Quote of the week

On important character traits for successful interim management and on being an examiner.


The key is knowing who to listen to and who not to listen to, and act on it. Take small pieces of data, string them together and move on it. That’s how to succeed. Of course, you need your basket of knowledge—analytics, parts of investment banking, how to do out of court restructurings—but that’s just book knowledge, which is cheap. Wisdom is expensive. Really good management thrive in micro instrumentalism while turnaround professionals excel at stochastic processes. As an Examiner, the only thing I have is the power of the pen. An Examiner can’t hire or fire and can’t exert control over the debtor. An Examiner has to be able to communicate with the court, and there is an art to that. It also helps to learn how to deal with incredibly complex matters that the judge wants out of the court. I take on the role of a mediator. I take everybody’s pulse, take in all of the information and go to the court with a solution. That makes me a better turnaround consultant.

A quote from William K. Snyder, Managing Partner, CRG Partners; Excerpted from the February 25, 2010 issue of Bankruptcy Professional.