Adam
I hope the site review works out in your favor. Doing what I do has severe consequences for all affected employees. I take that responsibility very seriously and make every effort to turn a site around versus closure. When I was younger and meaner, I just wanted to make a name, now that I've aged some, I just want to make a positive difference.
Most employees just want to go work, do their job, and go home. Management has a tendency to make things harder than they should be through asinine policies and outdated methodologies. Companies have a tendency to place great weight on a fancy business or engineering degree for their management and leave out the critical component of leadership. Contrary to what I was taught in the military, leadership cannot be taught. It is a talent a person is born with or not. You can put lipstick on a pig and train it to run real fast in circles but it will ever going to grace the cover of Vogue or win the Kentucky Derby.
I've always told the employees in the plant's I've been sent into that their future is in their hands. That we are all on the same team and all benefit when the company is profitable. At the end of the day, a company only exists to make a profit and pay dividends to its shareholders. By continuosuly treating employees poorly and thinking they know it all, managers can create a horrible work environment for all. By ineffectively managing the financials, they create a situation that requires immediate course correction to save the site. By ineffectively maintaining equipment, they create a situation where the capital required to return to as-built standards can be insurmountable. By not understanding the basic Six Sigma principle of y = (f)x, where output is a direct function of input (crap in crap out), they fail to understand the input side of the equation and always focus on the output side. And thereby continue to make the same stupid decisions that got them there. Combine poor decision making with ego and pride and the result is the necessity for guys like me to exist.
During this site review, I would recommend you keep an open mind and be willing to try something new. The old adage comes to mind - the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Most "hatchet men" are not bad guys, they just have tough choices to make. Most understand that their final report during a site review can have dire consequences for people who didn't run the ship aground but are on board just to make a living for their families. I don't enjoy the position but I've saved a hell of a lot more sites than I've closed. The same can be said for a lot of turnaround guys.
My prayer for this morning is that they sent you a good one.