Those of us in the acting profession hear those words regularly from a director attempting to extract perfection from a group of actors.
It’s appropriate to utter similar words at the end of 2006 – a year of corporation downsizing and when many companies heard those ominous words, ‘lights out!? The year saw layoffs, outsourcing and the firing of thousands of employees, many of whom had given unconditional loyalty to companies like: Ford, Northwest Airlines, Delphi and Radio Shack.
Employees were ushered out into parking lots with cardboard boxes filled with years of memories. Company loyalty is no longer a badge of conviction but a badge of fear, as one awaits the corporate axe.
Hopefully, 2007 will see a return to profitability and management traits that recognize employees are the lifeblood of a company.