Back To Milan and Salaries

I'm headed back to Milan this Sunday. I will be there another week. It brings to light some interesting questions for the masses.

First of all, many of you that may or may not read my blog may or may not know how many times I can use the word may in one sentence. Not really.

You may know that this year I was offered a 5% cut in salary due to "the economic times". They gave a 5% cut across the board. I'm not in favor of these kinds of cuts. They justify them by saying that this 5% cut saved "x" number jobs.

I'm of the opinion that this kind of "across the board" cut is lazy. It's like saying you have a bag of coins (from pennies to silver dollars) and someone says, "Your 50 pound bag of coins is 10 pounds too heavy. You need to eliminate 10 pounds." So you throw 10 pounds away without regard for the denomination.

The smart CEO would look at the talent and determine who is not pulling their weight. Some people may need a 10% cut or more. Some people may need to be let go. An across the board cut is just lazy.

Anyway, this leads to my conundrum. I'm a confident fellow and I'm very good at what I do. When customers, like the one in Milan, need help with their systems, they request me by name. I've told my boss and my boss's boss that I'm not happy with the 5% pay cut this year and if things aren't repaired by March, I'll be looking elsewhere for employment.

I really like working here and I don't know that I would be happier elsewhere. However, I don't love it enough to go down with the ship. If they can't afford to fix my salary (someone who is requested by customers to help solve their problems) then what does that say about the company?

Do I now press my case to my boss's boss's boss? Does my boss not think I'm serious? Does my boss's boss not think I'm serious? Does my boss's boss's boss care? Maybe the ship really is sinking?