Fire Your Relatives. Scare Your Employees. And Stop Whining.

By KERMIT PATTISON in The New York Times February 11, 2010

IT’S not the economy, stupid, it’s you. So says George Cloutier, author of “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing” (HarperBusiness, 2009). Mr. Cloutier, the 63-year-old founder and chief executive of American Management Services, specializes in advising small and midsize businesses and turning troubled companies around.

His advice is to put profits above all. Always pay yourself first. Shock your laggard employees. Don’t accept excuses. His ax falls on trade shows (“they’re just a flimsy excuse for a paid vacation”), sweat equity (“I call it working for nothing and being a fool”) and teamwork (“vastly overrated”). And if you ever apply for a job at American Management Services, don’t mention that you like to play golf. A condensed version of a conversation with Mr. Cloutier follows.

Q. Lots of people blame the recession for putting them out of business. You don’t buy it?

A. I’m a little bit of a hawk on that one. The recession has been an excuse for poor performance. Why does your work dry up? Normally because you haven’t built a strong enough sales organization.

Q. What do most troubled companies have in common?

A. They have not implemented strong financial reporting. Small businesses fail to focus on the basics — doing your P.& L.’s [profit and loss statements] and paying attention to cash flow.

Q. What are you trying to drive into people’s heads when you say, “It’s not the economy, stupid, it’s you.”

A. Look, what happened yesterday is now done. Tomorrow is a new day. I have to cut my costs viciously. I have to spend a great deal more time on my sales and marketing, and I have to stop whining and get to work.

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