One way of managing the mood is about outlining a growth agenda. People say, ‘Let’s think about our agenda for the next 12 months. Where are we going to cut costs?’ And I’m not saying don’t do that. Yes, here’s our cost-cutting agenda, and by the way, here’s our growth agenda. Here’s how we’re going to lean into the downturn to really leapfrog competition, take advantage of opportunities, organic and inorganic, that we are creating. That means sometimes even excess cutting.
I’ve seen companies saying, ‘We need to rethink our geographic footprint.’ Others are saying ‘We need to rethink our customer footprint.’ So what you’re trying to do is be very deliberate. In strategy, we say the two fundamental questions are what game are you playing and how are you going to win? So think about what game you are in and how you are going to win that game.
Then what we’ll do is to retain talent, we spend money, we’ll pay them more. And then you’re going to get what kind of talent? There’s a vicious cycle built into this model. I cut costs in the wrong places when I’m not investing for my talent, for helping them feel connected with the organization. The less connected they feel, the more they’re leaving. Then I’ve got to buy my talent, effectively swapping out the right talent for the wrong talent.