An ash-cloud from an Icelandic volcano disrupts flights throughout Europe. Deliveries of new aircraft from major producers are seriously delayed causing customers to re-write their fleet-replacement programmes. Unexpected engine-problems lead to the grounding of several aircraft, disrupting timetables and making would-be passengers furious. Sky-rocketing fuel-prices force major airlines into mergers with competitors – if they don’t want to disappear once and for all. Overcrowded air-routes in the US and most of Europe cause severe stress to flight-crews; meanwhile, fierce competition among carriers results in increased work-hours and less time for mental re-generation and much-needed rest. On the ground, ATC- and other airport-staff are reduced to a minimum as airports struggle to remain profitable in crisis-struck times.
The list could go on and on – events which create unexpected challenges to airlines, service-providers and various members of the aviation-industry, demanding firm and fast decision-making in a rapidly changing environment. And behind all of these events, there is one single, fundamental element that never changes: the enormous task of carrying out the steps needed to re-structure, save, keep on track, control the individual company involved lie on the shoulders of key executives, top managers, CEO’s, CFO’s, Directors and Presidents who carry the responsibility of making these decisions. Decisions, the rightfulness of which can never be judged before-hand. Decisions, which will always be the subject of in-depth analysis and harsh criticism after their effects are known. From this aspect, every company is the same, no matter what business it pursues. Every company is made up of people, and having said that, there are general rules and lessons that can be applied on a universal basis.
In times of transition or crisis, an acknowledged and well-known tool is to apply an interim manager with a specified scope of duty and usually a daily fee to perform a given project, or simply to help the existing management over-bridge a difficult period in the life of the company. An interim manager is therefore (in ideal case) a person who already has a proven track-record in management, and within that, is a professional of the given area (finance, sales, production, marketing, etc.). After completing the job, the interim manager (who acts on self-employed basis) leaves the scene, and is already seeking the next challenge in this endless desert we call world-economy – hence the popular reference to “corporate nomads”.
Interim management is a task with a high level of responsibility and requires professional dedication. It has therefore, over the years, become a specific area within the scope of management-studies. One of the most recognised business-schools that provide well-adaptable knowledge for interim managers is the Nyenrode Business Universiteit in The Netherlands, with Prof. Dr. Ing. Jacques Reijniers being an internationally reputed specialist with several decades of successful interim management activity behind him. Holland has traditionally been the home of interim management within Europe, where many companies have realised the potential advantages of this solution during their life-cycle.
All what I outlined here is interesting in itself, but what gives it a special “tick” is that the first Interim Manager Academy within the whole Central-East European region started its activity in Budapest, Hungary, in February 2011. The Academy, as its name rightfully suggests, offers an exclusive, highly professional six-month course, specifically aimed at providing a degree in interim management. The participants are chosen according to well-defined criteria, and only those who have a real potential are admitted. The organisers are truly pioneers with this step, but in order to assure that the course will also meet the expectations of the most demanding global companies, it is structured with the direct involvement and professional input of the mentioned Dutch institute, and personally Professor Reijniers (himself also a graduate of the university). Besides this, some of the most valued and respected business-professionals from around Hungary are among the lecturers.
Anyone interested to learn more details, including case-studies and a list of lecturers, can visit the website of the Interim Manager Academy here.
