“Why aren’t layoffs taught as a subject at business school?” Robin Astrigo asked himself. “Boards expect executives to do them well, but nobody knows how.”

He leaned his forehead against the cold window and stared out at the building across the street. The wind was whipping tiny, icy flakes sideways through Chicago’s alleys of skyscrapers. Robin couldn’t see through the dark glass windows of the offices of the big consulting firm opposite him, but he wondered whether the atmosphere in there was freezing too.

The analyst call that morning had been excruciating. Astrigo Holdings had missed its earnings estimate by 20 cents a share. Profits had dropped by double digits, regardless of efforts to slash inventory and expenses. Despite aggressive promotions and price cuts, the Astrigo home-improvement stores were losing sales to cheaper retailers with far worse customer service.

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