Anyone can take costs out of an organization – the key is how to eliminate costs and yield a company that operates better; smoother, less hierarchical, and more action-oriented with focused accountabilities. Companies struggle with making this happen – primarily because it’s tough to really see what is really going on in the depths of the organization.

Beginning on January 1, 2012, a federal mandate will require health care providers, health plans and clearinghouses to use new standards in electronically processing electronic transactions claims, remittances, eligibility, and claims status requests/responses. Impacted organizations will need to upgrade processes and systems from current HIPAA 4010A1 transaction standards to the new 5010 standards, and complete internal and external testing, verification and validation to assure readiness and prevent disruption.

It is difficult to get a grasp on root causes for declining operational performance – such as decreasing customer service, lower fill rates, and not meeting commitments to customers. Root causes, of course, lie in a myriad of areas – poor business processes, inadequate measurement, misaligned incentives, and poor information technology are key ones.

Technology-based projects are complex. Creating the right team environment, putting in place the correct accountabilities, and managing all of the components together requires real-world experience from the ground up.

Bridging the gap between business and technology is trying; different languages and different perspectives. IT guys grow up as engineers, and oftentimes don’t know how to think about emerging technology in terms of the business – much less from a strategic lens. Understanding the business, its marketplace, where the strategic and differentiation opportunities lie, and the real truths about today’s technology is an important endeavor for all organizations.

Building a top-notch ongoing IT environment and accompanying IT organization is oftentimes tough for businesses; but creating ongoing capabilities is critical for many industries and organization.

Determining the best sourcing direction across key business areas is not particularly difficult of a thought process – but internal politics and the workings of an organization most often prevent getting to the right answers. Again, there is an "art" to making this part happen – which is where these things most often fall short.

Acquisition opportunities are fast-moving, and require the right hands-on experience for quickly identifying improvement opportunities and risk areas for potential mergers and acquisitions; our technique focuses on identifying the "gotchas" and risk mitigation surrounding these.

Being a superb interim CXO requires two major elements: 1) Having been placed in a wide variety of tough situations and thriving in these situations, and 2) Being able to adapt to the leadership style and role that is required for the situation at hand.