You Know Things are Bad

• When you have to keep making excuses for an employee (and yes, this can apply to chief executives).
• When what once had been regarded as disastrous performance now looks reasonably good. 
• When you hear that a meeting has been called and you automatically assume that bad news is going to be announced. 
• When you can outline the format of the explanations and buck-passing because you've heard them so many times before.
• When even the most inventive loyalists begin to look nervous. 
• When you look back on the hiring decision and wonder how the obvious danger signals could have been ignored.