I keep noticing a paradox that nobody seems to talk about.
Companies fire employees to preserve cash or stop burning money. Boards celebrate “headcount reductions” as strategic wins. But here’s what bothers me — unemployed people can’t buy your products or services. You’re cutting your own customer base and calling it efficiency.
I’ve seen it play out more than once. You trim the team, and suddenly productivity drops. Quality takes a hit. The work that used to be tight starts slipping. And the customers you still have? They get a worse experience. Short-term savings, long-term damage — every time.
This made me think of a CEO who did the exact opposite.
Haruka Nishimatsu ran Japan Airlines — one of the biggest carriers in the world. While most executives were flying private, he took the city bus to work. Bought suits from discount stores. Removed the walls of his office so anyone could walk in. Ate lunch in the company cafeteria, not a private dining room.
His philosophy was straightforward: leaders need to stay connected to the people who actually run the company. If management becomes too distant, employees stop thinking and just wait for instructions. And when customers get poor service? Nishimatsu believed the blame falls on management, not frontline workers.
What he did differently:
- Traveled by bus, not chauffeur — no black car at the door
- Visited aircraft and spoke with flight attendants — understood daily challenges firsthand
- Cut his own pay to ~$90,000/year during tough times while leading a global airline
- Ate in the cafeteria — gave people a chance to speak with him directly
That last point matters most. During salary reductions, Nishimatsu didn’t exempt himself. He shared the burden. That’s the kind of move that earns real loyalty — not a motivational poster, but actual sacrifice.
Here’s what this tells me about the companies around us today.
The playbook is always the same: cut people first, figure it out later. But Nishimatsu’s approach wasn’t just nice — it was smart business. When people feel respected and connected to leadership, they show up differently. They take initiative. They care about the work because they feel like the work cares about them.
Most leadership advice focuses on strategy, metrics, and optimization. But the companies that actually last? They’re built on trust, humility, and accountability. When leaders share the pain instead of pushing it down, everyone pulls harder.
We’re all in this together — or at least, we should be. The question is whether your leadership acts like it. Because trust beats private jets every time.
