Before management consultant James McTevia dissects a problem company, he hands the owners a copy of the book The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, M.D. It's a blunt-speaking guide to facing pain and problems head on.
"I tell them whether or not you know it, you and your wife and loved ones are about to take the road less traveled," said McTevia.
McTevia thrives on doing what most business people do their best to avoid: he helps troubled companies and people get back on solid financial footing. As a business consultant, he pioneered the field of turnaround management: restructuring debt for troubled companies on the verge of bankruptcy.
A self-made man with no college degrees, McTevia has collected his observations about America's obsession with debt in a book called Bankrupt: Society Living in the Future.
His career path has been anything but typical. He has gone from repossessing cars and furniture in Detroit's Rivertown district to stints in commercial finance, banking and industrial finance. He has worked for such companies as Automatic Sprinkler Corp. of America, Paragon Resources and Paragon Steel Corp. He now heads the consulting firm James V. McTevia & Associates with offices in Eastpointe and West Palm Beach, Fla.
In this season of spending, McTevia is worried that people are still spending their way into debt. While most economic observers hail the recent boost in retail sales, McTevia sees it as an indication that Americans still don't fully realize the magnitude of the problem.
McTevia talked about his approach to the problem over a ham-and-cheese omelet at the Franklin Street Brewing Co. in Detroit.
Q. The title of your book is Bankrupt: A Society Living in the Future. What does that mean?
A. Most of us are living beyond our means. Most of us have mortgages, car payments, charge accounts that go far into the future. And then, because our children tend to look to their parents for direction, our children are watching us and they marry people who are living in the future. And so you have a whole generation spending tomorrow's income today.
Q. How do you go about attacking the problem?
A. I go way beyond providing consulting services to the company. I sit down with the principal and the wife and tell them "we have-to put these things in proper focus.' Your company may not be around this time next year. But it's a good chance that you will be. So, it's very important to handle this problem as a couple and a family. Four times in my career, (I know of people who) have committed suicide. I have seen many divorces. If a person doesn't sit down and really put things in perspective, they not only have a good chance of losing their business, they have an excellent chance of losing their marriage and their family.
Q. What are the most common mistakes businesses and people make?
A. One of the most frequent mistakes a distressed business makes is to put off facing the issues. That won't solve problems. In many cases, that's how the business got into trouble in the first place. The difficult path is sometimes the easiest in the long run. I work with clients to help them see the path and the steps needed to take it.
Q. Why can't individuals, corporations and our government end their obsession with spending?
A. It's uncomfortable, it's difficult, it's painful not to live the way other people are living. It's difficult and painful for companies not to grow and expand and to do wonderful things regardless of who's going to pay for it. It's uncomfortable for our government to say we're not going to build this, subsidize that or give you these entitlements because we can't afford it. What greater evidence is there that they're (legislators) living in the future when they're writing checks on an account where there aren't funds?
Q. So, what's your formula for taking the road less traveled?
A. Decrease your expenses, increase your income . . . a combination of both. It's the solution to your problem, any company's problem and any government's problem. Taking the road less traveled is the only decent way to live. It's going to be painful. It's going to hurt like hell. But it's the only decent way to solve the problem.
Q. That's easy to say. Moat people may not want to do that.
A. If you got to where you are and you're in trouble, continuing to do what you're doing or putting it off is not going to get you out of trouble. Our society has got to stop, or we're going to have some very serious social problems. Already we're divided into two camps. People with money and no leisure time and people with a lot of time on their hands and no material goods at all.
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