Everything's great until it isn't. When the revenue line on a spreadsheet starts dipping toward the red, the vibe in the boardroom shifts from "growth at all costs" to "survival of the fittest." It's a predictable, almost rhythmic cycle in the business world. You see it in tech startups, massive manufacturing firms, and even your local coffee shop. The first things to go aren't the heart and lungs of the operation. No, extras are first to be abandoned, and while that sounds logical, the definition of what constitutes an "extra" is where things get messy.
It’s about the "nice-to-haves."
Think about the free kombucha on tap in Silicon Valley offices circa 2021. Or the experimental R&D wing of a legacy car manufacturer that was supposed to "reimagine mobility" but mostly just produced cool sketches and expensive prototypes. When inflation spikes or consumer spending craters, these bells and whistles are the first things tossed overboard to keep the ship from sinking.
The Psychological Pivot of the "Extra"
Why does this happen so fast? It’s psychological. Management needs to show "decisive action" to shareholders or lenders. Cutting the core product—the thing people actually pay for—is a signal of failure. But cutting the "extras"? That’s framed as "fiscal responsibility" or "returning to our roots."
During the 2008 financial crisis, corporate travel budgets didn't just shrink; they evaporated. Companies like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup faced immense public and internal pressure to cut the optics of luxury. It wasn't just about the money. It was about the message. If you’re laying off 10% of your workforce, you can’t exactly keep the executive retreat in Aspen on the books. In these moments, extras are first to be abandoned because they are visible markers of excess.
But here’s the kicker: what one person calls an extra, another calls a competitive advantage.
Take customer service. In a boom market, a company might invest in 24/7 live human support. It’s a premium experience. But when the belt-tightening starts, that "extra" human touch often gets replaced by a chatbot. The bean counters see a cost center. The customers see a reason to leave. This is the danger zone of the abandonment cycle. You cut so much of the "extra" that you eventually erode the "essential."
Silicon Valley and the Death of the Perk
We’ve watched this play out in real-time over the last couple of years in the tech sector. The era of "Cheap Money" (2010–2021) created a culture where perks were a primary recruitment tool. We’re talking about laundry services, onsite acupuncture, and subsidized "inspiration trips."
When interest rates rose in 2022 and 2023, the mood soured instantly. Meta, Google, and Salesforce didn't just do layoffs; they stripped back the fringe benefits. Google’s CFO, Ruth Porat, famously sent a memo about reducing micro-kitchens and consolidated cafe hours. It was a clear signal: the party's over. These extras are first to be abandoned because they represent a specific type of corporate bloat that investors despise during a downturn.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a shock to the system for employees who entered the workforce during the peak of the perk war. Suddenly, the "culture" they were sold—which was largely built on these extras—feels hollow. It turns out the culture was actually just a high-margin revenue stream that no longer exists.
The Hidden Cost of Dropping the "Extras"
There's a real risk here. It's called the "Death Spiral of Quality."
When a restaurant sees fewer customers, they might start by cutting the "extra" garnish on the plate. Then they stop buying the expensive, high-quality napkins. Then they cut the extra server on Tuesday nights. Individually, these seem like smart, small cuts. Collectively, they make the dining experience slightly worse every week. Eventually, the customer notices that the "vibe" is gone.
In software, this looks like abandoning the "extra" bug fixes that don't directly relate to new features. Or cutting the UX designer who obsessively polishes the interface. You’re left with a product that works, technically, but feels clunky. It feels unloved.
What Actually Gets Cut First?
- Moonshot Projects: If it won't make money in the next 12 months, it’s probably dead. Think of Amazon’s drone delivery or various "Labs" divisions.
- Professional Development: Middle management training and "leadership retreats" are usually the first line items to hit $0.
- Brand Advertising: Unlike "performance marketing" (where you spend $1 to make $2), brand-building is seen as an "extra" because its ROI is harder to track in a spreadsheet.
- Company Culture Events: The holiday party is the canary in the coal mine. If the party moves from a rented ballroom to the office breakroom with lukewarm pizza, you know the extras are being abandoned.
Not All Cuts are Created Equal
There is a version of this that's actually healthy. Business coach Dan Sullivan often talks about "simplifying to multiply." Sometimes, a company gets so cluttered with "extra" products and services that they lose focus. In this context, abandoning the extras isn't a sign of weakness; it's a strategic realignment.
Apple is the classic example. When Steve Jobs returned in 1997, he famously looked at a massive grid of products and cut about 70% of them. He abandoned the "extras"—the printers, the weird handhelds, the dozens of different Mac versions—and focused on four core products. That wasn't just about saving money. It was about saving the company's soul.
But let’s be real: most companies aren't Apple. Most companies cut because they’re scared. And when you cut out of fear, you often cut the very things that made you special in the first place.
How to Survive the Abandonment Phase
If you’re an employee or a department head, you need to know how to position yourself so you aren't labeled an "extra." It sounds harsh, but it's the reality of the corporate world.
You have to move from being a "Value Adder" to a "Value Protector."
A value adder does things that are nice to have—they improve morale, they experiment with new ideas, they make the office look good. A value protector is directly tied to the bottom line or the core product's stability. When extras are first to be abandoned, the people and projects that can't prove their direct impact on the current quarter's survival are the most vulnerable.
It's also worth looking at the "Extra" from a consumer perspective. We do this in our personal lives too. When the economy gets shaky, we cancel the third streaming service we barely watch. We stop buying the organic, artisan sourdough and go back to the store brand. We abandon the extras to protect the mortgage payment. Businesses are just collections of people doing the exact same thing on a larger scale.
The Long-Term Fallout
What happens when the economy recovers? Often, those abandoned extras don't come back. At least, not in the same way.
The 2020 pandemic saw airlines abandon "extra" services like full meal options on shorter flights or certain lounge perks. Even as travel surged back to record highs, many of those "extras" remained gone. Why? Because the companies realized they could maintain their core business without that specific expense. This is the "New Normal" trap. Once you prove you can live without something, it’s very hard to justify bringing it back to the budget committee.
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Actionable Insights for the "Thin" Years
If you're running a business or a team and you're staring at a budget that needs to be slashed, don't just hack away blindly.
- Audit the "Extras" for "Invisible Value": Some things look like extras but are actually structural. That "extra" person on the tech support team might be the only one who knows how to fix a legacy database. If you abandon them, you're toast.
- Cut Deep, But Cut Once: It’s better to make one significant cut to the extras than to do "death by a thousand papercuts." Continuous small cuts create a culture of fear where everyone is waiting for the next shoe to drop.
- Communication is Everything: If you're abandoning the extras, tell people why. Be honest. "We're cutting the free lunches so we don't have to cut people." Most reasonable employees will take that deal every single time.
- Watch Your Competitors: When your rivals start abandoning their extras, look for the gaps they're leaving. If they cut their "extra" fast shipping, and you find a way to keep yours, you just found a way to win their customers.
- Re-evaluate "Core": Every few years, your core business might change. What was once an "extra" might now be your primary driver of growth. Don't abandon the future to save a failing past.
The cycle of expansion and contraction is inevitable. Knowing that extras are first to be abandoned isn't a reason to despair; it's a prompt to be intentional. Build things that are so essential, so deeply woven into the fabric of your value proposition, that they can never be labeled as an "extra."