bankruptcy or restructuring, consult with legal and financial advisors to navigate the situation effectively.

10. Communicate with Stakeholders

  • Keep Stakeholders Informed: Be transparent with key stakeholders such as investors, lenders, suppliers, and employees about the state of the business and the turnaround plan. Managing these relationships is critical for gaining support and maintaining credibility.

  • Rebuild Trust: If trust has eroded with customers, suppliers, or employees, take steps to rebuild relationships by communicating openly and demonstrating results through your turnaround efforts.

11. Monitor Progress and Adjust the Plan

  • Track Key Metrics: Continuously monitor KPIs like sales growth, profit margins, cash flow, and customer retention to measure the effectiveness of your turnaround strategy.

  • Be Adaptable: As conditions change, be willing to pivot and adjust your strategies. The business environment can shift quickly, and successful turnarounds often require flexibility and quick decision-making.

12. Plan for Long-Term Sustainability

  • Develop a Long-Term Growth Plan: Once the business is stabilized, focus on building a long-term strategy that ensures sustainable growth. Invest in innovation, customer acquisition, and operational improvements to keep the business competitive.

  • Create Contingency Plans: Prepare for future challenges by developing contingency plans and building financial reserves to handle downturns or unexpected disruptions.

Conclusion

Turning around a struggling business and restoring profitability requires a focused and disciplined approach. By identifying core problems, improving financial controls, engaging the right leadership, and executing a clear strategy, business owners can stabilize operations, rebuild trust, and set the foundation for long-term success. Each step, from optimizing cash flow to enhancing sales efforts, plays a critical role in the recovery process, ensuring the business not only survives but thrives in the future.

MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE

Rescuing Businesses: Walter Simson on Turnaround Strategies and Personal Growth

  • Rescuing Businesses: Walter Simson on Turnaround Strategies and Personal Growth

  • Navigating Business Challenges and Family Life

  • Insightful Leadership and Personal Growth

  • Transforming Failures into Success Stories

  • Walter Simson's Journey from Business to Writing

Walter Simpson, a master in the art of business turnaround, unfolds his extraordinary journey from the halls of Columbia University to the gritty world of struggling companies. Imagine transforming over 50 distressed businesses into profitable ventures; Walter has done just that, armed with his strategic insight and an unwavering commitment to truth. His story is not just about business acumen but also about integrity and the power of honest leadership, making this episode a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to understand the nuances of reviving failing enterprises.

Listeners are in for a deep dive into the strategies that have made Walter a sought-after turnaround manager. Through riveting anecdotes, he shares the vital lessons learned from his time in the banking sector to his pivot into the family printing business, and beyond. Walter discusses the crucial elements of identifying core products, customers, and the often-neglected importance of immediate cash flow. With a keen focus on collaboration with existing leadership and financial institutions, he lays bare the realities of executing turnaround plans under pressure and constraints.

In the latter part of our conversation, Walter reflects on the human side of his work—balancing creativity, family, and the passion for writing. He offers a glimpse into his journey from a digital columnist to an aspiring author, sharing his decision to leverage platforms like LinkedIn to connect with a community eager to learn from his experiences. The episode wraps up with Walter’s reflections on parenting, creativity, and the enduring lessons from his personal life that continue to shape his professional ethos. This is more than just a discussion on business turnarounds; it's a conversation about the intersection of personal growth and professional success.

BLOG POST

In today’s episode of "Invigorate Your Business," we dive deep into the world of business turnaround with Walter Simpson, a seasoned expert who has a wealth of experience transforming distressed companies back into profitable entities. With his background and successful track record of reviving over 50 companies, Walter's insights are invaluable for any entrepreneur or executive navigating the turbulent waters of business challenges. Our conversation reveals key strategies, thought processes, and the critical importance of understanding a company’s core operations.

Walter begins by introducing himself and sharing his unique journey into turnaround management. He highlights how his shift from studying comparative literature at Columbia University to a banking career allowed him to leverage his analytical skills in the business world. He recounts how stepping in to help his father's printing company due to ill health led him to discover his passion and talent for business turnaround. In Walter's view, understanding the granular details of operations often holds more value than broad-stroke cost-cutting measures. As he puts it, “It’s not just about cutting costs; it’s about learning where the company makes and loses its money.”

Our discussion then pivots to the structural issues often plaguing distressed companies. Walter explains that many companies make fundamental errors in strategy, measurement, and execution. Common pitfalls include misidentifying core products or customers, failing to manage cash flow effectively, and neglecting to track crucial metrics. For instance, he describes how overvaluation of certain products can deceive management into thinking they’re profitable when they’re not. By focusing on rigorous cost accounting and market demand, businesses can realign their resources towards more profitable ventures.

Family dynamics in family-owned businesses also receive attention in our exchange. Walter shares personal anecdotes about how being brought into his father's business created significant personal challenges, turning delicate family relationships into additional stressors. This complexity highlights the need for turnaround specialists to tread carefully when enacting operational strategies that may directly affect family members involved in the business. Walter emphasizes the need for emotional intelligence and respect for the various stakeholders' histories and contributions.

Leadership plays a crucial role in successful turnarounds, and we explore what makes a good CEO. Walter advocates for CEOs to maintain a clear vision while being attentive to their teams. Skills such as listening, understanding numbers, and creating a collaborative environment are indispensable for driving a company towards recovery. He cautions against misusing the term “strategy” as merely a buzzword without actionable steps that rally support from employees and stakeholders alike.

The conversation also addresses the psychological barriers that often come into play during a turnaround. Walter stresses the importance of fostering an environment where employees feel empowered to share insights and opinions that could benefit the business. His approach involves open communication and recognizing that knowledge exists at all levels of the organization, not only among upper management.

Furthermore, the episode touches on the broader trends in the business landscape, such as the evolution of funding dynamics and how they’ve shifted since Walter began his career. He discusses how economic environments can significantly influence the opportunities available for turnarounds. For businesses today, understanding market conditions and making informed decisions is paramount for sustaining profitability.

As we wrap up, Walter shares advice for aspiring turnaround professionals, emphasizing continuous personal development, networking, and understanding the nuances of business finance and operations. He also hints at the forthcoming publication of his book, aiming to assist those eager to enter the consulting space.

Overall, this episode is packed with insights that are sure to resonate with anyone facing business challenges, offering not just strategies for survival but for revitalization in a crowded and competitive marketplace. For anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of turnaround management, Walter Simpson provides essential knowledge that can be applied across various industries and business types, proving that with the right framework, a struggling business can not only survive but thrive.

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George Stroumboulis sits down with Chris Hartswick in Washington D.C. on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things company acquisition, finding the right partners, advice on how to buy a new company and so much more.

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STRATEGIC BRANDING GENIUS WITH PETER ECONOMIDES | E044 PODCAST

George Stroumboulis sits down with Peter Economides in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things branding, marketing, creative advertising, strategy, career advice, rebranding Greece and so much more.

LUXURY LIFESTYLE INFLUENCER WITH MICHAEL MORCOS | E043 PODCAST
LUXURY LIFESTYLE INFLUENCER WITH MICHAEL MORCOS | E043 PODCAST

George Stroumboulis sits down with Michael Morcos in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things style, influence, fitness, travel, women, how to be a real man and so much more.

DISRUPTIVE SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATION WITH MANISH KAPOOR | E042 PODCAST
DISRUPTIVE SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATION WITH MANISH KAPOOR | E042 PODCAST

George Stroumboulis sits down with Manish Kapoor in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things technology, disruptive innovation, global logistics, education and so much more.

LAWYER TO TRAVEL APP FOUNDER WITH ZACH LATOS | E041 PODCAST
LAWYER TO TRAVEL APP FOUNDER WITH ZACH LATOS | E041 PODCAST

George Stroumboulis sits down with Zach Latos in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things travel, creating an app, reaching global success, being an attorney, revolutionizing the travel experience and so much more.

VIP HOST & CONCIERGE SERVICES TO THE STARS WITH MANNY KESS | E040 PODCAST
VIP HOST & CONCIERGE SERVICES TO THE STARS WITH MANNY KESS | E040 PODCAST

George Stroumboulis sits down with Manny Kess in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things concierge services, VIP hosting, hospitality industry, professional athletes, travel, business and so much more.

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