Heroic medicine and business downsizing: management’s dark ages

Examines the current trend towards downsizing using the metaphor of heroic medicine, an old medical practice which entailed bleeding the patient (often to death). The passion that an entrepreneur imbues in an organization can only bear fruit if the people take part in nurturing and sustaining it. Downsizing as a business model goes against the idea of reciprocal responsibility which underlies worker motivation, and consequently competitiveness. Business leaders are advised to treat their enterprises as holistic entities, and pay attention to its members dreams and aspirations so as to draw strength from its people.