On Thursday, September 13, 2001, I went to facilitate a session with first line supervisors in a company for whom I had been consulting. It was the 6th week of a commitment of 10 weekly sessions.

Most of these supervisors had been promoted from a line position because they were good at their work, mature and smart. I was brought in to teach them better supervisory skills. Management expected them to produce more acceptable results. An earlier survey proved that business objectives and quotas weren't being met, and tardiness and absenteeism were unacceptably high. The company's managers saw this as a crisis and surmised that the first line supervisors weren't skilled enough to promote the company's mission, manage the workers or their work effectively.

The events of two days prior, the Tuesday we will all remember as 9/11, could not be ignored, so my first question to them was, "How is everyone?"

Everyone was all right and in attendance.

My second question was, "How did Tuesday go here at work?" I learned that at the highest level of management, the corporate office in another state, the priority was caring for the staff. They were allowed to take care of themselves and their family's needs first. The company