#leadership

Comments on recent IT leadership announcement? How was the newly promoted GM?

Why is leadership teams so unnecessarily large? What real value do they actually add? They hold fancy titles but contribute nothing to product strategy or execution. Most seem obsessed with impressive job titles, posting on LinkedIn, and organizing pointless town halls that drain everyone's energy. These aren't leaders,they're overpaid parasites feeding off the work of G5/G6 employees.

Leadership stays busy, just with all the wrong things. Great way to use resources efficiently, right? It'd be hilarious if it weren't crushing us in the process.

A lot of people who were not here ask how was EJ different pre-2019. A few callouts:

• JW cut $100M+ out of the budget to avoid layoffs during the ‘08-‘09 crisis. PP wants to layoff home office associates to capture millions in what she sees as “expenses”.

• JW’s agenda was the field, home office, and client. PP’s agenda was her legacy but now that she has bitten the hand that feeds her (the field) and has bitten the hand that pet her (the home office/CSTs) now her agenda is retribution.

Besides her animosity geared towards associates who did not fit her political and social beliefs, she now despises everyone.

Pre 2019 there was a saying, “You think and act different when you’re a partner”. I haven’t heard that mantra in 7 years as it went out the window with her mandates and the people she has brought in along with the leaders hired in the lower ranks. The reason her door mimics her FA door from Michigan is because the name on the door is the only name that matters to her.

Looking at new directors and senior directors for consumer, direct, and channel for Kinetic.

6 out of 7 are an easy find on LinkedIn from Frontier.

It's shocking at how much new upper management folks are from Frontier.

At this point, it makes the most sense to file CH11 now and start a planned slide into restructuring, ensuring the best possible outcome and odds for survival. Save the company, and as many jobs as you can.

They will not do that.

As bad as things are, life is still pretty good in the command bunker. The EC is paid well and treated like royalty. They go to their F1 races, and attend sporting events in skyboxes with vendors they will eventually default on their line of credit with. It's nice, they run things, and have a comfortable standard of living; it is ideal.

What is not ideal is giving up control, giving up the perks, giving up the excessive compensation to drive the company into a ditch.

Actually saving the company would require sacrifice from the EC. They have chosen not to do that. Instead, they attend F1 races, spend lavishly (on themselves) and run out the clock on a company that could be saved. The company is an end to their means - nothing else. Whatever happens will be a lot worse that it needed to be, because they want to go to one more race, sit in one more skybox for a hockey game, lord over you for one more day, before a mandated bankruptcy trustee reined them in, and put an end to it.

Remember that when they say WE have to make sacrifices, WE have to do difficult things. WE, isn't we, it's YOU.

Leadership needs to get their act together.

Shouting, pressure, and creating a climate of fear in engineering won’t fix anything: in fact, it only makes things worse. Right now, people are acting out of fear instead of making rational decisions aligned with actual goals.

That’s how you end up with poor outcomes, short-term thinking, and teams that stop taking ownership.

If the goal is better performance, this approach is doing the opposite.

Share price still falling, revenues down SLT terrible from the top to bottom, especially corporates. Not even in the top 3 legal AI, CoCounsel not had the right vision, stand alone product the trying to link it with everything, clients just not buying it literally. When wil the board step in and purge the lot of them?

I was just told that Rick Fleisher and Anne-Marie Pepi left suddenly yesterday. No word if it was voluntary or not. Anyone know why?

This stupid company is always organic meaning, all the Execs are long timers (CEO, CTO, CFO..), so they have the same narrow minded mentality.
The company needs some people from outside who have vision and know how to do business. The current mo--ns do not fit for their positions and will only get worse...

Where is NIke's destination eventurally, that is the question that has been floating around a lot in this platform.

As long as EH and upper management maintains this death march to the Death Valley, it will be in the teens.

Quite frankly, I was extremely disappointed that EH was not able to come out with new, clear direction after 18 months in the throne. Yeah, JD left sh-t load cr-p around but with EH's pay scale that is task that is included.

I resigned two months ago for a new opportunity and I was really nervous about how it would feel to leave Target. Losing “opportunity”, the chance to work on things at Target scale, the benefits of Target’s brand on my resume.

Honestly, all of those concerns faded a few days in to my new position. Not because my new job is just like Target, but because I didn’t realize how poor the leadership truly is at Target until I worked with people who get along with one another and understand the goal of their work.

People have been welcoming and collaborative. I haven’t been stonewalled in a turf war. Communication is simple and clear. I get what we’re doing and so does everyone else.

The compensation is also par and so is my opportunity.

If you feel like target isn’t firing on all cylinders for you, leave. There are jobs out there.

In most organizations, you will typically find two groups of people. Those that are desperate to lead and those that are not interested in leading. Most times, your best leaders are in the latter group. The question is, how do you convince the latter group to want to lead?

Anyone know why Tom Liguori was replaced as CFO all of a sudden?

I once heard PP say in private that one of the the firm's biggest problem is over retention of underperforning associates. Did ER solve this? A lot of talent has walked out the door and im still surrounded by id--ts.

Scientists have published a groundbreaking report where they studied the smoothest brain on the planet, belonging to AT&T CTO Jeremy Legg.

“It’s insane, we’ve never seen zero synaptic activity in a human ever”, one scientist said, “we’re honestly not even sure how he’s alive.”

“We’ve long thought humans evolved from apes, but we thought it was a one way street you know, we never thought humans could DEVOLVE from apes, until we met Jeremy.”

According to the report, Mr. Legg has less neural activity than Kanzi, the world’s smartest ape. The discovery of Mr. Legg has led to the funding of more ground breaking studies, “this opens up the opportunity to study how the Neanderthals actually communicated and thought”.

In response to the report, Jeremy Legg gave a statement to our newsroom intern, “AI is se-y, Azure is se-y, data centers are not se-y. This reporter is REALLY se-y.”

EDay is new to MB and I’m 8 years in the MB division, this fruitbasket is a joke.

Scott Sheffield of Pioneer wants to get a job as an ExxonMobil board member

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/17/2025-06562/petition-of-scott-sheffield-to-reopen-and-set-aside-order

It’s hard not to notice the growing stagnation within 3M’s PSD division. For a company long known for innovation, the lack of meaningful new products coming out of this group is concerning. The pipeline feels dry, and the urgency that once defined 3M’s culture of invention seems to be missing. Just chasing lost business now.
Equally troubling is the apparent gap in leadership. Strong leadership should inspire direction, accountability and momentum and there’s a sense of drift. Without clear vision or decisive action, teams are left without the guidance needed to push boundaries or bring new ideas to life.
Employees feel it. When innovation slows and leadership doesn’t step up, morale takes a hit. Talented people want to build, create, and solve problems and not sit in a holding pattern.
3M has the legacy, talent, and resources to do better. But without renewed focus on innovation and stronger leadership within PSD, it risks falling behind where it once led.In addition commercial effectiveness is a total joke.
#3M #Layoffs #Innovation #Leadership #WorkplaceReality

Surprised nobody has said anything

Rolling layoffs, zero communication, blatant indifference. I have no idea who could deliver a "work hard" and "we're all in this together" load of cr-p with a straight face. But then again, they pick them specifically for such purposes.

Excessive discipline, control, micromanagement. They point to a business that's run out of real substance and strategic direction. From where I'm sitting, the whole thing is coming apart.

Thoughts on this? More general BS or or post large layoff related BS?

What happened to the highly anticipated external hire from a consulting company who was appointed to head DMC strategy? She disappeared after just a few months. Was she that bad?

How would I go about doing that? Is there someone I should send my resume to?

Detroit Employment Solutions Corp. (DESC) is addressing a significant budget deficit. The agency laid off 46 full-time employees, about one-third of its staff. The deficit resulted from accounting mistakes and expiring federal COVID-19 funds. Its CEO resigned, and the Chief Financial Officer position remains vacant. Interim leadership is working to stabilize operations and address remaining challenges.

Detroit, Michigan

https://outliermedia.org/detroit-at-work-job-training-unemployment/

Morale at USB is the lowest it’s ever been. Don’t believe the way they will try and spin the engagement survey. The only reason there is not a massive flight of talent is the economy. There is no support for the CEO or her managing committee. They are the worst in the industry and have shown that they despise the employees. They take millions for themselves and give no raises to thousands of employees.

Corporate real estate and the awful head of HR have ruined RTO. They forced people who were never hired as in office into the cheapest office spaces that are loud and dirty with people who sit on Teams meetings all day. The locations they chose to keep do not work for most but they said people having a 90 minute commute each way is acceptable for RTO. Read other posts for how awful it is here for people. They do not care about employees or their well being.

The best we can all do is demand new leadership in any forum we can, do not bank with USB, do not take the survey. Refuse to do more than the bare minimum. The only positive you will hear about leadership will come from GK’s damage control minions and the boomer boot lickers.

To my dear, hardworking US Associates,

I am reaching out today with a heart full of "purpose" and a strategy full of "synergy." As your Managing Partner, I’ve been reflecting on our commitment to being a "human-centered" firm. And what is more human than wanting to keep more money for ourselves?

That is why David Chubak and I are absolutely thrilled to announce the opening of our newest Home Office location in India!

The "Proficiency-ish" Pivot
Now, I know what you’re thinking: "Penny, how can someone across the ocean do my job?" Well, the data is in! We’ve determined that our new international colleagues can perform your daily tasks with a solid 70% proficiency.

Sure, that leaves a 30% gap of "technical errors" and "client confusion," but when you look at the much reduced cost of labor, that 30% is just a rounding error in our quest for efficiency. We aren't just cutting corners; we’re "reimagining the circle."

Out With the Old, In With the Bold
To facilitate this exciting transition, we will be implementing a slow, methodical replacement of US headcount with Indian headcount. Think of it as a baton pass—except instead of passing a baton, we’re passing your desks and responsibilities to a time zone that’s thirteen hours ahead.

Why We’re Doing This (The Honest Part)
At Edward Jones, we often talk about the "Rule of 70." Usually, it’s about retirement, but today, it’s about the 70% increase David and I are eyeing for our own Executive Compensation.

By offloading your roles to a lower-cost market, we are finally able to unlock levels of personal wealth previously unseen in the history of the firm. It takes real leadership to look thousands of dedicated employees in the eye and say, "Your sacrifice is the fuel for my next vacation home."

Looking Ahead
As you badge in for your next Return to Office shift, please do so with a smile, knowing that every spreadsheet you finish helps David and me get one step closer to our "Golden Parachutes."

We are so grateful for everything you’ve done to build this firm. Now, if you could just spend the next few months documenting your processes in extreme detail for your replacements, that would be just "super."

With deep (financial) gratitude,

Penny Pennington
Managing Partner & Chief Compensation Optimizer

I didn’t fully connect the dots a couple weeks ago but our leader made sure we saw the update to the in office goal on Workday, and that it meant full days which was at least 6 hours. I didn’t think much of it until yesterday when we saw all of the discrepancies. The tracked number is over 6 hours which they will never tell you because they want 8.

You're gonna need it with your new CIO.

Curious if anyone’s leader actually did damage control today by talking to their people or teams as this in office message went out? It seems obvious to me we were all left to panic and figure it out on our own. Rewind the clock 2 months ago and our workday tracker said 11 days, and a percentage. Now today nearly half the company is below the mark. Did your leader help you clarify that today?!

Put yourself in LE's shoes and enlighten us as to how yoh would go about doing things for the business to survive

Look at what's happened here over the last decade. Decline after decline. Bad decisions, missed opportunities, leadership that couldn't lead. AT&T is on life support now. Just waiting to see who finally turns off the machines.

I posted my thoughts in a comment awhile back, here's my peon take on the state of things:

MGMT isn't held accountable; escape is just a re-org away.

There's zero vision at the top. JP/BH/GD are not the right guys by any metric. Our sales incentives are aligned such that sales will pressure RnD to continue hunting the same 20 banks with the same multi-year projects. That pressure will force RnD to acquiesce.

CIS continues to be a useless rube goldberg SaaS for ticket generation under their current leader.

All while leadership continues to say that we're looking to get leaner, and deliver at a higher volume etc. etc.

Within RnD we have principal developers who don't know how computers work. When I say this I mean the basics of networking, filesystems, algorithms.

I had Sr Principal dev ask me what DFS was.... this by itself is not the issue, but it certainly points to the issue: people are not held accountable for performance, nor are they expected to improve their technical acumen, and inversely, they are rewarded simply for staying.

IMO:

SAS should strive to be (in part) the AWS of data tools. There should have a simple portal such that customers can input their payment info, click on a given tool, and crank it up according to some set of configurable parameters. It should be seamless.

This will require:

CIS and RnD to merge

a real SRE program inside of the company (it's insane and an indictment of the company that no one I've spoken to in CIS has heard of the term SRE).

us to retain top talent, and purge dead weight.

sas would need to spend cycles reducing service footprint/consolidating services/improving big O performance. several gigs of RAM is insane for a login service. Not to mention the fragmentation of said service.

The same model should be followed for solutions, which means prodman will need to actually learn how to do their job. we have some of the most arrogant, yet ignorant, product managers in the business.

know your domain, know the market, and sell to that market. every solution can't do everything. boutique projects are fine, but that's not gonna move the needle.

there should be pre-configured, highly opinionated, solutions that can be delivered and adding value in under a month.

Curious to see the perspective from people around the company

I'm lost. BD is lost. Can someone tell me what's really going on here?!

This is the worst I've seen it since I started 16 years ago. There is no one steering the ship anymore. If there's still a captain, no one's listening to them. The norm is hurry up and wait. The culture is lies, fear, anxiety, confusion, frustration, and baffling. One good thing I recently heard is that a bunch of higher ups were let go, so someone up top is keen on trimming some of the upper fat. Maybe we will be lucky enough to get more DEI hires to replace them!

Employee morale is so bad and stressed out that the leadership need to bring a therapy dog to make employees feel better.

Also, because of the above point, we are stopping measurement of the employee pulse score until morale improves.

Finally, we are going to delete your-voice slack channel because the leadership team is tired of you whiners.

He barely reads at a 5th grade level.

As our company is going through a tough time, I would like to propose the following ideas for saving costs:

• Pay Stephanie to do nothing. She has already proven that she creates negative value, so ensuring she does nothing will immediately increase the company's value.

• Move Bob to Cognizant, ideally to a low-cost location. This will allow him the opportunity to live the idea.

• Fire all the CTOs. Why do we need useless executives who have been unable to modernize our products for years? Replace them with AI bot. Productivity jump.

• Move Kelly to report to Koushik, so that both eventually leave. Huge savings.

Any idea you would propose?

I just got my total rewards statement plastered with the swollen face of our “HR Chief” bragging about our “total rewards program”. PLEASE!! Pathetic base pay (not tested against market norms since 2019?), finance using merit increases to fund their expense gaps, PATHETIC medical coverage and a “wellness” program that contacted of a few off the shelf apps that do nothing.

Oh - and surprise, we haven’t had a head of total rewards for 2 years, probably because nobody in their right mind would go to work with SM.

Even amidst all the dysfunction among the ELT, I truly can’t believe that SM is still in her role given the complete lack of delivery on basics like this.

Even with her complete disconnection from the reality of her employees, one has to think Penny MUST be cringing whenever SM opens her mouth. I know everyone else is…

While ballistic missiles rained down on our homes, the Intel Israel team woke up and went to the fabs. We coded from bo-b shelters with our kids crying near our homework station. We kept the PTL roadmap alive because we know it is the lifeline of this company right now. We delivered.

And LBT? Total radio silence.

When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is asked about Israel, he speaks with humanity. He acknowledges his people on the ground. He acts like a leader.

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/technology-science/artc-100-with-israel-nvidia-s-ceo-expands-tech-investment-amid-war

It is easy to demand flawless execution and celebrate roadmap milestones on earnings calls. It is another thing entirely to stand by the engineers and fab workers who are actually securing your future under the threat of war.

Not one word during the entire month. Zero. Now that the Iran war is over, i can honestly say this is an absolute disgrace.