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November 2010

Down to Earth

With tough times in the UK, Interregna’s Malcolm Alexander discusses the move back to basics and its implications for interim managers

Even in these straitened times, we do have a few distractions.  Some will have noticed that Andrew Strauss and his boys are now “Down Under”!  Have they done enough preparation to retain the Ashes – will the leadership keep the team together?  Will the “star” player perform? These are the same questions that we all ask when business is going through critical and challenging times.

Whilst mulling over a possible visit to Australia (to make a personal assessment of the interim management market), I was struck by the strength of the Australian dollar, riding high on the country’s mineral wealth, which remains much in demand around the world, fetching record prices.

Businesses with their feet very much on (or in) the ground, such as those dealing with natural resources, agriculture and foodstuffs, are not traditionally renowned for their glamour - but they are presenting compelling commercial opportunities, not least for interim managers. These are relatively slow-burn industries – the quick buck is not central to their culture – and, they are rooted in the essential realities of life: even in tough times, people everywhere need somewhere to live, they need to eat and they need to clothe themselves. If the current zeitgeist is ‘back to basics’, it’s also back down to earth. We might see business activity become less hyperactive, but it will not suddenly cease to exist. Life, after all, goes on.

That being said, many companies will need to divest themselves of non-core activities and will look to outsource important work to skilled people – at realistic rates – as they seek to reduce their fixed costs. At times like this, more than ever, Interregna is focusing on remaining sensitive to market conditions, and working at understanding what clients need in a tough market where the need to control budgets is a greater imperative than ever.

Taking skills gained in one sector and applying them intelligently in another is second nature to many top interim managers. One Interregna interim is currently improving the production and marketing processes of a major wine producer which is seeking to innovate and to enter new international markets. It so happens that this particular manager is not a typical man of the soil – he’s an electrical engineer; but while he isn’t steeped in viniculture, he’s not afraid of sparking productive debate by asking probing questions. His brief is wide-ranging. Initially, it was more like a traditional consultancy, examining and analysing the situation; now he has moved onto managing processes. It’s geographically broad too and the project is likely to take a year or so as he aids the client company in exploiting its assets and maximising its strengths.

Interregna clients seeking to enhance or transform their business benefit from direct access to heavyweight, hands-on expertise at a day-rate some 70% lower than a consultancy firm or bank would charge. What’s more, the expertise is not limited to strategic counsel.

Another of our senior interim managers – an Australian, as it happens, and a former consultant with a Big Four accountancy firm – was recently retained by a heavy manufacturing group with operations in the UK and Europe.  What started as a review of the company’s information strategy turned into a rethink of its approach to information sharing and decision-making across the company; he ran the implementation team, which consolidated both internal and external resource. Not only did the project optimise cross-functional collaboration, it will save the company £3 million over 18 months – and what could be more down to earth than a benefit to the bottom line?

Do please call Malcolm on 020 8940 8078 or email to discuss your business issues with Interregna.

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