You're a newly appointed CEO — or perhaps a Board Member scrutinizing the numbers or an Employee watching from the ground floor or a Successor inheriting someone else's mess. Over 8 quarters, face the dilemma: SLASH the workforce for short-term financial gains, or INVEST in your people for long-term organizational health.

The strategy looks right for the first few quarters. That's the point. The hidden ledger accumulates underneath the good numbers — and eventually it always arrives.