Lay-offs have grown to be a fact of life for those who work for corporations. Often times they are a knee-jerk reaction to short term financial results. They are announced less to improve performance and more to send a signal to the investment community – Wall Street. Corporations should be slower to lay-offs by taking the time to analyze what the problem is and how to best address it for the long term. If and when there are no alternatives to lay-offs – they should begin with pay and benefit cuts plus force reductions – without golden parachutes – at the very top of a corporation. If corporations focused as much on their customers

What is the problem?

Most corporations can track performance to a “gnat’s eyelash” but do not spend time understanding downturns. Is the problem the product? Is the problem competition and if so why? Is it the economy? Is it a problem with marketing? There can be many reasons for a down week, month, quarter or year for any company or for any industry. The key is to analyze why and to look at the long term. A week, a month or even a quarter or small in the scheme of long term business success – except to Wall Street. Analysis is required to understand the problems and to understand the trends before any action is taken.

What is the answer?

The first answer for any downturn in a business or corporation always seems to be to cut. To cut deep. And to cut fast. There are alternatives to cutting. What do customers want? Why are they not buying? What would they buy? Is the price right? Is the marketing communications effective? Is the sales and distribution addressing the customer? Is the product too much or too little? Rather than cutting, perhaps the answer is investing. Investing in new products. Investing in more research and development. Investing in more and difference sales and distribution channels. Investing in customer service to delight the customers. Sometimes when the instinct is to cut, the best thing is to invest and to invest for the short and the long term growth of the business.

Where to start?

The analysis is done. The investing has been done. And the performance is still poor. Who is accountable? Is it the worker on the factory floor? Is it the salesman? Is it the customer service representative? In all likelihood these people did not make the decisions – good or bad – that got the corporation to where it is now. Also in all likelihood these people have the lowest pay and benefit costs of anyone in the corporation. The also product the product, touch the customers and drive the revenue. Does it make sense to “shoot” them? No! The cuts must always start at the top. Before one worker or supervisor or even manager is laid off, corporate executives must reduce their compensation and benefits. They must do it in a material way. Without exceptions. They also need to hold themselves accountable. If they have not produced the results they had committed to – they should resign – sans any “golden parachutes”. Failure should not be rewarded. What a horrible example golden parachutes are for businesses or any organizations – rewarding failure! No the top executives must cut back, reduce their ranks and hold themselves accountable first before a single lay-off takes place.

Where to end?

Who and what touches the customer? The product? Customer service? Sales and distribution representatives and account executives? Anything that touches the customer – product or sales or service should be the last thing to be cut or the last place to perform lay-offs. Yes, this flies in the face of conventional wisdom to cut at the bottom first. But the bottom of a triangle is the widest part. And the widest part has the broadest and most impacting effect on customers. The goal must be to delight customers profitably. Anything else is short-sighted. Corporations should not cut across the board but rather cut at the top and work their way down and eliminate staff functions before touching areas like product and sales and customer service. Less top-heavy organizations with leaner chains of command and top executives closer to the workers in both face time and compensation are huge steps toward improving corporations which are currently out of control in terms of their worship of Wall Street.

Lay-offs have grown to be a fact of life for those who work for corporations. Often times they are a knee-jerk reaction to short term financial results. They are announced less to improve performance and more to send a signal to the investment community – Wall Street. Corporations should be slower to lay-offs by taking the time to analyze what the problem is and how to best address it for the long term. If and when there are no alternatives to lay-offs – they should begin with pay and benefit cuts plus force reductions – without golden parachutes – at the very top of a corporation. If corporations focused as much on their customers,

What is the answer?

The first answer for any downturn in a business or corporation always seems to be to cut. To cut deep. And to cut fast. There are alternatives to cutting. What do customers want? Why are they not buying? What would they buy? Is the price right? Is the marketing communications effective? Is the sales and distribution addressing the customer? Is the product too much or too little? Rather than cutting, perhaps the answer is investing. Investing in new products. Investing in more research and development. Investing in more and difference sales and distribution channels. Investing in customer service to delight the customers. Sometimes when the instinct is to cut, the best thing is to invest and to invest for the short and the long term growth of the business.

Where to start?

The analysis is done. The investing has been done. And the performance is still poor. Who is accountable? Is it the worker on the factory floor? Is it the salesman? Is it the customer service representative? In all likelihood these people did not make the decisions – good or bad – that got the corporation to where it is now. Also in all likelihood these people have the lowest pay and benefit costs of anyone in the corporation. The also product the product, touch the customers and drive the revenue. Does it make sense to “shoot” them? No! The cuts must always start at the top. Before one worker or supervisor or even manager is laid off, corporate executives must reduce their compensation and benefits. They must do it in a material way. Without exceptions. They also need to hold themselves accountable. If they have not produced the results they had committed to – they should resign – sans any “golden parachutes”. Failure should not be rewarded. What a horrible example golden parachutes are for businesses or any organizations – rewarding failure! No the top executives must cut back, reduce their ranks and hold themselves accountable first before a single lay-off takes place.

Where to end?

Who and what touches the customer? The product? Customer service? Sales and distribution representatives and account executives? Anything that touches the customer – product or sales or service should be the last thing to be cut or the last place to perform lay-offs. Yes, this flies in the face of conventional wisdom to cut at the bottom first. But the bottom of a triangle is the widest part. And the widest part has the broadest and most impacting effect on customers. The goal must be to delight customers profitably. Anything else is short-sighted. Corporations should not cut across the board but rather cut at the top and work their way down and eliminate staff functions before touching areas like product and sales and customer service. Less top-heavy organizations with leaner chains of command and top executives closer to the workers in both face time and compensation are huge steps toward improving corporations which are currently out of control in terms of their worship of Wall Street.

Lay-offs have grown to be a fact of life for those who work for corporations. Often times they are a knee-jerk reaction to short term financial results. They are announced less to improve performance and more to send a signal to the investment community – Wall Street. Corporations should be slower to lay-offs by taking the time to analyze what the problem is and how to best address it for the long term. If and when there are no alternatives to lay-offs – they should begin with pay and benefit cuts plus force reductions – without golden parachutes – at the very top of a corporation. If corporations focused as much on their customers

Where to start?

The analysis is done. The investing has been done. And the performance is still poor. Who is accountable? Is it the worker on the factory floor? Is it the salesman? Is it the customer service representative? In all likelihood these people did not make the decisions – good or bad – that got the corporation to where it is now. Also in all likelihood these people have the lowest pay and benefit costs of anyone in the corporation. The also product the product, touch the customers and drive the revenue. Does it make sense to “shoot” them? No! The cuts must always start at the top. Before one worker or supervisor or even manager is laid off, corporate executives must reduce their compensation and benefits. They must do it in a material way. Without exceptions. They also need to hold themselves accountable. If they have not produced the results they had committed to – they should resign – sans any “golden parachutes”. Failure should not be rewarded. What a horrible example golden parachutes are for businesses or any organizations – rewarding failure! No the top executives must cut back, reduce their ranks and hold themselves accountable first before a single lay-off takes place.

Where to end?

Who and what touches the customer? The product? Customer service? Sales and distribution representatives and account executives? Anything that touches the customer – product or sales or service should be the last thing to be cut or the last place to perform lay-offs. Yes, this flies in the face of conventional wisdom to cut at the bottom first. But the bottom of a triangle is the widest part. And the widest part has the broadest and most impacting effect on customers. The goal must be to delight customers profitably. Anything else is short-sighted. Corporations should not cut across the board but rather cut at the top and work their way down and eliminate staff functions before touching areas like product and sales and customer service. Less top-heavy organizations with leaner chains of command and top executives closer to the workers in both face time and compensation are huge steps toward improving corporations which are currently out of control in terms of their worship of Wall Street.

Lay-offs have grown to be a fact of life for those who work for corporations. Often times they are a knee-jerk reaction to short term financial results. They are announced less to improve performance and more to send a signal to the investment community – Wall Street. Corporations should be slower to lay-offs by taking the time to analyze what the problem is and how to best address it for the long term. If and when there are no alternatives to lay-offs – they should begin with pay and benefit cuts plus force reductions – without golden parachutes – at the very top of a corporation. If corporations focused as much on their customers

Where to end?

Who and what touches the customer? The product? Customer service? Sales and distribution representatives and account executives? Anything that touches the customer – product or sales or service should be the last thing to be cut or the last place to perform lay-offs. Yes, this flies in the face of conventional wisdom to cut at the bottom first. But the bottom of a triangle is the widest part. And the widest part has the broadest and most impacting effect on customers. The goal must be to delight customers profitably. Anything else is short-sighted. Corporations should not cut across the board but rather cut at the top and work their way down and eliminate staff functions before touching areas like product and sales and customer service. Less top-heavy organizations with leaner chains of command and top executives closer to the workers in both face time and compensation are huge steps toward improving corporations which are currently out of control in terms of their worship of Wall Street.

Lay-offs have grown to be a fact of life for those who work for corporations. Often times they are a knee-jerk reaction to short term financial results. They are announced less to improve performance and more to send a signal to the investment community – Wall Street. Corporations should be slower to lay-offs by taking the time to analyze what the problem is and how to best address it for the long term. If and when there are no alternatives to lay-offs – they should begin with pay and benefit cuts plus force reductions – without golden parachutes – at the very top of a corporation. If corporations focused as much on their customers

Lay-offs have grown to be a fact of life for those who work for corporations. Often times they are a knee-jerk reaction to short term financial results. They are announced less to improve performance and more to send a signal to the investment community – Wall Street. Corporations should be slower to lay-offs by taking the time to analyze what the problem is and how to best address it for the long term. If and when there are no alternatives to lay-offs – they should begin with pay and benefit cuts plus force reductions – without golden parachutes – at the very top of a corporation. If corporations focused as much on their customers, their profitability and their employees as they did on Wall Street, companies and communities would be the winners in both the long and the short term.