How any manager can turn a struggling team into business champs In today’s uncertain economic environment, teams are asked to do more with less. With resources stretched thin, turning around a struggling team has never been harder, and managers must work to identify and maximize whatever potential strengths a team already has. As sports fans already know, behind every great underdog story is a leader who roots out the competitive advantage that will propel the team to victory. In Team Turnarounds, Joe Frontiera and Dan Leidl share how this fine art of the turnaround really works, from how to inspire the team to the actual tools for change. Through interviews with team managers and turnaround masters in the NFL, MLB, and the NCAA, as well as managers at top global firms who have successfully reversed their fortunes, they show the six steps every team takes to make a 180 in their performance. • Presents a six-step model for turnarounds in any organization, based on the authors’ extensive research with owners and general managers of sport franchises in the MLB, NFL, and NBA • Features first-hand accounts of sport turnarounds, from the legendary worst-to-first story of Bill Polian and the Indianapolis Colts to Jeffrey Lurie’s efforts to transform the Philadelphia Eagles • Offers behind-the-scenes accounts of effective turnarounds at major organizations like Dominos Pizza, Juniper Networks, iContact, and the Broadway play, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark No matter how bad the circumstances, how awful the performance, or how far shares have plummeted, Team Turnarounds shows how any organization can make the climb back up to the top.

Leadership is never more crucial than when corporate survival is at stake. But the days of the tough guys are over. The leaders who are driving todays sustainable turnarounds understand that the answers to a distressed companys problems lie almost always within the firm itself usually at middle manager level and below. The secret is cooperation. Drawing on interviews with top company doctors and advisers, as well as on the authors own experience, Leading Corporate Turnarounds explores seven key leadership and management skills required for successful turnaround, and shows why quickly gaining the buy-in and trust of all stakeholders is the key to ultimate success. Written by the founding directors of the Society of Turnaround Professionals (STP), with a proposed Foreword by the Societys Patron Sir John Harvey-Jones Considers the different drivers of turnaround, the alternatives to it, and the restructuring processes required to move beyond crisis stabilization to sustainable change Features international case studies from leading companies including BT, Virgin Express, Arthur Andersen, Parmalat, GE, Lee Cooper, New Look and IBM

Leadership and management lessons from the sports world. The world's elite athletes and coaches achieve high performance through inspiring leadership, mental toughness, and direction-setting strategic choices. Harvard Business Review has talked to many of these high performers throughout the years to learn how their success translates to the world of business. If you read nothing else on management lessons from the world of sports, read these 10 articles by athletes, coaches, and leadership experts. We've combed through our archive and selected the articles that will best help you drive performance. This book will inspire you to: Improve on your weaknesses, not just your strengths Take care of your body for sustained mental performance Increase your confidence and manage your energy before an important event Turn a struggling team around Understand the limits of performance metrics Focus on long-term goals to overcome setbacks Understand where the analogy of sports and business doesn't work This collection of articles includes "Ferguson's Formula," by Anita Elberse with Sir Alex Ferguson; "Life's Work: An Interview with Greg Louganis"; "The Making of a Corporate Athlete," by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz; "The Tough Work of Turning a Team Around," by Bill Parcells; "How an Olympic Gold Medalist Learned to Perform Under Pressure: An Interview with Alex Gregory"; "Mental Preparation Secrets of Top Athletes, Entertainers, and Surgeons," an interview with Daniel McGinn by Sarah Green Carmichael; "SoulCycle's CEO on Sustaining Growth in a Faddish Industry," by Melanie Whelan; "Life's Work: An Interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar"; "Major League Innovation," by Scott D. Anthony; "Looking Past Performance in Your Star Talent," by Mark de Rond, Adrian Moorhouse, and Matt Rogan; "Life's Work: An Interview with Mikhail Baryshnikov"; "How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better," by Graham Jones; "Life's Work: An Interview with Joe Girardi"; "Why There Is an I in Team," by Mark de Rond; "Life's Work: An Interview with Andre Agassi"; and "Why Sports Are a Terrible Metaphor for Business," by Bill Taylor.

ADVANCED PRAISE FOR PASTOR UNIQUE: Becoming a Turnaround Leader Each year thousands of books are written, published, and distributed. Few are really significant works. Pastor Unique is, in my view, a significant book. Gary L. McIntosh, D.Min., Ph.D. Talbot Seminary, Biola University Helping pastors understand themselves and their role is crucial and fundamental. So is training them in the tactics and strategies of change. Furthermore, they must learn how their personalities help or hinder leading change. I believe the process described in this book is targeted more specifically than any other I know to provide this training . Paul Borden. Ph.D. Director, Church Health Initiative I am grateful to the authors for including The Birkman Method in their work with pastors. My father, Roger Birkman, was passionate about helping people of faith gain a clearer, more accurate understanding of self and others. The authentic kind of leadership development recommended in this book will profoundly impact pastors and the people they lead. We are proud that Birkman can play a role in the important initiative represented in Pastor Unique. Sharon Birkman Fink, CEO Birkman International, Inc. Are you still searching for that killer church health conference, that rock star pastor to imitate, or the perfect formula that will tell you how lead your church to effective service in Jesus mission? Pastors who chase dreams of high powered ministry by looking for answers outside of themselves are inevitably discouraged when they learn that what works for others wont work for them. If thats your story, Pastor Unique is what youve been looking for. Inside you will learn how to use all the tools the Head of the Church has already given you your identity, your personality, and your life experience to become a turnaround leader in your church.

LEADING SCHOOL TURNAROUND Leading School Turnaround offers new perspectives and concrete, evidence-based guidelines for the educational leaders and administrators faced with the challenge of turning our low-performing schools around. Using the tools outlined in this groundbreaking book, school leaders can guide their schools to higher levels of achievement and sustained academic success. Based on research conducted in the United States, Canada, and England, Leading School Turnaround addresses in three parts the dynamic context of the turnaround environment, what turnaround leaders do, and the incredible challenges of moving from turnaround to "stay around." Filled with illustrative examples, the book outlines the best practices and behaviors successful turnaround leaders exercise. The authors include detailed information for applying the four main categories of turnaround leadership: direction setting, developing people, redesigning the school, and managing the instructional program. This important resource can help any school leader get their school back on the track to academic success.

How to steer your business through times of financial distress and achieve sustained profitability Corporate Turnaround Artistry is a complete guide for entrepreneurial companies in times of financial distress—presenting effective strategies and proven methods to revive and rehabilitate your business. Uncertain economic times have significantly altered the financial resources available to struggling businesses. Narrowing margins and mounting internal and external pressure has taken their toll on many companies. Fortunately, most businesses can be repaired while maintaining their existing revenue structure. Offering practical steps that go beyond simple cost-cutting and sales-building advice, this invaluable guide teaches you how to control cash, secure financial relief, and develop a comprehensive turnaround plan that your employees, customers, and creditors will support. Business leaders and entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of assuming new debt when tough times strike. Author and Certified Turnaround Practitioner Jeff Sands shows that to many struggling businesses, more money is no longer the answer to the problem. Expert advice on topics including cashflow stabilization, short and long-term profit sustainability, lean management techniques, and more, provides the framework to timely and efficient corporate turnaround. From identifying the initial cash crisis to meeting with creditors and developing a plan, this essential resource will help you: Stabilize your financial liabilities and re-structure your debt Implement effective turnaround strategies without significant changes to your corporate structure Preserve the positions of your current employees and their community Give yourself a fresh start with a lean and agile business Thousands of businesses fall into financial stress every year—oftentimes in sudden and dramatic fashion—leaving CEOs and owners asking the question “How do I save my business”? Corporate Turnaround Artistry: Fix Any Business in 100 Days provides the answer.

Set the foundation for a successful, sustainable school turnaround. Designed for school leadership, district administration, and teacher leaders, Flip This School presents a framework to revitalize underperforming and turnaround schools. Throughout the resource, authors John F. Eller and Sheila A. Eller detail practical strategies for planning school improvement efforts and collaborating with the schools existing staff and faculty to initiate a complete school transformation. This book will guide educational leadership in planning successful school turnaround: Identify the unique needs of your school, and learn how to develop a school improvement plan with the best methods to address present conditions. Understand the skill set needed for effectively leading school turnaround efforts. Gain strategies for developing a data-gathering plan, and recognize the ways in which data is helpful for successful turnaround schools. Examine the role of districts in the school reform and turnaround process. Consider how to improve school culture and provide opportunities for professional growth for teachers. Learn how to effectively manage change as well as understand how teacher leadership teams contribute to school improvement planning and the turnaround process. Contents: Introduction: Understanding the Foundations of School Turnaround Chapter 1: Assessing and Developing Your Leadership Skills Chapter 2: Gathering Extensive Data Chapter 3: Gaining Commitment for Resources and Support Chapter 4: Developing a Positive Climate of Collaboration Chapter 5: Building Capacity for Growth Chapter 6: Successfully Managing Change Chapter 7: Implementing Structures and Practices for Success References and Resources

Is your once-thriving organization stuck? Is your team on life support, unable to deliver on its potential? Is your initiative or campaign limping along instead of sprinting ahead? Lisa Gable, turnaround mastermind, offers a clear-headed, straightforward method for getting you back on track. For more than 30 years, Lisa Gable has been called to turnaround failing organizations—businesses, teams, nonprofits, political campaigns, and government projects—and solve seemingly intractable problems. From Silicon Valley to Washington DC, she’s seen it all. Over time, she’s learned the key to course-correct when things go South is applying the discipline of process engineering—carefully reevaluating everything your organization does and how it does it—with diplomacy and humanity, taking care of relationships, and forging strong partnerships. In Turnaround, Gable shares her simple but powerful method for breathing new life into the most troubled ventures: Visualize the future—don’t fix what’s there; start from scratch. Break down the present—ditch what isn’t working; keep what does. Create a path to your future—map out critical decisions and actions needed. Execute with confidence and diplomacy—speed up by partnering well with others. At a time when dizzying innovation cycles, hyper-competition, and a global pandemic have made survival more challenging than ever, Gable’s time-tested and industry-proof method will give you the tools to turn your ship around and chart a course to success.