Fernand L. Fortier ("Mr.Fortier") seeks review of the district court's decision to grant the motion for summary judgment of Ameritech Mobile Communications, Inc. ("Ameritech") as to Mr. Fortier's discriminatory discharge claims under the ADEA and Title VII (Counts I and II) and his retaliatory discharge claim under Title VII (Count III).1 For the reasons set forth in the following opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

* BACKGROUND

Ameritech provides cellular telephone, paging and other communications services in several Midwestern states. In 1990, Mr. Fortier transferred to the position of Manager of Staffing and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) at Ameritech. In the three years preceding his transfer, Mr. Fortier had received positive evaluations for his job performance in other positions with the Ameritech companies. Notably, from February 1990 until April 1992, Mr. Fortier reported to Jim Riecks, the Director of Human Resources. In a performance review for 1991, Riecks determined that Mr. Fortier met "expectations for most or all job accountabilities." R.26 at 3.

In April 1992, Mr. Fortier began to report directly to Mary Aguina-Tudela ("Aguina-Tudela"), the Vice President of Human Resources. Around the same time, Aguina-Tudela reorganized the human resources department and, as part of this reorganization, assigned Mr. Fortier the responsibility of developing a new safety and security function. As part of this alteration in responsibilities, Aguina-Tudela also changed Mr. Fortier's job title to Assistant Director of EEO, Safety and Corporate Security and removed his staffing responsibilities. Mr. Fortier retained his previous EEO responsibilities. There was no alteration in his compensation and salary grade.

In November 1992, Aguina-Tudela made a further change. She assigned Mr. Fortier's EEO responsibilities to Paulette McCann ("McCann"), a 26-year-old woman, and changed Mr. Fortier's job title to Assistant Director of Safety and Security. Aguina-Tudela told both Mr. Fortier and McCann that she wanted a woman in the EEO position because she believed that female employees would feel more comfortable discussing sexual harassment complaints with a woman. She also told Mr. Fortier, who was 42 years old at the time, that she thought it was time for "new blood" and that McCann "had a lot of energy" and would be a "quick study."

When Aguina-Tudela began supervising Mr. Fortier in April 1992, she noticed various deficiencies in his job performance. According to her, Mr. Fortier was often late in reporting to work and in completing assignments; he was unresponsive to her requests and instructions; and he persistently lacked the necessary attention to administrative details. Mr. Fortier disputes these characterizations of his performance.2 According to Aguina-Tudela, she counseled Mr. Fortier numerous times on the areas needing improvement.3 Aguina-Tudela also testified that Mr. Fortier lied to her on three occasions regarding his whereabouts when he arrived late for work.4

In February 1993, Aguina-Tudela completed Mr. Fortier's annual performance review for 1992; she gave him the lowest rating possible. Aguina-Tudela stated that Mr. Fortier was deficient in organization, planning, administration and basic management judgment. She noted that Mr. Fortier was unreliable in the area of accessibility and timeliness and that his follow-up on projects was unsatisfactory. Mr. Fortier disputes Aguina-Tudela's evaluation of his performance, claiming that she failed to consider his positive accomplishments, which he had listed on a Performance Appraisal Input submitted to Aguina-Tudela prior to her evaluation. He also points out that Riecks was his supervisor for the first three months and final two months of the year. Although Aguina-Tudela admitted that Riecks was in the best position to evaluate Mr. Fortier during the last two months of the year, Riecks did not recall whether Aguina-Tudela consulted him when preparing Mr. Fortier's review and did not recall Mr. Fortier's performance being more or less than satisfactory during those two months. Finally, Mr. Fortier notes that Aguina-Tudela kept the performance file containing her notes on his performance, although her standard practice was to destroy such a file after writing the performance review.

Aguina-Tudela testified in her deposition that she decided to terminate Mr. Fortier in mid-March because of his deficient performance. Aguina-Tudela sent Mr. Fortier a letter on March 30, 1993, informing him that he was being terminated as part of Ameritech's workforce "resizing" program. Upon hearing the news of his termination, Mr. Fortier sent a memorandum to Aguina-Tudela and McCann in which he complained that his performance review did not accurately reflect his performance. He wrote: "I believe that the appraisal and other criteria related to my employment, have been administered in a discriminatory way, on the basis of factors prohibited by law." R.27, Tab B, Ex.10. According to Ameritech, Mr. Fortier was ultimately terminated for poor performance, rather than under the workforce resizing program.

After Mr. Fortier's termination, McCann temporarily assumed Mr. Fortier's safety and security duties. She successfully performed the safety function for one and a half months and the security function for approximately five months.

On December 4, 1997, the district court granted summary judgment for Ameritech on Mr. Fortier's age and gender discrimination claims and on his retaliatory discharge claim. The district court emphasized that, to survive summary judgment, the nonmoving party must do more than show either the "mere existence of a scintilla of evidence" in support of his position or "some metaphysical doubt" as to the material facts. Relying on Geier v. Medtronic, Inc., 99 F.3d 238, 242 (7th Cir.1996), the district court determined that Aguina-Tudela's statements about her preference for a woman in the EEO job did not constitute direct evidence sufficient to raise a genuine issue of fact as to discriminatory intent because these remarks were made in the context of transferring Mr. Fortier's EEO responsibilities to McCann, not in the context of the decision to terminate Mr. Fortier.

The district court further held that Aguina-Tudela's statements at the time Mr. Fortier was relieved of his EEO responsibilities did not constitute circumstantial evidence sufficient to raise a genuine issue of fact as to discriminatory intent because there was no causal nexus between her remarks and Mr. Fortier's termination. Not only were the remarks temporally removed from the termination (by five months), but the remarks also did not exhibit discriminatory animus toward Mr. Fortier.

Turning to the indirect method of establishing a case of either age or gender discrimination under the McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S. Ct. 1817, 36 L. Ed. 2d 668 (1973), method of proof, the district court also held that Mr. Fortier had failed to raise a genuine issue of fact as to whether his performance met Ameritech's legitimate expectations. The district court determined that Mr. Fortier's prior evaluations, his own self-assessment, co-workers' assessments, and Riecks' informal evaluation of Mr. Fortier's 1992 performance were insufficient to raise a genuine issue of fact as to the validity of Aguina-Tudela's evaluations.

Mr. Fortier first submits that the district court erred because Aguina-Tudela's statement that she wanted a woman in the EEO position, coupled with his replacement by a female in that position and his eventual termination, provide direct evidence of gender discrimination that precludes a grant of summary judgment. In Mr. Fortier's view, the statements here, unlike those in Geier,5 are causally related to her decision to terminate him. In his view, relieving him of these responsibilities was the "beginning of the end" of his career at Ameritech. He stresses that EEO work was his area of expertise. When he was relieved of these responsibilities, he was left with only the new safety and security function. He relies primarily on the unpublished decision in Talbott v. Empress River Casino Corp., No. 95 C 5317, 1996 WL 400033 (N.D.Ill. July 15, 1996), in which a supervisor's discriminatory remarks, made eleven months before the decision to terminate, were determined to be probative of discriminatory intent.6 The district court's characterization of Aguina-Tudela's remarks as exhibiting only an "improper gender stereotype," does not recognize appropriately, he submits, that the remarks evince the sort of workplace bias that Title VII was meant to eliminate.

We believe that the district court was correct in concluding that summary judgment was appropriate with respect to the sex discrimination claim. At the outset, it is important to keep in mind that the adverse employment action of which Mr. Fortier complains in this action is his termination from Ameritech, not the change of his responsibilities five months earlier.7 Unlike the situation in Geier,8 Aguina-Tudela's comment about the need for a woman in the EEO position can be characterized as performance-based and therefore might be probative of the employer's discriminatory intent if sufficiently related, causally or temporally, to the adverse employment action under scrutiny. However, this remark, made in the context of transferring Mr. Fortier's EEO duties to McCann, is not sufficiently related, either logically or temporally, to the termination decision and therefore is not probative of Ameritech's intent at that time. Aguina-Tudela's comment about wanting a woman in the EEO position was related to an employment decision, but not to one that, on this record, was tied to the ultimate termination decision. Therefore, this remark cannot constitute, without more, direct evidence of discrimination.9

In other contexts, there most certainly will be circumstances in which evidence surrounding a previous employment decision such as a demotion would be relevant to and probative of an employer's intent in a subsequent termination decision. In Mathewson v. National Automatic Tool Co., 807 F.2d 87 (7th Cir.1986), for example, this court held that evidence showing discriminatory intent in the plaintiff's demotion was probative of discriminatory intent in the plaintiff's subsequent termination. The court reasoned that the evidence surrounding the two employment actions was sufficiently linked because the employer had relied on the same (arguably pretextual) reasons in deciding to demote and to terminate the plaintiff. The court noted that, although the lapse of time between the discriminatory demotion and the termination may reduce the weight of the evidence in proving discriminatory termination, the overall evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict in favor of the plaintiff. See id. at 91. Similarly, in Sennello v. Reserve Life Insurance Co., 872 F.2d 393 (11th Cir.1989), the plaintiff, who brought claims for both demotion and termination, was allowed to use evidence of discrimination in demotion to support a claim of discrimination in termination, because the two employment actions were intertwined. The district court therefore considered the same evidence in determining that both the plaintiff's demotion and her termination less than two months later were motivated by gender discrimination. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit rejected the defendant's contention that the demotion and termination were legally distinct claims that must be considered separately. See id. at 395. Such circumstances, however, are not before us today.

We now turn to the second issue tendered by Mr. Fortier--whether the district court ignored direct evidence of age discrimination. In Mr. Fortier's view, Aguina-Tudela's statements provide direct evidence of age discrimination. He contends that her statement that "new blood" would be good in the position, and that Mr. Fortier's younger replacement had a "lot of energy" and would be a "quick study," coupled with the fact that Mr. Fortier was terminated at age 42 and was replaced by a 26-year-old, raise genuine issues as to whether his termination was caused by discrimination based on age.

We cannot accept this argument. First, as we already have noted, Aguina-Tudela's comments, made in the context of relieving him of his EEO duties some five months before he was terminated, are not probative of discriminatory intent in the employment decision at issue in the case--Mr. Fortier's termination. Moreover, Aguina-Tudela's comments do not even reflect age bias. Standard usage and common sense dictate that "energetic" means active, "quick study" means bright, and "new blood" means a change. These comments, whether reviewed in the abstract or in the context of this case, simply cannot support a determination of age bias. See Blackwell v. Cole Taylor Bank, 152 F.3d 666, 671 (7th Cir.1998) (stating that employer's concern that certain employees were not "flexible" or "energetic" is not evidence of age discrimination); Richter v. Hook-SupeRx, Inc., 142 F.3d 1024, 1032 (7th Cir.1998) (holding that employer's statements that employee had a "low energy level" and was "resistant to change" did not raise an inference of age discrimination); see also EEOC v. Clay Printing Co., 955 F.2d 936, 942 (4th Cir.1992) (holding that statements referring to "young blood" are not probative of age discrimination or a discriminatory purpose); Gagne v. Northwestern Nat'l Ins. Co., 881 F.2d 309, 314 (6th Cir.1989) (holding that a supervisor's statement that he "needed younger blood" was insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact regarding age discrimination).

Mr. Fortier's case fares no better when it is assessed under the McDonnell-Douglas indirect method of establishing discrimination. As is often the case, this inquiry focuses on one element of the prima facie case--whether the employee was fulfilling the legitimate performance expectations of the employer--and on whether, assuming that a prima facie case can be made, the reasons given by the employer for the discharge are pretextual. As is also often the case, there is a great deal of overlap with respect to the factual inquiry relevant under these two prongs. See Denisi v. Dominick's Finer Foods, Inc., 99 F.3d 860, 864 (7th Cir.1996).

The record indicates that Mr. Fortier had received positive performance evaluations in the years prior to Aguina-Tudela's negative evaluation; we must keep in mind, however, that the relevant time to consider is the time of discharge. See Hong v. Children's Mem'l Hosp., 993 F.2d 1257, 1262 (7th Cir.1993), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1005, 114 S. Ct. 1372, 128 L. Ed. 2d 48 (1994) ("The critical issue is whether [the employee] was performing well in her job at the time of her termination."). Although, in some circumstances, previous employment history may be relevant and probative in assessing performance at the time of termination,10 its limited utility must also be recognized. Certainly, earlier evaluations cannot, by themselves, demonstrate the adequacy of performance at the crucial time when the employment action is taken. See id. at 1267. Nor can such evaluations, standing alone, create a genuine issue of triable fact when, as here, there have been substantial alterations in the employee's responsibilities and supervision in the intervening period.

We also believe that, contrary to Mr. Fortier's contention, Riecks' informal assessment of Mr. Fortier's performance in 1992 is not sufficient to raise an issue regarding the genuineness of Aguina-Tudela's formal evaluation. Riecks himself indicated that he did not supervise Mr. Fortier for a sufficient period of time to permit an intelligent appraisal. Aguina-Tudela was Mr. Fortier's supervisor at the time of discharge; it was her responsibility to gather information from the relevant sources, including Riecks, and to write a comprehensive evaluation for the year. Mr. Fortier's subjective self-appraisal also cannot create a genuine issue of fact regarding the honesty of Aguina-Tudela's assessment of his performance. See, e.g., Gustovich v. AT & T Communications, Inc., 972 F.2d 845, 848 (7th Cir.1992) (noting that "[a]n employee's self-serving statements about his ability" are insufficient to contradict an employer's negative evaluation and do not create a material dispute about the employer's honesty or establish pretext). Moreover, even if Mr. Fortier's personal appraisal contains true statements about his accomplishments, Aguina-Tudela was entitled to determine that the deficiencies in his performance outweighed such accomplishments.11

Nor can we say that any failure on the part of Ameritech to follow its own policies and procedures in terminating Mr. Fortier provides evidence of pretext. Mr. Fortier's 1992 review stated that he would be placed on a counseling statement to support disciplinary action if his poor performance continued. However, Mr. Fortier was never placed on a counseling statement before being terminated. Neither Ameritech's decision not to issue a counseling statement nor its categorization of Mr. Fortier's termination demonstrates pretext. Ameritech's Counseling Statement Policy appears to make the issuance of a counseling statement discretionary.12 In any event, Ameritech's decision not to issue one was not a deviation from its practices.13 In Giacoletto v. Amax Zinc Co., 954 F.2d 424, 427 (7th Cir.1992), the court said that an employer's failure to follow policies designed to help employees overcome their deficiencies may show that the employer never really thought the employee had any deficiencies, and thus that the employer's asserted reason for termination (deficient performance) might be pretextual. In this case, however, the evidence shows that Aguina-Tudela did in fact think that Mr. Fortier's performance was seriously deficient, and also shows her repeated warnings and counseling to Mr. Fortier and her February 1993 offer to provide Mr. Fortier with the services of an industrial psychologist. Under these circumstances, the failure to give a counseling statement could not support a jury verdict of pretext. Finally, Ameritech's decision not to discharge Mr. Fortier under the resizing program casts little light on the issue of pretext. Whether he was terminated under the program or simply discharged for poor job performance, the fact remains that he was terminated for failure to live up to the company's standards of performance.

There was neither direct evidence of discrimination nor sufficient indirect evidence under the McDonnell-Douglas approach to justify submission of this case to the trier of fact. The evidence submitted by Mr. Fortier raises no more than a "metaphysical doubt." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S. Ct. 1348, 89 L. Ed. 2d 538 (1986). Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.

AFFIRMED.