The turbulence experienced in the 1980s in the U.S. business environment has led to something of a motivational crisis among corporate managers.

Increased competition, budget constraints, and changing demographics are forcing companies into adopting strategies geared toward downsizing and flatter organizational structures. While corporate America probably has begun to accept its leaner profile, it has not yet successfully addressed the issue of how to keep the best managerial talent "tuned in and turned on" in an era of dwindling resources.

This article describes and assesses one corporation's efforts to maintain top-managerial motivation through a unique form of job swapping called the "Muscle Building" program at Greyhound Financial Corporation in Phoenix, Arizona. Muscle building. a top-management job rotation program, helps prevent career gridlock, fosters management diversity, and provides for top-management succession. "Hidden" costs and benefits of the program and issues concerning its implementation are discussed.