Tony Coleman

"Tony Coleman, who looked like an undertaker in his dark suit and needed only a top hat to complete the picture, started the proceedings promptly at 10 a.m. He had staggered the meetings over the length of the morning so that he could "acum be present at as many of them as possible. With a mixture of guilt and relief, I watched as Kajsa walked briskly off to dismiss her staff. They had been gathered into three rooms, according to their different job descriptions. With Tony Coleman at her heels, she walked into the first room, fired the people there, walked into the next room, fired the people there, and then into the third. It was all over in about fifteen minutes. Shocked, angry and ashen-faced, the Boom team and other mem- bers of Kajsa’s staff trickled out of the building. Kate Alvarez was in tears. The Gurkhas had been detailed to watch over them to make sure that they left the premises straight away and didn’t take any com- pany property. It was all very corporate, very correct and very brutal. Thad only two staff of my own — Esther Galan and Paul Kanareck —and didn’t personally have to dismiss anyone, but as CEO I felt the greatest responsibility for all the sackings, and sitting at my desk quietly while my management team had to take part in the blood- letting made me feel even more ashamed.,Tony Coleman, who organized the day, may have become the focus of people’s anger, but he was only carrying out my orders."

"Suddenly we realized just how very young we were. Of the senior management team, most of us were still in our late twenties and early thirties and had never had to do anything like this before. So it was almost with desperation that we turned for guidance to our head of human resources, Tony Coleman. In his early forties, he possessed the experience that we so badly needed. A small man about the size of Napoleon, he assured us that he had sacked a whole army of people before. He knew what had to be done. The day before, we sat down with him for a final strategy session. Immediately he took charge, pulling his chair close to the table and making sure everyone was silent before speaking. “This is always a tricky process,’ he said, with a grave expression. ‘But if we handle it oe we can get it over very quickly.’ The textbook procedure, he etulanedds was to tell everyone simultaneously in separate rooms. “You don’t want people finding out before it’s their turn,’ he said. “The important thing is to tell them quickly. You shouldn’t spend more than ten minutes with them at the most. And, above all, keep your feelings to yourselves. Your sympathy isn’t going to help them. Everything you say must be kept on a strictly professional level.’ Kajsa grimaced. “God, that’s so corporate. I don’t see why we have to be that cold.’ ‘People who have just lost their jobs don’t need your sympathy,’ Coleman said. “They don’t care. They just want to know the facts.’ ‘Maybe if they work in a bank,’ she countered. “But these are our friends. We can’t just throw them out.’ ‘What happens after we’ve told them?’ Luke asked, looking equally upset. ‘They have to go home and think about it,’ Coleman replied."