Implementation of project profitability calculations as Interim CFO

• Change of ownership from private equity to Indian shareholders, upheaval situation
• Existential crisis, history of losses, strained net asset, financial and earnings situation, continuation of business activities (“going concern”) uncertain
• High operating losses from contracts to be fulfilled, lack of profitability

• Comprehensive clarification of the origin of operating losses that threaten the company’s existence
• Implementation of an income statement at project and program level (EBITDA)
• Development and implementation of measures to sustainably improve the earnings situation
• Termination resp. renegotiation of onerous (“bleeding“) contracts
• Improvement of cash flows from ordinary and operating activities

• Establishment and management of an interdisciplinary, cross-divisional project team
• Clarification of the individual contractual basis of the projects/programs
• Identification of “onerous projects”
• Determining and analyzing the various causes of onerous contracts (e.g.: sales; business development; controlling/calculation; control/utilization of production plants; logistics; IT: SAP production control and monitoring)
• Development and implementation of a project and program income statement on an EBITDA basis
• Development of countermeasures in various areas of the company
• Enforcement of these countermeasures and consistent follow-up
• Automation of monthly reporting
• Introduction of post-calculations, comparison of baseline/CAPEX with current performance
• Implementation of routines to continue this “philosophy” after completion of the project

• Creation of transparency through sustainable implementation of a profit and loss statement at project or program level (EBITDA)
• Restoring the profitability of individual projects by implementing countermeasures (“stop bleeding contracts”)
• Successful renegotiation of individual onerous contracts, reduction of losses from contracts to be complied with
• Significant improvement in cash flow from ordinary activities
• Making a significant contribution to the continued existence of the company

• Culture of Indian customer and contact persons
• Tense working atmosphere due to the outlined crisis within the company

• “Cultural change”, dealing with Indian customers and contact persons
• e.g. indirect communication, less commitment to pre-planned deadlines and appointments, “sacred cows”
• Maintaining a fundamentally positive image of people

I dealt professionally with the extremely tense working atmosphere.

• Dealing constructively with stress and conflicts
• Effective and trusting employee appraisals
• Refraining from apportioning blame in numerous decision-making and conflict situations
• Constructive clarification and decision-making

I restored “real” cooperation within the company.

• Breaking down “silo thinking”, thinking in terms of departments, divisions, “armchairs”
• Raising awareness of the existence and possible consequences of the “common problem” to be solved
• Clarification that the task can only be solved together
• Not allowing permanent apportioning of blame
• “Looking forward” to the future instead of “looking back” to the past

I set up and managed interdisciplinary project teams.

• Recognizing and using relevant strengths of employees; matching talents and tasks
• Selecting the best employees for the task regardless of their organizational position in the company
• Triggering multiplier effects within the company by forming interdisciplinary and cross-divisional project teams
• Creating and utilizing the momentum that agile project teams ignite throughout the company (“momentum”)

I used the instrument of meetings as a productive and effective management tool.

• Improvement of cooperation in the teams, creation of a “we-feeling”
• Raising awareness of the existence and possible consequences of the “common problem”
• Preparation of meetings; in particular drawing up and agreeing the agenda
• Tight meeting management; in particular respectful leadership; achieving a high quality of problem solving and a truly sustainable consensus by creating the opportunity to express dissent openly
• Follow-up of meetings: Preparation of minutes of results, no agenda item without action, monitoring of implementation through consistent follow-up

I approached the problems with my fundamentally positive and constructive attitude.

• Despite the difficult situation, not only focusing on problems, but also recognizing opportunities that arise from a seemingly hopeless situation
• The clarification of the origin of the losses took place under great time pressure and in a tense operational atmosphere
• This was only possible because I trusted the individuals involved and those affected and gave them confidence in their own abilities and solvability of the task
• By constructively participating in the psycho-social processes that occur as a result of the change, I was able to counteract underlying resistance and thus lend acceptance to the project
• Ability to draw enough “inner strength” from a few successful experiences for the whole day and to transfer this to others

I introduced a culture of trust.

• Abolishing the prevailing culture of permanent justification, mistrust, control and monitoring
• Motto: immediate trust, “trust in general, mistrust in particular”
• Elevating trust to a central management principle because trust…
  • is a “sharper sword” than mistrust and is safer than any security measure
  • facilitates reorganization, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship much better
  • makes the company faster
  • saves costs on the bottom line (“transaction costs”)
  • encourages top performers to stay with the company
  • protects intrinsic motivation
  • makes the difference as a management tool

I improved the framework conditions for success.

• Elimination of IT-related problems within the SAP system landscape
• Guiding employees and carrying out training measures in the plants to ensure mastery of the systems
• Introduction of an IT-supported project income statement and automation of monthly reporting to reduce routine activities and complexity
• Identification of practicable and appropriate solutions, e.g. allocation of overheads