“Human beings are a resource and not a cost.”                                                                                                                                                                                                Peter Drucker   1909-2005                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 By 1994, Peter Drucker (1909-2005) felt much of his 60 years of business leadership writing had been ignored by business. For instance, many businesses that stated that they put employees first, but promptly fired them in the midst of a crisis. Many businesses are too autocratic and rigid with carefully stage events managing employee input to fir top-down all seeing, all knowing hierarchical management structures of too many businesses. Few businesses promote bottom-up  leadership, but businesses that promote bottom-up are the exception and not the rule.                                                                                                                                                                                     Best Buy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Dr. Bob Nelson is the author of                                                                                                                                       1501  Ways to Reward Employees                                                                                                                       1001  Ways to Energize Employees                                                                                                                    The 1001 Rewards and Recognition Field Book                                                                                            1001 Ways to Reward Employees                                                                                                                        1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        In a seminar, Dr. Bob Nelson compared how Circuit City and Best Buy responded to the volatility created by the financial crisis 2006-2008 during the Great Recession. For example, top-down autocratic hierarchal Circuit City fired their best and most productive sales personnel as an expense reduction with the caveat of hiring them back at a reduced pay. Similarly, Circuit City reduced the hourly pay of other starting employees to cut expenses. In reality, such methods cut through the fat into the muscle and through the bones of the company leading to slower sales and smaller companywide profits. Thereafter, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy reorganization followed shortly. After being in business for sixty years in 2009 Circuit City entered Chapter 7 Liquidation; causing thousands to lose their jobs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                On the other hand, at the same time during the financial crisis, Best Buy asked all of their employees for suggestions on how to improve operations and continue in business. Years later Best Buy is still in business functioning. Obviously only a few companies promote real bottom-up input to improve operation.