Healing the Wounds: Overcoming the Trauma of Layoffs and Revitalizing Downsized Organizations

11.5. Don't Listen to Chicken Little

The origins of the fable of Chicken Little date back to Indian Buddhist folklore, and there are many variations of what is now a classic children's story. The financial meltdown that triggered the second act began in 2008, and the global tipping point occurred in 2009. In the Chinese calendar, that was the Year of the Ox. Given the state of the economy, a more fitting representation for that year would be a chicken, as in the fable when Chicken Little panics and sets off to warn the king that the sky is falling. In the story, she misinterprets an acorn falling on her head, alarms friends such as Ducky Lucky and Turkey Lurkey, and in many endings winds up being eaten by Foxy Loxey. Here are four perspectives ...