Reading Your CEO's Lips

How can you tell if you might be a victim of the economic climate change we are experiencing these days? Nicholas Carlson tells us phrases CEOs are using these days to gloss over the damage suffered from losing one's job:

• "We are living in a time of unprecedented economic challenges."
• "Our best chance of getting through this rough time." 
• "I made the decision to go very deep, very quickly so we won't have to do it again."
• "We are making aggressive moves to strengthen our leadership positions in [insert name of industry niche here] to competitively position our company for long-term growth."

Here's something I like to see: the ceo and other executives taking 10% pay cuts to at least make it appear that this economy-thing is affecting them as well. 

The above it's-not-your-fault reasons do ring more nicely than what human resources at AOL apparently said:

The people who were let go all knew why and it was because they weren't pulling their weight.

Comments

[Tony Tanzillo]

"Here's something I like to see: the ceo and other executives taking 10% pay cuts to at least make it appear that this economy-thing is affecting them as well."

Should we also let them keep all the backdated stock options, which in some cases, makes their salary look like coffee money?

[Mike]

This excerpt below is what our CEO sent out just before midnight last night.

"Thus, while we have been on target this year with respect to overall revenues, our firm-wide profit margins and earnings to date are below the high standards we established in 2007, largely as a result of decreased utilization combined with increased personnel, facility and certain other costs"

Our business unit has seen more work this year than ever before but myself and 3 others in the design area have averaged in the 40% utilization for the year (75% break even). One of my co-workers who really needs the insurance broke into tears this morning after reading it.

I once struck up a conversation with one of our units principals about business potential this year. His response was "We're the busiest unit in the company (of 26 units)." I mentioned my lack of work since May. He merely brushed it off saying "just keep busy looking for something to do." My retort was, "Here or somewhere else." He laughed and said none of us are going anywhere by force.

But he's also a salesman as well so I had to take it for what it was worth.

Mike