The Big Turnaround

Getting Out Of A Company's Golden Handcuffs Is Going To Take More Than Magic


For fourteen years Darcy Holtzman had been going to her job as

the chief financial officer at the largest independent office products

dealership in all of North Carolina, Burgess Industries. And then, one

morning, she arrives at work to discover the owner and CEO is retiring,

an announcement she anticipated more than the one that came after

it: she would be taking on the title of vice president, and her hothead,

controlling colleague, Ron Marchetti, would be the new president.

Darcy knew right then that his appointment would change the course

of company―potentially irreparably―and that it would take even more

time and effort on her and the other managers’ part to keep the

company operating.


Though the story of Darcy and Burgess Industries in The Big Turnaround

is one of fiction, author Ellen McIlhenny draws from her real-life

experiences as a chief financial officer and business advisor to give life

to the everyday workplace issues that plague most of us at some point

in our careers. How the characters in this novel work together (or don’t)

will provide you―whether you’re a CEO or a staff member―insight on

how similar points of contention in our own workplaces can be avoided

and negotiated through.