Jim Stevenson is an expert in complex business turnarounds, restructuring, M&A, and value optimization. Jim highlights the importance of understanding company culture and focusing on internal gaps between functional teams, emphasizing that these are often where issues arise. Aligning company objectives, focusing on strategy, and fostering a healthy culture are key to successful transformations. Jim recounts his first turnaround experience and other notable projects, including a successful turnaround at Marks & Spencer and the U.S. launch of The Guardian. He explains that de-risking a business should not focus solely on cost-cutting but rather on delivering value to customers, which naturally leads to revenue growth and cost efficiency. Jim discusses the significance of integrating customer feedback into business strategies to ensure customer-centric growth and emphasizes company culture is the bedrock of any successful transformation and that learning from mistakes is crucial for high performance.

Highlights:

00:15 Jim Stevenson's Background in Turnarounds

02:10 Identifying Company Culture Issues

03:32 The Role of OKRs and Agility

06:36 Common Mistakes in Turnarounds

14:06 The Marks & Spencer Turnaround Story

19:20 Breaking Traditional Mindsets

20:16 De-Risking and Cost Management

23:20 Customer-Centric Business Strategies

23:58 Restructuring for Customer Focus

29:32 Launching The Guardian in the U.S.

34:00 The Importance of Company Culture

36:20 Learning from Mistakes

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Where to find Jim:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimstevenson/

https://www.bletchleygroup.com/ 

Where to find Neeta:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neetabidwai/

Where to find Good Revenue:

https://goodrevenue.io/goodrevenue

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