Roberto Barrag & #225;n became president of the Valley Economic Development Center Inc. under less than auspicious circumstances almost two years ago. After widely publicized allegations of fraud and the resignations of both the president and board chairman, Barrag & #225;n took over as head of the largest non-profit small business development organization in metropolitan Los Angeles. Besides low morale and a poor reputation in the business community, he also had real problems involving both employees and the companies and organizations worried about their investments in VEDC. Barrag & #225;n spoke with Business Journal editor Michael Hart recently about the challenges he had in his first days as VEDC president. “Out of four situations where I’ve been the CEO, I’ve had three turnarounds and one start-up. When I first became president here was my most difficult experience in several years. There was a lot of negative press, we had a management turnover, we were experiencing cash flow issues and there were even some contract losses. You ask yourself, what do I do first? “Personnel and people became really important. The people most worried are the people who work for you and the people who pay you. You’ve got to make sure your staff is in place and your funding is in place or you can’t stem the tide. “Before you do anything, you talk to employees and give them a sense of stability by being up front with them. You tell them what the issues are and make them part of the solution. “I gave half-hour slots to every employee when they could tell me what they thought about everything. They’re able to give you some sense of urgency as to what’s important. That helped a lot. We had just gone through a period when nobody was being listened to. “On the contract side, whether it’s government funders or private clients, you need to give them all a comfort level. I went out to meet with people and heard about problems I never even knew about. The funders became less concerned because they were heard from. “Whether you’re talking to customers or clients or funders, preventative medicine is better than getting a dirty letter saying you’ve been canceled. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised. The good thing about a turnaround is it gives you an opportunity to start with a clean slate.”