Standing ready amid corporate mitosis
When Xerox' CEO announced last week that her company would split into two businesses in an attempt to save itself, local leaders leapt into PR action to reassure the community. And achieved little. Bob Duffy, a former Rochester mayor and former lieutenant governor, scrambled a news conference. Now head of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, he told reporters that his Chamber "stands ready" to aid Xerox and/or laid-off employees. Newly elected County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo made a similar "stand ready" promise. Xerox sponsor decals on Ducati 999 racing motorcycle. By StealthFX [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons This metaphorical "standing ready" means: zero. Ursula Burns, the Xerox CEO, has so far downplayed the layoffs issue. But Duffy and Dinolfo tried to reassure the community without advance knowledge of Xerox's decision. For that matter, Xerox failed to first inform its own employees before the news leaked...