“How will you decide?” I asked. “How will you select the person who has to go?”

Lydia shook her head. “I need them all. I put a hiring freeze in January, and we’ve had some normal attrition. But at this point, if another has to go, we lose capacity. If things continue, we lose functionality.”

“How will you decide?” I repeated. “How will you continue? And here is a challenge. How will you work with a smaller team and not lose capacity?”

Lydia smiled, “Have my cake and eat it, too?”

“Face it, Lydia. This is going to be a long contraction in the business landscape. We have been preparing for two years, and now, it’s here,” I reminded her.

“You are right. This is not a bump in the road,” she admitted. “I know we have to be prepared for an extended downturn.”

“What did we work on first?” I asked.