A Christmas Wish for Business: Selflessness by Susan Cramm for Harvard Business Review
Recently, my daughter asked me what I want from Santa.
Looking into her sweet brown eyes, I didn’t have the heart to tell her that what I want — need — Santa can’t give me.
During these difficult times, I need a lot more “we” and a lot less “me.”
Many of us are having difficulty accepting that this recession isn’t just another blip on our way to early retirement. As observed by Peggy Noonan, “One of the weirdest, most perceptually jarring things about the economic crisis is that everything looks the same.” The cognitive dissonance created by the gap between our daily realities and the grim realities of the daily headlines creates a tendency for us to spend more and give less than we should. We are behaving normally in abnormal times. It’s just another day of too much of me and not enough of you.
So, I don’t have a Santa list, but I do have a list for you (and me)…
I need companies to do what they want their investors to do: focus on the long term and hold on to their investments in people. I am saddened by companies who lay people off even though they have plenty of money on the books. My clients are a mix of public and private companies, and my private companies are forgoing some of their profits in order to minimize job losses. Rather than being naive or poorly managed, these companies have leaders who understand that employee engagement comes through employment retainment — not through trophies and culture surveys. It’s time for companies to cut compensation expenses rather than cut jobs. In downsizing, companies are sowing the seeds of their own demise. People without jobs, or people who are afraid of losing their jobs, don’t have the means — either financial or emotional — to buy. Since the economy is interconnected and this crisis is widespread rather than sector-specific, by firing their employees, companies are, in essence, firing their future customers.
I need leaders to be role models. I am sickened by senior executives who fight for their pay increases and bonuses while their employees are fighting to keep their jobs. Recently, I have heard executives cavalierly discuss layoffs while they ponder how to get their next job or avoid signing up executive pay freezes. I find it inconceivable that our politicians and unions are willing to dump boatloads of debt on future generations rather than risk their jobs by telling the truth that we can’t have it all. For example, what is the value of portraying U.S. auto executives as evil perpetrators rather than addressing the fact that there is little wiggle room for restructuring given the unions, dealer contracts and protectionist legislation that limits where cars can be manufactured?
I need employees who are willing to lose a portion of their income rather than see other people lose their jobs. Most of us would rather have a job rather than no job. I am disheartened that employees would stand by and watch rather than walk in and offer a different solution. Over the past 20 years, downsizing has become a core competency and there is very little “fat” left. We aren’t going to save or trim our way out of this economic crisis. We need all hands on deck to come up with innovative products and approaches, rather than muddle through with employees who are too exhausted and stressed to think creatively.
The economy is going to get better — in time.
But we can make our lives better — right now.
We can make this a better, richer time if we are willing to value people over profits, are willing to stand up for others as much as we stand up for ourselves, and are willing to live with less so that others can have more.
We don’t need Santa. We just need a little more “we” under the Christmas tree.
