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Jane Lubarsky
TMA Nevada Administrator
jane@tmaofnevada.com 702-403-3162

TMA of Nevada
4075 South Durango Drive
suite 111 - pmb 82
Las Vegas, NV 89147

K.I.S.S: A GOOD TOOL TO USE IN AVOIDING BEING TURNED AROUND
By Pamela Joy Ring, president

There are all kinds of demonstrations of human emotion. There are hugs, pats on the back, holding hands and then there is a kiss. Well, in the world of business "kissing" has proven to be key to keeping a company focused and moving in a positive direction. This "kissing" does not require lips, but requires knowledge, and experience in applying good business fundamentals. KISS means, "keep it simple, stupid".

We are in the midst of weathering the Great Recession. Nevada, because it is so inextricably tied to the discretionary consumer, will most likely be one of the last states to rebound from this economy. But, it will be better for the experience. As painful and tough as it sounds, it's true. A resounding reality that businesses here are accepting, is that they floundered away from employing good old fashion business fundamentals in the face of high growth and easy money. They had rolled the dice with a cavalier throw.

On February 24, TMA Nevada, as part of its Nevada Turnaround Grit Series, was honored to have two top senior executives from Harrah's Entertainment speak on its strategy in restructuring in order to avoid bankruptcy: Jonathan Halkyard, CFO and Jan Jones, SVP of communications and government relations. They shared sobering lessons learned as a company and as executives. Harrah's dodged the proverbial bullet by strategically returning to good old business fundamentals...it had soul-searched. It examined what it did well with a view to how to leverage its advantages, and it took a hard look at its weaknesses, employing solutions that made sense for the present and long term. By so doing, it created a roadmap for its present and future built upon fundamental business thinking.

As turnaround professionals, we are called upon to resolve business problems often created by a loss of understanding or a floundering away from business fundamentals. Usually, the solutions lie in the soul-searching process of asking simple, straight forward questions and employing down right, make-sense solutions based upon tried and true best practices. It doesn't matter how big or small the business, the lesson is the same. As big as Harrah's Entertainment is, its experience of "keeping it simple" reminds us to keep true to that practice.