> When you amputate a limb, you want to do it as quickly as possible.
When you throw the bathwater out, make sure you aren't loosing valuable resources.
the best case scenario is to be really smart and constantly drain the bathwater such that the baby doesn't even notice the level dropping. Keeping the baby focused on the new shiny thing helps.
Bathwater doesn't have morale. I worked at a semiconductor company while in school and for a bit after graduating. It's a volatile industry and layoffs are frequent. Every time anything happened, people were just concerned about layoffs. On every project, people's concern was usually protecting themselves so they wouldn't get laid off. None of them were really happy in their jobs, but they all had golden handcuffs (I'm in a small state with little high-paying tech work). I can assure you that the effects of roughly annual layoffs (similar to the throttling you describe) is one where people can never get comfortable again, and what should be a rare, isolated event, becomes the status quo. A bad status quo.
Why not detail this smarter way? I don't see how you get around choosing between 1.) all at once, do it almost never or 2.) Semi-regularly, but in smaller batches.
It's the act of introducing the periodicity that damages morale so much.
I work at a place where we surgically remove deadwood, keep valuable people & tech. Those who have value feel valued.
As an aside I was with 3Com when they tried to go toe to toe with Cisco. 3Com did very much the same thing.. one major event was even called 'Catapult', senior management's intent was to launch the company forward, workers looked on with incredulity as over half the workforce lost their job in one day. 3Com never recovered.
Dam straight, nothing wrong with coolaid if it's good for you. Mid sized company(~3K), 30 years old, well above market pay, stellar benefits, 10-30% bonuses and a very family friendly culture. I don't blame them if they want to keep what works, people are smart enough to smell bs coolaid.
There's never 'layoffs' and never ever entire groups let go. Just regular PIPs for people who you think... 'no great loss'
When you throw the bathwater out, make sure you aren't loosing valuable resources.
the best case scenario is to be really smart and constantly drain the bathwater such that the baby doesn't even notice the level dropping. Keeping the baby focused on the new shiny thing helps.