I'm befuddled....

An email came out to all hands today. Under the imprint of the VP of HR, it asked for suggestions for cost reduction in the company. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. It read like a plaintive cry for help from those left on board the Titanic as the bow started to point toward the sky.

Even more shameful was the water cooler talk about the memo. I'm left with no doubt why we are struggling. A vast majority of our employees are 15 watt bulbs in a 60 watt fixture. Some thought that they would be more productive if they could wear jeans to work. Some thought that the coffee rooms were boring. Not one single person mentioned an idea that might make work flow more smoothly. No one had any thoughts that would eliminate waste. Everyone thought about themselves.

Oh, and everyone was unanimous in the suggestion that we should cut 5 VP jobs. But invoking the Wayne Gretzky Rule, you can't submit that idea.

We have avoided building a culture that promotes creativity and waste reduction in the workplace. Instead, we have allowed empire building and silo management. Now we are paying the price for that. And one memo asking for your best cost reduction idea isn't going to produce anything of significant merit. Oh, the prize for your suggestion is 3 extra days PTO. With the stern caveat that it has to be taken this year. I haven't taken all my PTO in any year I've been employed here.

I'm saddened by the approach taken by senior management. I'm saddened by the response of the employees. There are some skilled, talented hard working people in our company. But that could be said for the passengers on the Titanic too. This is a time for strong, decisive leadership. Instead, we get a memo from HR (HR? You can outsource all those roles PDQ).

I guess I should have seen it coming. It's happened in the past. Those responsible for leadership in some areas manage to slide under the radar until the storm passes, then they rise up again to bask in the limelight and take credit for the work of others. Would anyone like a nice cold glass of orange juice?

A number of years ago, I had an opportunity to work with the consulting company Cresap. I led a team of 12 managers on a project to take $3 million in expenses off our bottom line in the logistics and warehousing areas. We took $4.5 million at the end of the project. It took us 90 days to study and implement the plan. Other teams attacked different parts of the company - sales, corporate structure, everything was fair game. In the end, we took about 17% off the expenses line. And the savings stuck. It was a fantastic experience for me.

One of the main rules was that anything goes. If the team decides that some sacred cow has been around too long, they could put it on the chopping block. Thus, I said goodbye to our department's use of a suite at the Saddledome. Our Warehouse Manager had claimed for years that suppliers would not ship direct. One phone call to a supplier revealed that not only would they ship next day direct, they would pay the freight on any order over $200. We said goodbye to 2 warehouses.

No, it takes more than a memo from HR to generate effective cost control measures. I fear we don't have the right stuff to implement what needs to be done.