STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT LAYOFFS

It has become a Sunday morning ritual at the Showkeir home: lounging in bed, reading The New York Times and quaffing at least two steaming cups of coffee. This morning, a headline in the Business section caught Jamie’s attention, "After a Downsizing, how to Motivate?" After reading the article, and he told me: “You should read this.”

I did, and so should you.

I couldn’t help but contrast the advice in this article with the real-life experiences of many of my former newspaper colleagues who have either been laid off, taken buy outs, or are worried about being laid off.)  One example, written by a copy editor at the Chicago Tribune, can be found here on the Maynard Institute’s website. (Disclaimer, Maren used to work for the South-Florida Sun-Sentinel, which is owned by The Tribune Company, back in the days before Sam Zell took over. You can see the way Zell handles some of his conversations here, but note that there is an obscenity.)

Like Warren Bennis, who is quoted in the NYT article, and others, our book addresses  conversational issues such as these. You might be surprised how much better it is for you, your employees, and the business when bad news is delivered honestly, directly, and with compassion.

You can download tips on how to have authentic conversations in these really tough times here. 

-- JAMIE & MAREN