In only a few weeks, Chuck Conaway went from relief to indicted. Last month Conaway had been absolved of bad management by a panel of judges. However Federal securities regulators have now charged Conaway and former chief financial officer, John McDonald, of financial fraud.
The regulators claim the pair misled investors about the company’s financial condition in the months leading up
to the bankruptcy.
In the months prior to the bankruptcy, Conaway and McDonald were steadfast in their claim that the company was financially sound. In addition to weekly reassurances delivered by voice mail to all employees, the company provided misinformation to the vendor base and stake-holders.
The SEC charges are specific to the financial report issued for the third quarter and nine months ended Oct. 31, 2001. This was the last financial report issued prior to the company’s bankruptcy filing.
The SEC charges were a confirmation to the stake-holders who pension plans and careers and to vendors that settled for pennies on the dollar, causing some of the vendors to file bankruptcy themselves.
Even before the third quarter results were released, employees and stake-holders were questioning the stability of the company. Both Conaway and McDonald were aware of those accusations. They either failed to investigate them or they outright lied about them.
Without making judgment as to which of the two choices is correct, let’s assume they failed to investigate. One of the traits of a high-performance leader is to listen to the concerns of employees and suppliers, using a fair dose of empathy. The leader able to empathize with stake-holders has a competitive advantage as they pick up on trends very early. In the case of Conaway and McDonald, the stake-holders were saying, “We are seeing things that are causing great concern.” By checking into the rumors and gossip empathetically, the two leaders would have found deep problems needing swift and decisive attention.
Today, organizations are turning to executive coaches to assist their leaders in the pursuit of high performance leadership. At MaxImpact, a Rochester Hills, Michigan, based leadership development company coaching is offered through a unique Catapult program. MaxImpact’s executive coaches use assessments to determine the personality, cognitive traits, and motivation of an individual. This information is supplied to the coach so a
completely personalized program is possible. The coach works with the executive on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, either in person or over the phone.
Here are some of the successes from coaching:
= Larry was dejected and ready to chuck it all. Once the best salesperson at his company, he was extremely frustrated as the new Vice-President of Sales. Ready to go back to his old job,
his wife learned of Catapult’s 1:1 coaching program. She encouraged him to get started on the program and his follow-through was remarkable. In just a few sessions Larry’s demeanor had changed as he regained the desire to make his business successful. Six months later he graduated from the program and his department had a double digit sales increase, almost reaching his capacity. Larry says the fire is back in his belly and he “looks forward to work everyday”.
= Tobi was having trouble hitting the goals for her business. Although drained of capital and energy, she never stopped believing she could be a success. As her dreams were fading behind the need for cash, she took a step of faith and began Catapult. Within two sessions she identified a way to find short-term business sufficient to fund her through a long sales cycle. Today Polly is consistently meeting her goals, which have been realigned to take advantage of her new skills and determination.
= Marc was disappointed that he had lost some of the big accounts that had accounted for his early success. He realized he needed to refocus his business and rekindle the fuel that had made him a success. By understanding his motivators and abilities he developed a new business plan. Using his talents and energy, Frank’s business goals are now being exceeded every way.
= Andy’s business was okay, but that big account seemed to be eluding him constantly. In only took a couple of Catapult sessions to give Andy the understanding of himself and the business skills to land a huge contract.
= Gary struggled to get his team to share the vision he had for the company. His tight profit margins prevented him from hiring services, such as maintenance. This frustrated him even
more as he couldn’t even get his team to take out the trash. During his coaching Frank learned how to draw talent out of his team. Although he still doesn’t have maintenance service, after his first two weeks of Catapult Frank has never had to take out the trash again!
For more information about the Catapult coaching program, contact MaxImpact at 248-802-6138 or via email to
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Rick Weaver is an accomplished business executive with a wealth of experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain enhancement, project management, team building, and process improvement. Building on a strong retail background, Rick moved to full supply-chain involvement, working with hundreds of companies to improve sales, processes, and bottom-line results.
As Rick’s interaction in varied industries expanded, he became troubled as he increasingly noticed that people and companies had untapped or unfocused talent. Coupled with Rick’s passion for training and development, popular style of interactive workshops and seminars, and strong desire for continuous improvement, he founded Max Impact Corporation to be singularly focused on helping individuals and organizations achieve high performance.
Rick is a popular speaker at seminars, workshops, and conferences. He has spoken in 43 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and in Canada and Puerto Rico. He is available to speak at groups of all sizes. Contact Rick at 248-802-6138 or
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