Earlier this year Rob Katz cut his $840,000 a year CEO salary down to $0 for 2009. He knew that things could get tough during the recession for a resort destination such as Vail Resorts, which has five ski and snowboard slopes in Colorado and Nevada.
Then he asked his employees to take cuts as well to help colleagues keep their jobs. Seasonal workers were asked to take a 2.5% pay cut; executives 10%; and the board of directors 20%.
The moves saved more than $10 million, and only 50 of the 15,000 Vail Resorts employees were laid off -- which is far better than what Katz thought would happen.
"If last year was the worst of it, we survived its best punch and are still fighting," Katz says. "With [businesses] like us, it's not about the exact unemployment rate -- it's about how many people are worried about losing their jobs. And the latter has definitely come down."
Katz plans to start reinstating pay -- starting at the bottom -- as soon as he sees a steady improvement in the economy. When Katz begins paying himself again, he'll take a 15% cut off his original $840,000 salary.
"What you do in tough times shows who you are," he said. "We made a shared sacrifice, and now the camaraderie is incredible."
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