M*A*S*H

In May 1970, I arrived in Seoul, South Korea, at Kimpo Airbase and was transported by truck to the town of Chunchon, just south of the D.M.Z. I was stationed at Camp Page and was with the 226 Signal Company and assigned to the Communications Center.

While at Camp Page, our small movie theater showed a new movie by the name of M*A*S*H. We all found it interesting that here we were in Korea 18 years after the Korean War was put on hold due to the truce, and the rumor on Post was that there was a M*A*S*H unit during the war very close to where we were. In fact, the movie and television program M*A*S*H was set in Uijeongbu, which was close to Chunchon.

M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and the purpose of a M*A*S*H unit was to get experienced medical personnel closer to the front, so that the wounded could be treated sooner and with greater success. Casualties were first treated at the point of injury through buddy aid or medics, then routed through Battalion Aid Stations for emergency stabilizing surgery by means of a triage process, and finally routed to the M*A*S*H unit for the most extensive treatment.

When companies run into trouble and the investors are looking for a quick fix to “stop the bleeding,” it is incumbent upon the CEO and his/her management team to triage all functional areas of the company. Sometimes triage means taking the worst first or in the case of a company, looking at what areas are in the worst shape or causing the most detrimental problems. However, sometimes a CEO will go after the low-hanging fruit first, meaning the quickest and easiest problems to attack.

I don’t agree with that strategy as I believe in what I call a modified comprehensive triage. That means that you should look very quickly at all of the issues that are affecting the company and focus on as many of them simultaneously as you can, giving special consideration to the more serious problems but not exclusively. This takes a lot of work and a lot of hours, but it has to be done if the company is going to survive.

The reason is that large complex problems can certainly take the company under. But small problems can become big problems, or multiple small problems can add up to a large problem, and either of these situations can take the company down. So you have to make very fast decisions on how to fix the “patient.”

Leading the triage does not mean that you have to do everything yourself. That is what delegation is for. The rule that I always follow is to delegate everything that you don’t have to do yourself. However, you also have to be in the leadership role at all times and be certain to make people that you delegate accountable for achieving the expected results.

While you are leading the modified comprehensive triage, make sure that you are communicating frequently with your owners or investors, such as a private equity firm. It is very important that they be completely aware of what you are doing and the progress that you are making. This is not the time to keep things close to the vest. Another benefit that I have experienced is that when you are going through this process, you will quickly learn who your star performers are, who you can delegate to and rely on, and who the people are who can’t quite cut it.

At the end of this process you will have learned a great deal about your company and your people, and that is an invaluable benefit that will help you on the go-forward plan after you have saved the patient!

John A. Bermingham is currently the COO of 1st Ligh Energy & Conservation Lighting. He was previously Co-President and COO of AgraTech, a biotech enterprise focused on chitosan, a biomaterial processed from crustacean shells (shrimp, crawfish, crab, etc), as well as President & CEO of Cord Crafts, LLC, a leading manufacturer and marketer of permanent botanicals. Prior to Cord Crafts, he was President & CEO of Alco Consumer Products, Inc., an importer o house ware, home goods, pet, and safety products under the Alco brand name and through licenses from the ASPCA and Red Cross. He successfully turned around the company in 60 days and sold Alco to a strategic buyer. Mr. Bermingham was previously the President & CEO of Lang Holdings, Inc. (an innovative leader in the social sentiment and home décor industries) and President, Chairman, and CEO of Ampad (a leading manufacturer and distributo of office products). With more than 20 years of turnaround experience, he also held the positions of Chairman, President, and CEO of Centis, Inc., Smith Corona Corporation, and Rolodex Corporation. He turned around several business units of AT&T Consumer Products Group and served as the EVP of the Electronics Group and President of the Magnetic Products Group, Sony Corporation of America. Mr. Bermingham served 3 years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps with responsibility for Top Secret Cryptographic Codes and Top Secret Nuclear Release Codes, earned his BA in Business Administration from Saint Leo University, and completed the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Advanced Management Program.