As a CEO, you might consider hiring an interim manager when:

• you are undertaking a major project and lack internal resources to lead it
• you need an expert or senior level leader quickly and don’t have time for the standard hiring process
• you are concerned about costs and don’t want to add another full-time employee

Interim management can provide access to unaffordable talent quite reasonably.

For additional insight check out these resources:

• This blog post answers why interim management is important to CEO’s?
• for CEO’s looking to understand emerging trends in interim management, this European report provides some great insight on interim management

That’s the essence of a thought-provoking book by Simon Sinek called ‘Start with Why’.

You can skip reading the book by watching this TedTalk by Sinek here.

Inspired by the book, Jim Crocker of Boardroom Metrics posted a video highlighting the ‘why’ and ‘what I believe’ of Boardroom Metrics here.

Having watched many clients waste time and resources on planning that goes nowhere, Crocker’s tips are (once again) simple:

1. start early – planning for 2009 in February is a little late!
2. make planning a priority – there will always be more important things to focus on for the company that isn’t really committed to planning
3. planning is lead by senior management – the CEO in particular should have a clear perspective on what needs to be accomplished in the upcoming year and the key strategies for getting there – engaging the rest of the organization in the process is important but simply tossing planning to others in the organization never works
4. planning and budgeting are inextricably linked – which sounds obvious but gets overlooked – budgets should reflect the allocation of resources necessary to execute the planning priorities – if they don’t, then the plan priorities are just imaginary ideas for making something happen
5. follow-up to make sure the plan is working – too many organizations spend resources on planning then NEVER revisit the plan to measure accomplishments or check direction – which makes planning pretty much a complete waste of time

For people and organizations used to organized, well run planning processes, Crocker’s tips must seem overly simplistic. Unfortunately, they reflect reality – based on Crocker’s experience more companies fail at effective planning than succeed – usually because the simple approach required to execute properly is overlooked.

The video is posted here.

The Boardroom Metrics blog is here.

1. defining the vision for the organization
2. assembling (and leading, managing) the management team
3. leading the planning process
4. monitoring progress and reporting to stakeholders
5. articulating the vision to employees, customer, suppliers and investors to engage them in the success of the business.

Obviously, Crocker is simplifying for affect and brevity – the role seems much more complicated than that – but when you think about it, if more CEO’s stuck to what he’s suggesting, they might do a better job.

The YouTube video is here.

1. hourly basis
2. project basis
3. performance basis

The third, involves giving the consultants a share of the upside created by their work. This is a very effective incentive.

The video is posted here.

1. when you need an answer
2. when you have the answer but need help selling it
3. when you have the answer, but it’s bad news and it’s better for someone else to deliver it
4. when you need help implementing change

Crocker points out that based on his experience, hiring a consultant to help with necessary change has a much greater chance of succeeding than hiring a consultant for ‘nice to do’ change.