Memo to Self: Take a Hike!

That is when Doyle and Erick Soderstrom, vice president of marketing, told the rest of the management group that, given the drought of money, partners, and potential buyers, Altrec must plan for layoffs. And they volunteered to be the first to go.

Morford refused the offer. He insisted that a company built on solidarity, trust, and communication could fight its way out of any hole. The dogmatic CEO ordered his 40-odd employees to charge ahead at full speed. "The customers loved us, and more sales were coming in every day," Morford says. "There was a disconnect between our own skyrocketing numbers and the media reports about the death of the Internet. I hoped that, with a little more time, we could communicate our internal success to the outside world and bring in more funding. I didn't want to reduce the staff size at all.

"Unlike many other dotcoms, we didn't just hire résumés or use an expensive recruiter. We went through an intense level of scrutiny when putting together our team. And I knew that it would be incredibly hard to replicate or reproduce such a combination of talent ever again. I wanted to make absolutely sure that we explored all other options before going down the layoff path."

Despite the risk of losing valuable team members, Morford made the severity of the situation clear to the Altrec staff. He opened the books, calculated the stark reality, and laid down a deadline: late September. If money wasn't rolling in by then, about half the staff members could expect a pink slip.

"We were willing to take that risk because we wanted to respect people's personal lives and what they were dealing with outside the company," Morford says. "This way, everyone in the company knew the issues facing Altrec and began working together to tackle them, rather than competing and engaging in political infighting during our toughest hour."

The September deadline came and went. Doyle inquired about the layoffs. He received no answer. The notion of a perfect company culture went out the window as stress and despair replaced trust and communication. Doyle says that a "nominal paralysis" overcame employees as they lamented, braced themselves, and waited.

"Sales were climbing, and new deals were being struck, but I knew we weren't clear of trouble. That made me nervous, because I didn't want anything candy-coated for me or my team," he says. "I became conflicted as I prepared mentally to leave Altrec, but worked tirelessly to keep the business alive. I felt as if I were pushing back the ocean."

The Last Stop

Doyle calls it the "Come-to-Jesus meeting" -- the final supper for Altrec's leaders when he and Soderstrom once again offered to sacrifice their own jobs for the good of the company. This time, they weren't refused.

"Basically, anyone who wasn't serving the customer directly or facilitating the supply-and-demand chain was gone," Doyle says. During its first round of layoffs, Altrec cut about 16 jobs in its content, business-development, marketing, and public-relations departments -- nearly half its staff. Certainly, it would be difficult to trudge on without press releases, media coverage, and fresh content like Crown of Africa, the stunning multimedia presentation that earned Altrec industry acclaim, but decisions had to made. In the end, Altrec let a number of senior managers go, including Soderstrom, senior content producer Cathryn Buchanan, and director of human resources Jim Helmich.

"It was one of the most difficult things that I've ever done," Morford says. "I had to let some personal friends go for reasons totally unrelated to their performance. I was incredibly humbled by people's responses to the situation. Those responses proved to me that Altrec's culture was just as strong as we guessed it to be."

Remarkably, eight downsized or spared employees, ranging from vice presidents to junior staffers, offered to work for free or for a reduced salary. Morford kindly declined their offers. Instead, he gave each downsized staffer at least two weeks' notice. They were welcome to leave immediately or stay for a few weeks to help with the company's transition. In addition, they were welcome to use Altrec's phones, faxes, and computers to help them find new jobs. Most of the people laid off in October and November stayed on the job until the end, and some even returned for a few days of unpaid consulting.

"You can't pull off that camaraderie at the last minute," Stowell says. "A level of trust was built very early on that helped us make it through the horrible experience and emerge on the other side as friends."

Altrec headed into the holiday season with a skeleton crew, and Doyle was among the former employees who stuck around as a consultant and adviser. "Our papers were already signed, but we were helping the company," Doyle says. As media inquiries regarding the layoffs streamed in, Doyle's continuing assistance proved vital to maintaining Altrec's public image as it weathered its internal storm.

Happily Ever After?