Crisis & quittingOussama Ammar
Concentrate on a viable core
A smaller coherent business can be stronger than a larger collection of unsupported activities.
Identify the part of the company that still creates value. Review experiments, side projects, and adjacent operations against that core. Past excitement is not enough reason to keep funding them.
Restructuring can require a change in the model, not only a lower budget. Customers may have different needs or purchasing power. Delivery conditions may also have changed. Rebuild around what can work under the new reality.
A crisis does not automatically require a lower price. Some customers may value the result more than before. Others may no longer fit the offer. Reconsider the segment, promise, delivery cost, and price together.
Do not cut so blindly that the business loses the capability that makes its recovery possible. Decide which work creates that capability. Survival and future usefulness must both inform the choice.
Make staffing decisions honestly
Reducing a team affects real lives. Postponing a necessary conversation does not remove that effect. It can leave people with less time to prepare.
Explain the situation and the decision with care. Follow the process appropriate to the circumstances. Discuss workable alternatives where they exist, without creating false expectations to avoid discomfort.
Those who remain need clarity too. Explain the new responsibilities and priorities. A smaller team cannot absorb every old commitment simply because the organization chart changed.
The purpose is a company with promises it can keep. Handle the transition in a way that supports that purpose and respects the people affected.