re: Griffin maybe the messiah but .....
Good points, Gary. The point about scaring away many of the workers you'd want to keep is something senior managers often don't get. Even if making the transition of focus makes sense, doing it in an abrupt, painful way sends a clear signal to the rest of the workforce. Especially if it isn't the first time it's happened in the organization.
Not necessarily Griffin's fault since he doesn't fully control the purse strings, but in general it's a very underappreciated cost when making fundamental organizational changes, whether in govt or business.