Like many other large organizations, the company where I have worked for nearly twenty-five years has undergone a number of restructuring programs. In the past many of these turned out to be quite harmless, rarely if ever resulting in massive layoffs. However, about five years ago all of that changed radically.

I was working as a divisional manager for a large, Mid-West based property and casualty insurer. Our facility was located in a small town in central Michigan. The company's Michigan operations had been based in this location, in fact, in the very same building for more than fifty years. When the company announced that it was doing a nationwide expense reduction study, rumors began to fly almost immediately regarding lay-offs and the closing of offices. The study lasted for several months and tensions mounted with every passing day. Finally, a decision had been made and the management staff was told that an announcement would be made on December 7, 2003. The irony of this being the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor would not become evident until after the announcement.

The Michigan office was part of the Great Lakes Division which also included offices located in Indiana and Illinois and the management staff in all three locations were told that members of the corporate executive team would be traveling to all three locations to make the announcements face-to-face. Speculation began to mount that there might be some correlation between the rank of the executive office member selected to make the announcement in each location and the gravity of the news.

So, it was with much trepidation that my management peers and I filed into a large classroom on that fateful morning to be greeted by the friendly but serious face of Kathleen C.*, the Senior Vice-President and highest ranking member of the Great Lakes Executive team. The Senior VP? That clinched it; we were doomed!

Tensions were high as the group anxiously awaited the news. Our Senior VP had just begun her remarks when a first level supervisor unwisely entered the meeting room late. The offending low level team leader might have slipped in unnoticed had the not visibly irritated executive dramatically paused in order to fix the latecomer with an icy stare, causing the entire room to turn and look before continuing with her remarks. At that moment I remember feeling heartily sorry for the latecomer, knowing, I think, that we had all just witnessed what is affectionately

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