A conversation at a neighbor’s party brought to mind the notion that if ruthless businesses think it’s tough finding talented people now, wait until a situation they partly created makes things even worse in the future.

We were discussing the Christmas Eve firing of Bulls coach Scott Skiles, who isn’t exactly facing poverty, but who nevertheless represents all the poor folks who get pink slips in late December, like the single mother in my neighborhood who got axed from a bank job on the Friday before Christmas.

Then a good friend expanded the subject to explain why he has bones to pick with corporate America and vows never to play their games again. He is the kind of person this country wants and needs. He’s a Vietnam combat veteran, father of three successful children and husband to the same terrific woman for over 30 years. His putting stroke ain’t bad, either.

Besides these, he is one of the hardest-working guys I know, for years putting in long days, nights and weekends to contribute his experience and knowledge in logistics, transportation and construction management. Those skills earned him management positions at four different corporations.

But over the past decade or so he was let go by all four of them, none having to do with personal performance. Buyouts or consolidations, management shakeups or budget cutting were the reasons for his quartet of lonely drives home. He believes a couple of them drained him like a sponge until they got what they wanted, then said, “So long, pal.”

But here’s the interesting thing: This late middle-ager considers the whole sorry succession to be opportunity for him and his family. Why? He recently started a niche business and is traveling internationally to launch it. He also has a consulting job on the side and has turned down an opportunity from the consulting client to work full-time.

Consulting and building something new are great for Dave and his family, both in terms of potential income and stress reduction. However, one could argue that good-hearted businesses really wanting to hire this guy are now deprived of productive talent for a good ten years or more of his working life.

Organizations needing a person like him are thus hurt in the pocketbooks by the short-sighted companies that purge excellent people because Wall Street didn’t like the last quarter’s financial statement or because a new management team hired replacements at half the salaries. (Do they ever consider the expense of training those cheaper employees?)

Maybe it isn’t coincidence when they complain that hiring mediocrity is the only source of help because all the top performers are becoming consultants or entrepreneurs.

I wonder how many men and women there really are who will go to their graves vehemently defending the merits of private enterprise but, like Dave, harboring bitter memories and feelings about how they were treated...at Christmas or at any other time of year.

Business is a rough game and nobody I know expects corporations to be warm and fuzzy caregivers. But a few drops of warmer blood in their veins may actually prove to be a smart strategy for the future.

Now back to the popular, hardworking coach Skiles. After his sudden dismissal, a Chicago sports columnist had a great idea: Why hire a new coach at all?

The Bulls players are multi-millionaires who have been playing basketball for years. They ought to be smart enough to figure out offenses, defenses and who matches up best against a 7-foot center. What they really need is a practice coach to teach shooting skills in the gym, period. Watching the Bulls, I often wonder if God Himself could game-coach those guys.

An orchestra conductor can’t call time out before a complex movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to encourage the string section to step-up, stay focused and avoid mistakes. An orchestra practices hard and then performs on the spot without a coach telling it what to do. And critics are as tough on professional orchestras as sportswriters are on the Bulls.

Maybe Bulls management would be wise to have the team spend a month at practices and concerts at Chicago’s Symphony Center!

Mike McGinty is a free-lance writer for The Business Ledger and a frequent contributor to these Commentary pages. Contact him at mmcginty1507@comcast.com.