Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Joyce, have you ever heard of Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross? I'm sure the Doc has. Well, she wrote a book called "On Death and Dying" (Touchstone, New York, ©1969), and she is world-renowned for having identified the emotional stages that people go through after suffering a grave personal loss.
In my industry, turnaround practitioners believe that Kubler-Ross' work can be very useful in understanding the pathway of corporate decline. The turnaround industry adaptation of Kubler-Ross' five "stages of grief" goes something like this...
First comes denial: "My company's not in trouble." Then comes anger: "I can't believe my vendors are going to put me on C.O.D. status. I've been buying on credit for 37 years. I'm only 90 days late with payment. What's the big deal?" The third stage is bargaining: "If only my banker would loan me $1 million, all my problems would be solved." Next, managers show signs of depression, coming in late, leaving early, and generally withdrawing. Finally comes acceptance, which is usually when they first ask for help.
Unfortunately, most people running financially distressed companies never get to the acceptance stage. Either their debtors step in, or they reach bankruptcy first.
Where do you think AIPN fits into this process, if at all?
Thanks in advance for your response.
Razor |
