The Anatomy of a Turnaround: Transforming an Organization by Prioritizing People, Performance, and Positioning

When Paul Kusserow began consulting for Amedisys, the home healthcare company was on the brink of collapse. Its stock had fallen to less than $11 per share, and it had to borrow money to pay a massive government fine. Six months later, Kusserow became its CEO. Under his leadership, Amedisys dramatically improved operations, increased its market capitalization by over tenfold, and took its place among the country’s top home care and hospice businesses.

In this inspiring in-depth case study, Kusserow explains how he achieved this stunning turnaround. In the process, he provides invaluable insights and lessons that you can use to breathe new life into your organization. Unlocking unrealized human potential that already exists within your company has the highest return of any and all strategic investments. Kusserow reveals the two key principles he relied on to turbocharge Amedisys’s human capital. First, recommitting the company to its core mission of caring for its patients. This moral imperative provides clarity and improves real-time decision-making. Second, and of equal importance, applying a Golden Rule managerial model. Treating employees well and listening intently to their observations and advice empowers them to go the extra mile for customers. These twin governing principles were essential to improving care quality and outcomes, retaining and attracting staff, and enhancing organizational performance and profitability. Under Kusserow’s leadership, Amedisys reimagined and redefined the home care industry. Its people powered its transformation.

Kusserow details the life and leadership lessons he’s acquired through a diverse and sometimes tumultuous career. They provide the foundation for his four-stage framework—turnaround, stability, growth, and transformation—which enabled Amedisys to become the nation’s leading and most innovative home care company. It’s a proven framework that applies to business turnarounds in any industry.