Expert article · Interim management · 2 min read
Troubleshooting in a corporation: at the speed of a mid-sized company
Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Wolf, Founder & Managing Partner
An environmental crisis and a threatened loss of a 20 million US dollar order at the same time. In a corporation, the fast solution is above all a question of diplomacy.
Giving a corporation or its business units more agility is no walk in the park. Emergencies still demand fast results. What do you do when environmental activists are at the door, the wastewater values are off, and you supply global brands that promise absolute environmental integrity in their sustainability reports? And what if, at the same time, a supplier can no longer deliver a key product and an order worth 20 million US dollars is at stake?
For a mid-sized company, focus and speed would not be a problem. In a corporation, this kind of troubleshooting is delicate. There are hardly any staff reserves, the existing team has to take on the extra work, and outsourcing is ruled out to protect trade secrets.
Why it is delicate
Some of those responsible try to save their own skin and would rather sweep problems under the carpet. So it is not only about finding a solution quickly, but also about getting certain parties on board. That creates resistance, but pays off in finding the solution.
Resistance costs time and causes frustration. It has to be reduced neutrally, impartially and above all routinely and diplomatically. Setbacks must be planned for. This takes an experienced industrial and management profile that acts effectively in the political arena. Even if unwelcome, some problems cannot be solved in time without a degree of escalation.
As Technical Director ad interim, WOLF stabilised the crisis in this project, reorganised the technical departments along lean lines and cut production costs by 5 per cent.