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IMPLEMENTING CONSTANT CHANGE
by Barry Knepper

(This article first appeared in Videography Magazine)


Most of my friends think I have a dream job as president of an entertainment company with offices in Hollywood, the entertainment capital of the world, and New York, the “Big Apple”. They drool over the many celebrities I meet on a daily basis and the “glamorous” life I lead as a bicoastal executive jetting back and forth from New York to L.A. Luckily, I don’t believe any of them read Videography, so the real truth should remain a secret.

The unglamorous truth is, as CEO of Unitel, I know firsthand that the two biggest challenges management of any company in this industry has to face are keeping in pace with technological advancement and managing change in the competitive environment in which we operate.

When I joined Unitel back in 1982 I was amazed at how easy it was to make money in the video facilities business. Although we had an experienced sales team, it seemed that all they really needed to do was find time on our schedule for the herd of people gathered outside our door each morning, clamoring to get into the facility. Those were the early days of the cable explosion, a time when there was only a fraction of the number of facilities that exist today.

The American system of capitalism seems to be thriving in our industry, as there is no shortage of competition. The rapid growth in nonlinear edit systems – and the resulting decrease in the financial barriers to entry – makes it unlikely that this competitive environment will ease any time soon. Many people believe that the transition to Advanced or Digital TV (a.k.a. HDTV) will finally create the shakeout that has been predicted repeatedly over the past ten years, but only time will tell. It is certain, however, that not all of the more than 400 facilities that compete in North America today will be around in the next century.

Many challenges lie ahead for facility companies, but I believe that organizational renewal will be one of the most important issues facing management. Although the obvious change is transition to new technologies and services, the more important change will be how the implementation is managed. It is human nature to be comfortable with the status quo and resistant to change, even when change is positive. Keeping personnel involved in the process of change is, therefore, extremely critical to success.

In their book, Smart Moves for People in Charge, Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman highlight eleven steps critical to achieving successful change while engaging personnel in the process:

  • Share your vision,
  • Keep employees in touch with the business environment,
  • Involve employees,
  • Anticipate their concerns,
  • Explain the change,
  • Let people vent,
  • Give status to resistance,
  • Respond,
  • Emphasize benefits,
  • Demonstrate your resolve,
  • Anticipate problems.

The only consistency one faces in dealing with change is that it’s never-ending. Those companies who rest on their past are destined to decline. The competitive environment that exists both domestically and internationally today has rapidly accelerated the rate of change experienced on a daily basis. Tom Peters, the author of Thriving on Chaos, stated simply, “It is really simple. If we’re not getting more better, faster, than they are getting more better, faster, then we’re getting less better or more worse.”

How does one make the right decisions when implementing change? There is no magic wand to wave that brings about desired results. Things are changing so fast today that by the time a change is fully implemented it may be time to consider further changes. There are, however, some critical strategies a manager can employ to make better decisions along the way:

  • Ask a lot of questions, particularly of those who see the world differently.
  • Consider as many solutions as possible and fight the temptation to solve today's problems only with yesterday's solutions.
  • Make sure the problem is defined clearly and realize that even the best solutions may cause new problems.
  • Verify information used in formulating a decision.
  • Solicit information from those affected by a decision to change and share the reasoning and rationale that supported the decision-making process.
  • Learn from past mistakes made in implementing prior decisions.

All areas of a company and every aspect of its business must be evaluated regularly to gauge the effect that change has had on the operations and success of the business. Changes that have occurred, which were not managed or addressed, can leave your organization in a vulnerable position because it was unaware that change had already taken place. For example, evolving industry practice relating to medical insurance and retirement plans may leave your benefit package lagging behind competitors. Substantial capital may be tied up in equipment that's no longer fully utilized. Prompt-paying customers may have become slow payers or - worse yet - bad debts. The list could go on indefinitely.

I do not remember any two days ever being the same during the past 15 years U have worked at Unitel. Each day when I arrive at work there is always some new challenge to face, problem to deal with, opportunity to discuss, or change to implement. One thing is certain: I have never been bored because everything is constantly changing!

When my sons were younger, they would occasionally come to work with me on school holidays. After each trip, my wife would ask them, "What does Daddy do in the office?" They always said, "He talks on the phone and goes to meetings."

Today my older son is now a sophomore in college. When someone asks him what profession he may go into, he clearly says, "Not what Dad does; it's so boring."

The truth of the matter is, I am anything but bored at work. How could I be, with the changes I deal with on a daily basis? Change makes coming to work invigorating and challenging. Let's, however, keep this between us. I've worked very hard to keep my friends thinking I have this glamorous profession - and my family thinking I toil mightily at this drudge-filled, boredom-producing job!



Barry Knepper is the President and CEO of Unitel Video, Inc.
As Seen in LONG ISLAND BUSINESS NEWS

TURNAOUND EXPERT BECOMES CFO FOR HIRE



By ADINA GENN
In February, Barry Knepper opened Jericho-based CFO Business Solutions, which offers part-time chief financial officer skills to small- and medium-sized companies. His only regret? That he didn’t do it sooner.
Knepper’s background features a wealth of CFO experience, most recently at Lake Success-based TruFoods, a turnaround company that resuscitated fast- food franchises, Pudgie’s Famous Chicken, Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips, Wall Street Deli and Burritoville.
Knepper spent 18 years at New York- based Unitel Video, which provided post- production services for the film and television industry, before shutting its doors in 1999 in a difficult business climate. Knepper spent two of those years as CEO, and took the company public.“It was a great experience,” he noted, adding that he gained expertise in complying with the Security and Exchange Commission, dealing with outside investors and handling labor relations and union negotiations.
Prior to his time at Unitel, Knepper served as a comptroller and director of contract accounting and royalty auditing at The Stigwood Group, which produced the movies “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease.” Early in his career, he worked as a public accountant at Arthur Young.
At the new firm, Knepper has two clients and has joined a host of networking groups to build relationships and business referrals.
For each new client, Knepper conducts a “fiscal physical,” looking for expenses that are “potentially reducible,” he said. He seeks savings in costs surrounding copier, telephone, worker’s compensation and payroll services to ensure that clients receive “a bang for their buck,” he said. “Hiring me does not cost the client money, but saves the client money. I serve as a partner to the owner.”
Other offerings include implementing and monitoring strategic plans and budgets, developing a cash-flow tracking and forecasting system, and training an accounting and administrative staff.Knepper said too often entrepreneurs run a good business, but still miss out on substantial dollars because the owners lack financial knowledge.‘They should be running the company with an end goal in mind,” such as selling, he said. And to get the best price, “they should be running the company in the most efficient form.”
Knepper also serves as an interim CFO for companies that need assistance two or three days a week. Recently he turned down a month-long assignment for a New Jersey company that wanted him five days a week. Tempting as the offer was, “I couldn’t do that to my existing clients,” he said.Sometimes Knepper encounters obstacles from prospects that may not understand the value he can bring to a company. “They’ll say, ‘I have controller. Why do I need a CFO?’” he noted. But Knepper claims that controllers can be bookkeepers with fancy titles “who can’t see their way out of a box.”Knepper’s franchising background prompted him to open a second business, Royalty Recovery Group. This company audits franchisees to ensure that they are not underreporting sales, and, consequentially, not paying full royalties to the franchisor.Knepper envisions hiring staff to follow his client-specific procedures in conducting audits. That should free him up for his CFO business, which, he said, provides “more personal satisfaction.”

May6,2005