Page 122 - The Way to the Top

order to keep the company financially strong or just to keep the company
financially solvent.

When our company recently faced unprecedented economic challenges,

we had to take action to reduce expenses. Were we in danger of going out
of business? No—we had no burning platform. We simply didn’t want
anything to happen to our financial strength. How did our company
generate the expense savings we needed? We shared our story with

employees. We asked for their ideas. We showed what had been happening
in the industry, how jobs had been lost. We demonstrated that we wanted to
be different—we didn’t want to take the simple route of job cuts to come
up with savings.

Our employees responded with hundreds of cost-savings ideas. They
agreed—by a large margin—to a wage freeze and other benefits changes.
They increased their commitment to spending company resources wisely.
The result: many millions in savings—pretty significant for a company
that produces $3 billion in annual revenues. More importantly, employees

were partners in solving the problem and, I believe, have a renewed
commitment to helping the company be successful.

Was it easy? No. Success is rarely easy. But, by continually engaging
our employees in leading and running the company, we are a stronger

company today and are positioned to remain the clear leader in our
marketplace.

Engage your employees