Far too often, leaders who are closing or shrinking an operation take the old tough guy approach. They make the hard decision, move swiftly to reap the maximum savings, and do whatever they can to please Wall Street. But in my more than 40 years in industry, much of it in turnaround situations, I have become convinced that the tough guy approach makes no sense. It can alienate surviving employees, anger customers and suppliers, and destroy shareholder value. Leaders can avoid, or at least greatly minimize, these repercussions by taking what I call a “soft hands” approach, treating important constituents with consideration and compassion. It consists of four essential principles that may appear obvious and commonsensical but are often ignored.