Conversus White Paper Describes How Companies Can ``Fix'' Themselves; Team-Based Decision Making Seen as Critical to Small Business Recovery Success.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2002

Although most companies facing financial difficulty generally believe that outside consultants can address company problems, a team-based decision making approach conducted in-house may actually be more effective.

That is the finding of a new white paper, by George M. White, Ph.D., a leading authority in business social psychology, and Lisa A. Broderick, managing partner of New York-based business advisory firm Conversus Group.

The white paper, entitled "Fixing Businesses from the Inside Out," is available from Conversus Group (http://www.conversusgroup.com), which provides business recovery methodologies that involve direct participation of company executives and line managers. This team-based methodology, which Conversus calls a Compass Session(TM), can produce results superior to traditional outsourcing, according to the new report.

"We are often asked by companies to recommend fixes for their problems without much management involvement," said Ms. Broderick. "But we have learned in working with dozens of companies that just doesn't work. What companies need is to learn how to fix themselves so that their solutions will stick, and that is what our methodology teaches company executives to do."

According to the white paper, the prevalent view among 250 executives who have been exposed to the Compass Session approach is that outsourcing often is ineffective due to lack of focus.

According to Broderick, managers who have used the team-based approach cite three primary benefits:

-- More rapid identification of the root causes of problems

-- Better documentation of current situation and proposed plans

-- Enhanced value of outside advisors

Companies adopting a team-based decision making approach are usually those facing significant challenges that tax the specific talents or time of its management team, according to the white paper. These challenges include profit/revenue shortfall, management succession, change of ownership or control and critical product introductions.

About Conversus Group

Conversus Group is a national business advisory serving private equity firms, middle market companies and boards of directors. Conversus Group advisors are seasoned business executives from over 30 different industries, uniquely trained to help companies quickly take stock of their situations and rapidly implement needed action. Conversus Group has over 60 executives nationwide and offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston. Visit http://www.conversusgroup.com.

Lisa A. Broderick - Managing Partner

Ms. Broderick founded Conversus in 2001 on the fervent belief that there is a better way for venture capitalist firms and their portfolio companies to draw upon the talents of outside experts. Acknowledged for her expertise in growing and transforming technology companies over the last 20 years, Ms. Broderick has served as chief executive officer and chief financial officer for such corporate investors as GE Capital and News Corporation. She has extensive experience in change management, business development, finance and capital raising.

George M. White, PhD.

George M. White, Ph.D. is an executive director of Conversus. After studying computer science at Stanford University in 1970, he joined the Xerox PARC research center. He subsequently worked with Apple Computer where he was a founder and manager of the Apple-ISS research center in Singapore. After that he was Director of the Industrial Affiliates Program of the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University where he also worked with Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass at Stanford on the social psychology of interactions with media. After that he was founder and CEO of NETalk, Inc. which was acquired by General Magic.