I read the book “Turning A Business Around” by Mark Blayney under its first edition title of “Turning Your Business Around: How To Spot The Warning Signs And Keep Your Business Healthy”
Turning A Business Around book cover
This is a very, very good book if you ever find yourself in the stressful situation of owning or managing a business in financial distress or you fear that the business is heading that way unless you take action.
The Purpose Of “Turning A Business Around”
In the preface Mark Blayney sets two main purposes for the book:
1. To act as a fire extinguisher for a business already in a crisis
2. To act as a smoke detector to help identify the early warning signs while there is time to correct the problems.
The book does very well in meeting these objectives.
Turnaround All Depends On Management
Management makes the big difference when dealing with a business in financial difficulties.
Four Types of Managers And The Problem Of Turning A Business Around
Mark Blayney identifies four types of managers who won’t succeed in “Turning A Business Around“:
- The goldfish who doesn’t realise that there is a problem until it is too late
. - The ostrich who refuses to accept that the problem is serious
. - The rabbit caught in the headlights who is too scared to take any action in case it makes the situation worse
. - The headless chicken who rushes around frantically making lots of noise but achieves very little.
In contrast you want to be the sheepdog – in control and focused on taking purposeful actions towards recovery.
Three Types Of Business Failure
Mark Blayney in “Turning A Business Around” distinguishes between three different types of business failure:
- The start up that never reaches a viable mass – the entrepreneur starts the business but realises that it won’t earn the fortune desired.
. - The sudden collapse when the business is rocked by an unexpected problem e.g. the sudden bankruptcy of the biggest customer and the loss of a huge amount of receivables.
. - The slow gradual decline of a normal failure.
It is this last cause of business failure which “Turning A Business Around” addresses.
What’s Covered In Turning A Business Around?
Included in the book are:
- Understanding why businesses fail
. - Understanding your immediate financial position
. - Managing a real cash crisis
. - Understanding and controlling your financial performance
. - Setting the strategy
. - Managing marketing
. - Managing change
. - Managing the risks
Assessment of “Turning A Business Around”
“Turning A Business Around” by Mark Blayney is an excellent book for any business owner with a business in trouble. It’s also a good read for any business owner or manager who wants to take a more strategic view of their business rather than chasing after the latest quick fix/magic bullet.
This is information which it never hurts to know more about since the very management techniques used to turnaround your business can be used to stop it getting into financial distress in the first place.
It is short and succinct which can be a good thing but you may be left wanting to know more. There are plenty of other business books and websites like this which will go into more detail.
“Turning A Business Around” sets the basics for business success in the frame of a business in difficulty.
Get Your Copy Of Turning A Business Around
You can buy “Turning A Business Around” from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk (affiliate links)
Have You Read Turning Business Around?
You can see that I really liked this book but it hasn’t many reviews on Amazon. I guess the author never put together a promotional campaign.
If you’ve read it, then I’d like to know if you think as highly about it as I do.
Turning A Business Around by Mark Blayney is the book I recommend to small business owners as an introduction to strategy since it puts into perspective the potential problem of having a bad strategy (ultimately failure) and the actions needed to turn the business around.
Paul Simister is the only specialist business coach in the UK who helps small business owners to profit from differentiating their businesses, by being distinctive in the eyes of their customers and standing out in a crowded marketplace…. in other words, by building a business to be proud of.
You too can move past your profit tipping point (free report) by answering the seven big questions of business success (mp3)
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