Good is bad, better is worse

The economy seems getting better. The markets the past couple weeks might even be called good.

All of that is bad news for my company. I will not mention my company's name, but suffice to say that it is a large Wall Street investment bank.

Here's my company's current plan: cut costs, avoid losses, reduce risk. This is, I think, a recipe for disaster. An investment bank only grows by taking risks. That's what you get paid for! The idea that you could back into profitability by reducing losses goes against the business model. It's tantamount to not servicing the airplanes in order to save money.

The worst part is, an almost tangible sense of disillusionment is settling in among the troops. Last week, I felt surrounded by it. Two things always happen in these situations:

1) First, the best people leave. So far, that hadn't really happened, mainly because the economy stunk. Now with growing hope at the macro level, people realize they have options. I only know of a little turnover, but I can seriously feel it in the air. A flood of exits wouldn't surprise me at all.

2) When the best people leave, the good ones follow. The company that remains resembles the decrepit local mall, where no one really shops anymore, and the staff of teenagers doesn't care about the store, service, or customers. They're just drawing a check. I've personally seen increasing evidence of this.

If you're a manager or have any personal influence, you can do something about this. But, as with many situations, if you're someone who might try to do something about this, you'll most likely be one of the flood going out the door (see #1 above).

When things getting better are bad for the company, the game is surely up.