5 lessons to help turn your small business around

Small business owners are already planning for next year and this planning can include strategies to turn around the business and make it more successful. Turnaround lessons from people who have been there can help.

Knowing how to lead in times of business distress can be challenging, especially if a small business owner needs staff, stakeholders, and investors to come to pull together to save the company.

Michael Dorn, a business turnaround expert and CEO of the RTgroup, has a few key lessons to share from spending years in the trenches with CEOs and leadership teams in Europe, the US, and South Africa. He is also currently chief restructuring officer at Nampak.

He says there are five essential rules for good leadership during a business turnaround process: believe it can be done and communicate it sincerely, know your leadership strengths and weaknesses, be humble enough to adopt a growth mindset, never waste a good crisis, and realize that the employees are always worth fighting for.

Believe it can be done and communicate it sincerely

“In times of crisis and if there is a viable investment case for the turnaround of the company, good leaders must share the sincere belief that the business can be turned around. They must then plan to make it happen and communicate the plan with openness, honesty, and sincerity to the staff, stakeholders, and investors.”

Dorn says it is this sincerity that makes the business turnaround convincing. “There is no such thing as fake it ‘til you make it in business turnaround. People will see straight through you and will be reluctant to listen to you or follow you. Vulnerability, on the other hand, builds trust and camaraderie.”

He feels very strongly that leaders should be able to speak to their audiences, including staff, with compelling conviction. “Think of the films Braveheart and Gladiator: those leaders roused their people to achieve victory against all odds. Voice your true reason to believe and it will resonate. The deeper the crisis, the stronger your narrative should be, based on the investment case defined for saving the company. Use an evocative narrative to inspire, allay fear, and build a following.”

Know your leadership strengths and weaknesses

Dorn points out that good leaders know what their strengths and weaknesses are and are not afraid to admit where they need help. If you can leave your ego outside the door and admit where you went wrong or where you need help, you can find the right kind of help.

“It is important not to overestimate your strengths or to let your ego get in the way of solutions. Leaders must realise they are part of a team and that they are not above the team. They must know what they can bring to the team and when to allow the team to step in for their shortcomings.”

Be humble enough to adopt a growth mindset

Inexperienced and insecure people will often talk over others while trying to sound smart, instead of being truly smart and listening, Dorn says. “First-year students often talk over their professors. One of the smartest things you can do is to humble yourself and ask ‘silly’ questions that will help you find the solutions to your challenges. You have to adopt a mindset of continual growth and learning.”

Good leaders must not fall into the trap of the Dunning-Kruger Effect where cognitive bias leads incompetent people to overestimate their abilities. They do not realize how little they know, whereas masters in their field will be open to learning and listening because they realize how little they know in the grander scheme of things, he says.

Never waste a good crisis

“Few people realize this, but investing in distressed companies with great growth potential is one of the best business decisions you can make. Distressed companies that are turned around successfully typically yield higher returns than normal private equity investments,” Dorn says.

“The higher the risk, the higher the reward, but of course there has to be a solid investment case that the right people believe in.”

Realize that the employees are always worth fighting for

Without fail, the employees are always, always worth fighting for, Dorn says. “If they know you are fighting for them, in the trenches with the rest of the C-suite, the employees will become loyal allies who will help you succeed in your mission to save the business.”

Business turnaround is like a house renovation he says. “If you have a great team in place, that is behind the vision, they will help you build a better house than the one you had before. You can build a masterpiece together if everyone is united behind the same vision.”

Dorn says leaders must use the power of positive thinking in times of crisis. “Pulling off a successful business turnaround is all about having a positive mindset. I see it time after time. Positive thinking is the key to success in business turnaround and life in general.”