Several years ago, I was asked by a major international bank to support a strategic review of one of their European subsidiaries. The subsidiary had been losing money for years, had a poor compliance record, required significant investment, and had a mediocre management team. It was generally perceived to be something of a problem child and many previous turnaround efforts had failed miserably. The question was whether to sell it or make one last attempt. Over the course of the strategic review it became clear that far from being a problem child, the subsidiary was the victim of parental neglect.…