To anyone who’s been laid off in the last decade or so: I have a simple message comprised of five words that I hope may be of a little solace: Say goodbye to the guilt. It will never help you, and dollars to doughnuts you didn’t deserve it in the first place. Being laid off is hard enough in terms of the economic and emotional consequences without the added weight of secretly feeling: I deserved this. I wasn’t really a good performer and after all these years they finally caught up with me. To this I say: Forget about that line of thinking. In the vast majority of cases it’s simply not true. There’s a convenient fiction out there that most layoffs are somehow fully rationally engineered, an organization’s excellent opportunity to effectively “thin the herd” and let go of its weakest performers. Well, sure, there’s some of that now and then. But if anyone thinks our era’s mega-layoffs – with tens of thousands of people regularly being shown the door – are an orderly rational Sunday walk in the park, that’s, as we used to say when I was growing up in Boston, wicked far from the truth. Here’s who an organization loses in a massive layoff: It loses some of its worst performers, it loses some of its best performers, plus a whole lot of solid people who know their business in between. To inject a little scale, here are a few of the sobering staff reduction numbers since the Great Implosion of 2008. Hey, I get it. I’m no Pollyanna. An organization has to be cost-competitive. If it’s not, ultimately everyone loses. Game over, wealth destroyed, we all go home. But on the other hand neither is slicing – where many of our best management minds are relentlessly trained these days – a viable, forward-thinking, long-term growth strategy. Never was or will be. As one who’s at times been in the middle of these operations as a former corporate executive, who’s worked directly with the smart lads and lasses at McKinsey and BCG and other ‘rightsizing’ specialists, who’s seen colleagues, family and friends’ lives turned upside down (and yes literally lost) in businesses from airlines to education to law to insurance to banking to benefits consulting to you name it, I can safely say, in the midst of Major Layoff Mode, it’s never a purely rational play. It’s a jungle out there. It’s the random chaos of the universe. It’s grinding historic economic forces at work. Decisions often become political or personal. It can be a chance to even old scores. Most of all, at the end of the day it’s every dog for himself. So if you’ve been caught up in this vortex, do your best not to take it personally. Comet Photo credit: OliverN5 I say this because the psychological costs of being laid off are so insidious and long lasting. For better or for worse, I talk to people about this topic a lot. These are the kind of things I hear. “You thought you did a good job, but did you really? Were those performance evaluations really valid? Apparently not, because you got laid off…” “There are constant reminders – your old drive to work, running into former colleagues at a restaurant. Old colleagues ask, ‘What ARE you doing now?’ Awkwardness ensues. Then over time former colleagues who were friends don’t call anymore. You wonder what the rumor mills are churning out about you at your former employer…” “You wake up at 2 in the morning, unable to sleep because your reality has changed. You’re now unemployed, a non-contributing member of society, a pariah to the company, a failure. The feeling of failure will fade somewhat, but everywhere you go you’re reminded your world has changed. Every form asks for a ‘Work Number.’ Workplace: Unemployed! The very term strikes fear into the heart of Type A overachievers…” Multiply these sentiments by millions and it’s a formidable collective weight for a society to bear. It’s a chill headwind against recovery. Darned if I know how to quantify it, but I do know that in a Doldrums Economy this kind of collective psychic anguish isn’t helping us grow. So to return to my original point, my little Open Letter: The sooner you lose any trace of misdirected guilt, the sooner you as an individual can start to heal and move forward constructively. Update the resume. Look for a new job. Or take a deep breath. Take a break. Hike the Appalachian Trail. Read War and Peace. Spend more time with the kids. Go to a museum or a ballgame. Do whatever you really like to but never had time for. Or work harder than ever at starting your own enterprise. That great American solution can work too. But whatever you do, don’t take it the wrong way: Say goodbye to the guilt. It’s not your fault. It never was. http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2012/06/15/an-open-letter-to-anyone-ever-laid-off/
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Forbes took about 40 million from the ugly step sister(Ashford) now Ashford's school of Business is the Forbes school of Business.
Do you think Forbes would want to be associated with Ashford if the 40 million $$$ did not sweeten the deal.
Very well written! No blatant grammatical errors. No tolerated in the name of political correctness slang. Formatting, structure, and flow are appropriate. OBVIOUSLY NOT A PHOENIX GRAD. Congrats
Personal and Confidential
October 18, 2013
Mitch Bowling
(Address redacted.)
Dear Mitch,
On behalf of Apollo Group (“Company”), it is a pleasure to extend you this offer for the position of Chief Operating Officer for Apollo Group. In this role, you will report to our Chief Executive Officer, Greg Cappelli. Your target start date will be December 1, 2013, and you will work out of Chicago with routine travel to Phoenix and other operational centers. As compensation for your services as Chief Operating Officer, you will receive the following:
Base Salary
Your base salary will be at the rate of $540,000 per year.
Annual Incentive
Bonus
You will be eligible to participate in the Annual Incentive Bonus program with a target of 100% ($540,000) of your base salary, with a maximum bonus payout of 200% ($1,080,000) of target. Your actual bonus each year will depend upon the attainment of pre-established performance goals as determined by the Compensation Committee. Bonus payments shall be pro-rated for periods of less than a full fiscal year.
Signing Bonus –
Cash Award
Apollo agrees to pay you a one-time signing bonus in the amount of $375,000, subject to all federal, state, and FICA withholding. If you leave the company voluntarily or are terminated for cause within one year of your hire date, you will be obligated and hereby agree to repay the entire Signing Bonus amount to Apollo. Any repayment required by this provision is due and payable in full upon your termination date. By accepting the Signing Bonus, you hereby authorize the Company, at its option, to deduct such repayment from any outstanding funds owed to you, including, but not limited to, wages, bonuses, commissions, incentive pay, or other compensation.
Make-Whole Cash Award You will receive a one time make-whole cash award in the amount of $206,250, subject to all federal, state, and FICA withholding. If you leave the company voluntarily or are terminated for cause within one year of your hire date, you will be obligated and hereby agree to repay the entire Make-Whole Cash Award amount to Apollo. Any repayment required by this provision is due and payable in full upon your termination date. By accepting the Make-Whole Cash Award, you hereby authorize the Company, at its option, to deduct such repayment from any outstanding funds owed to you, including, but not limited to, wages, bonuses, commissions, incentive pay, or other compensation.
Annual Long-Term
Incentive Award
You will be eligible to participate in the normal annual long-term incentive (LTI) award cycle at a current annual award level of $1,400,000. The LTI award value can be adjusted to accommodate market movement and other considerations. Awards may take the form of stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), performance share units (PSUs) and/or other forms of cash/equity as provided under the Company’s Stock Incentive Plan. Annual LTI awards are subject to approval by the Compensation Committee and are not guaranteed.
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October 18, 2013
Mitch Bowling
Pro-Rata Long-Term Incentive Award Management will recommend to the Compensation Committee that you be provided with a pro-rata long-term incentive award for FY2014. For the FY2014 award, your pro-rated award amount will be $1,000,000. This award will be delivered through a combination of stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), performance share units (PSUs) and/or other forms of cash/equity as provided under the Company’s Stock Incentive Plan as determined by the Compensation Committee and vesting of this award will be subject to the attainment of an established performance goal.
Make-Whole Long-Term Incentive Award In addition to the annual LTI award eligibility and pro-rata LTI award mentioned above, management will also recommend to the Compensation Committee that you be provided with a one-time equity award of $2,000,000 in RSUs. This make-whole LTI award will vest equally over three years, with 20% vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date, 40% on the second anniversary of the grant date, and 40% on the third anniversary of the grant date. All unvested portions would vest in full if you are involuntarily terminated (not for cause).
Relocation
Apollo agrees to offer you a relocation package that will be commensurate with those provided by the Company when relocating a person of a comparable level and position to your proposed level and position. If you leave the Company voluntarily or are terminated for cause within one year of your hire date, you will be obligated and hereby agree to repay Apollo for all relocation benefits you received from Apollo. Any repayment required by this provision is due and payable in full upon your termination date. By accepting the relocation benefits, you hereby authorize the Company, at its option, to deduct such repayment from any outstanding funds owed to you, including, but not limited to, wages, bonuses, commissions, incentive pay, or other compensation. Please consult with your tax advisor with respect to the moving and relocation reimbursement as there may be personal tax implications and deductibility limitations that apply. In no event will any such expenses be reimbursed following the close of the calendar year following the calendar year in which they are incurred, and you will have no right to exchange or liquidate your right to any such reimbursement for any other benefits.
Benefits
You will receive employee benefits commensurate with those provided to other executives at your level, once you have completed the eligibility period. Also, the Company agrees to reimburse you for two (2) months’ worth of COBRA benefit expenses to help bridge the gap between your hire date and the date on which you become eligible to participate in the Company’s health and welfare benefit plan.
Miscellaneous
All equity awards set forth in this offer letter are subject to approval by the Compensation Committee. RSUs and stock options typically grant over a period of four years, unless otherwise indicated. The stock options will have an exercise price per share equal to the closing selling price per share of the Apollo Group Class A common stock on the effective date of the grant and normally have a maximum term of six years from such
date of grant, subject to earlier termination following your cessation of employment. If approved, the equity awards will be evidenced by the Company’s standard equity award agreements and will be subject to the terms and conditions of those agreements and the equity award plans under which the awards are granted.
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October 18, 2013
Mitch Bowling
Severance Plan
As an Executive officer you will be eligible to participate in the Senior Executive Severance Pay Plan. Under this plan, if you are involuntarily terminated without cause and meet the other conditions for eligibility under the plan, you would be eligible for eighteen (18) months of salary continuation plus one (1) times your average bonus payout over the last three years (or such fewer number of years of Company employment) preceding your involuntary termination date. Such severance pay would be paid in accordance with the terms of the plan. If you become eligible for severance benefits under the plan, you would also be entitled to a lump sum cash payment related to COBRA coverage costs and limited pro-rata vesting of a portion of your outstanding annual grants in accordance with the provisions of the plan.
In summary, your Total Direct Compensation (pay received over an annual period at target incentive bonus and long-term incentive award) for the package that is being offered is as follows:
Target Max
Total Direct
Base Salary $ 540,000
Compensation
Target Annual Incentive Bonus $ 540,000 (100%) $ 1,080,000
Target Annual LTI $ 1,400,000
Total Direct Compensation $ 2,480,000 $ 3,020,000
Additional One-Time Sign-on Cash Bonus $ 375,000
Compensation Items Make-whole Cash Award $ 206,250
Pro-Rata FY14 LTI Award $ 1,000,000
Make Whole LTI Award $ 2,000,000
Your employment with the Company is contingent upon completion of a standard background check, with results acceptable to the Company, and will be subject to all terms and conditions contained in the current version of the Company’s Employee Handbook. Should you have any questions concerning any part of this offer, please call Fred Newton at 602-557-1703.
Congratulations Mitch. We look forward to welcoming you to our team!
Regards,
/s/ Greg W. Cappelli
Greg
What th'... What a thoughtful post. So Wednesday it is then. Great. What about the article about the financial stress a layoff imposes on those effected by a layoff? And that a few months severance covering half the time it takes to find a new career? How about the anger one feels when dipping into their 401K to pay bills while knowing their former execs traded in millions worth of company stock that year inside trading? Where are those articles? Because guilt is just one of the phases of remorse. And that emotion only deals with the ego aspect of the emotion behind being "effected" by a layoff, not the reality of what consequences are about to unfold.