About this Presentation
Late in 2014 when Swisher Hygiene’s Nasdaq share price dropped below $2 for the first time ever, the company had cash for only three months of operations. Using TOC demand-pull with some lean techniques we showed Swisher how to access more than $7 million in cash from under their own mattress. To access the cash on a sustainable basis, the knowledge and frustration levels of the Swisher people had to be addressed first. A 5-belt continuous improvement credit program was introduced as a pull system for the 1,200 people operating in five manufacturing and more than 70 distribution locations coast-to-coast. By Q2 2015 (5 months into the project), Swisher reported cash positive financials for the first time since listing in 2010. Swisher was originally acquired by legendary industry roll-up veterans Wayne Huizenga and Steve Berrard who did successful roll-ups with Blockbuster Video, Waste Management and AutoNation. Yellow and orange belts were awarded at a special ceremony in November 2015 to many of the Swisher people who dedicated themselves to their personal development. The cash positive Q2 result enabled Swisher to be sold to their competitor and industry giant, Ecolab in late 2015.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Instructor(s)
Kobus van der Zel
Kobus van der Zel a senior consultant at MorrisAnderson, operating as a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) in companies facing liquidity or transition challenges. Kobus holds mechanical engineering and MBA degrees, and is a qualified TOC Jonah (1999). Since 1999 he has tied his turnaround fees to monthly profitability or cash flow results, in order to create a pull system for truly understanding the obstacles for higher business and people performance. Coaching and interim CEO engagements over a span of 16 years in South Africa, Canada and the USA has enabled him to summarize the forces preventing higher performance in his book The Forces of Progress (www.lulu.com/spotlight/globalturnarounds). “When I engage with a new underperforming company I am always surprised at how so many weak people could have gathered in one company” Kobus says. “Eli helped me to understand that people are inherently good, and that it was the company that made the people weak – which is great news, because it means the process can be reversed to make them strong again!” Kobus’ system for people development is at the root of his turnaround strategies by using the online accelerator www.YourSensei.org – which combine the best of TOC, lean manufacturing and people development processes to ensure optimal cash flow generation when it is needed most.