Circuit City went into survival mode in 2006 when CEO Philip J. Schoonover eliminated 3,000 high-paying store positions.  While the verdict is still out on the success of this and many other moves aimed at remaining competitive, Schoonover has five tips for managing a turnaround (Wall Street Journal, Febraury 11, 2008).  Those tips are:

• Listen to employees.  Those fighting the day-to-day front line battles usually come up with some of the best ideas.
• Refresh management.  Stale ideas helped you fall into a non-competitive state.  As you move through the change scenarios, different skill sets will be required to reclaim success.
• Embrace your heritage.  Move back towards the principles and strategies that established you as an initial success. 
• Protect the future.  Hard decisions, like eliminating 3,000 jobs, must be made in order to provide your organization a future.
• Stay the course.  Even though there will be bumps, stay with your strategy.  Making excessive changes will cause your employees to lose focus.

While not everyone reading this blog item is a CEO, we are all leaders of teams, departments or divisions.  These tips are applicable to all managers when managing towards success.