The premise behind most layoffs is straightforward. Cutting people reduces payroll, payroll is a major expense, and therefore cutting people improves the financial position of the company. On a spreadsheet, in the quarter the decision is made, this logic holds. The difficulty is that the spreadsheet captures only the most visible costs and none of the ones that arrive later.

Organizations seem to have lost the ability to make decisions with clarity, commit to them appropriately, and adjust course when evidence demands it. Understanding why this has happened, and what it takes to restore effective decision-making, requires looking honestly at the patterns that have emerged and the costs that they create.

Does culture really matter? This question comes up constantly in my work. Prospective clients point to companies with notoriously harsh cultures that are dominating their markets, and they ask me directly: if those organizations are winning without investing in culture, why should we? What I have learned through two decades of working inside Fortune 500 companies and with leaders who have navigated these high-pressure environments is that the answer is more nuanced than the q