Steering a team through layoffs — poorly vs. well.

What you’ll hear

Two executives faced the same brief — cut a fifth of the team, keep the rest performing. One announced it by memo on a Friday afternoon; the other spent three weeks preparing the ground. A year later, one team had rebuilt and the other was still losing its best people monthly.

Both leaders speak openly: the rushed memo, the avoided questions, the severance handled generously but communicated coldly — set against the slower path of early honesty, manager scripts, and staying visible after the announcement.

Marcus extracts the transferable pattern: what survivors actually need to hear, why speed of honesty beats speed of process, and the two-meeting rule for the week the news lands.