Winning ( Chapter 8 ) Parting Ways - layoff by HSBC

Work isn’t a perpetual paradise. We will discuss how to manage a parting of ways with as little pain and damage in this chapter. Usually, the manager carries out letting ways in 3 situations.

1)      Firing for integrity violations

2)      Layoffs due to economic

3)      Firing for nonperformance

In the movie of Up in the Air is based on a novel which is published in 2001. Ryan Bingham ( George Clonney ) is a consultant who is conducting layoffs for bosses. He needs to travel around United States and delivery the lay offs message between the large firms. He also delivers motivational speeches, using the analogy “What’s In Your Backpack?” to encourage the jobless people to start a new life. Actually, he brings the new vision, courage and optimistic until the end of each parting ways conversion. 

Another character Natalie Keener ( Anna Kendrick ), she issues a brand new plan to cut costs. She implements a new method which is using internet web cam meeting service instead of the old fashion firing people process. However, she doesn’t have any experience on firing before. After she faced the impulsive anger from the employees, a death notice from a fired woman and her boy friend dumps her via a text message. She realizes that the firing process should include, build up his/her self-confidence, coach him/her and let him/her know there is a good job. The goal for the fired employee is a soft landing wherever he goes.

HSBC in Hong Kong carried a lay off 500 staffs in Asia after the first month of the financial tsunami in Oct 08. The superior announced that this was the formal action due to deteriorating economic conditions and its cautious outlook for 2009. Meanwhile, some of the layoff employees claimed that HSBC fired the employees for a bogus reason. Many of the workers with 15-19 years of service for HSBC faced the axe in this layoff process. On the Blog message from one of the staff was “One individual was fired because they did not delete an email that was (inappropriate) sent to them by some else 4 years ago.”. Several similar cases such as 5 minutes late attending to office or after lunch period were also used as a non-performance reason.

It seems there was patterns with HSBC letting people go with 15-19 years of service. Many of these employees were grandfathered under the household pension plan. This is a nasty procedure to get rid the employees to save on pension costs. All the layoff employees’ personal belongings were shipped by the courier instead of carrying out of the entrance from HSBC to protect its brand image and get rid of investigation by the news reporters.

In the end of this chapter, Jack Welch indicates that if the persons have an integrity violation, you should kick them away from the door and fast. In most of the cases, the manager faces the layoff due to economic crises. The manager should let someone go in right condition with no surprises and no humiliation. According to the action in Oct 08 of HSBC, it is shame that this bank is nominated as the best private bank in the world. In my point of view, to be honest, FUCK YOU HSBC.

Up in the Air - Trailer

Up in the Air - Firing Clips

Winning ( Chapter 2 ) Candor - Stephen Green, the chairman of HSBC

In the second chapter of Winning, Jack Welch mentions that lacking in candor can block smart ideas, fast action, and good people contributing all the stuff they’ve got.

The effect of candor can lead to winning process with three main ways.

1) It can get more people in the conversation. More ideas can be collected and study in the meetings.

2) It can generate speed. The solutions, new ideas and improvement can come out rapidly as many people debate rapidly.

3) It can cut cost, reduce the meaningless meetings and reports.

Jack reminds us the key factor to keep exisiting of  candor, we should reward it and praise it and talk about it. We have to demonstrate ourself in an exuberant and even exaggerated way.



Stephen Green, the chairman of HSBC will step down from the bank to take up the role of trade minister in the coalition government. He worked at the bank for 28 years. He will join British Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government as trade minister next year.

He is a hugh proponent of candor. In 2003, he reliazed that HSBC made the wrong investment. Plently of the shareholders from the public were disapppointed and lose the trust of the service from the bankers. He reported to the public that the industry did so many things wrong. Green was the first person refused to receive the bonus from the bank referring to HSBC's $15Bn acquisition of the sub-prime lender Household International in 2003. He is understood to donate a substantial amount of his own salary to charity while so many top executives at HSBC still received massive pay packets, with five bankers sharing a £38m bonus pot last year.

The prime minister mentioned he was the vital role of trade minister with his experience and expertise. To be honest, Green has a particular ability which can drive strong economic growth in UK.

Davos Annual Meeting 2010 - Stephen Green