I experienced an interesting situation today and, to some extent, a sign of the times with respect to layoffs.
I had an interaction with a company that had been a very solid company in every respect. On the other hand, it lost 50% of its staff since the time I first began working with it.
The last three times I requested assignments, the assignments came in well short of expectations, to such an extent that we literally had to do the work ourselves.
And, the most recent contribution was such that we had to completely chuck it and just simply start over.
I don’t blame the company because it is very solid in lots of ways. However, what I saw is what transpires when you have these types of layoffs. When a company is in its full bloom, there are numerous portions of the company that are interacting with each other to provide optimal output. In a way, they don’t even realize that each puts the bloom on each other, but it simply happens because that’s the flow of the company and the mesh of the talents they’ve grown to rely on.
As the layoffs begin, there is to some extent an adjusting influence as they look around to compensate for the loss of human resources and talent. But as the cuts become more poignant, there is less and less talent to ultimately fill in.
We were not immune to those cuts ourselves. We saw our company shrink by 40% in the layoffs which began in early 2008. At one point in time, as I looked around the room for some particular deliverables, I was reminded of the famous exchange with General Stalin when he asked where all his generals were. He said, “Where are my generals?” His senior advisor, with great trepidation and humility, said, “You have killed off the generals, sir.”
At a second level of layoffs, and far more substantially, it is not only the generals who are killed off, but the creative contributors to the generals.
When the creative forces are killed off, along with those individuals who are ultimately contributing to the final output, then what you’re left with is a very small band of individuals who may be capable of carrying the day amidst a torrent of needs, but the output will not nearly be as strong. It’s at that point that breakdown occurs, quality evaporates, and you begin over again.
As I saw this company become increasingly more ineffective, I didn’t judge it on a personal basis, nor did I judge them at all. I saw it as a sign of the times and a mirror image of what I had to do to avoid that outcome myself.
Original writing date: August 21, 2009
One Response to “A Sign of the Times”
1. Roger Pynn Says:
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:04 am
How true. However, across industry the loss of talent is driving new partnerships. Organizations like Dynetech are evidence that you can’t … and likely shouldn’t … try to go it alone. Stalin shot the generals. Those who have been downsized are still breathing and may well one day become our partners.