#culture

That's that, anyone EXITED for the new merch.
Nobody really has anything better to do.

• Fundamentally broken and needs a full reset.
• There is no clear or credible technology roadmap.
• Leadership and hiring appear driven by internal relationships and favoritism.
• Vendor decisions often look questionable and raise concerns about incentives.
• Systems from acquisitions remain fragmented and poorly integrated.
• Deployments and upgrades move far too slowly for a modern IT organization.
• Overall execution is weak and the group is widely seen as ineffective.

Pattern recognition exists.
Why have a random CSAW right before every 'reorg'?

Return to office policies feel disconnected from how many teams actually work now. A lot of teams are spread across different cities and countries. Even when people sit in the same building, most of their meetings are still on video calls. The day ends up looking exactly like a remote workday, except people had to commute to do it.

It creates a strange situation... Now, peeps spend time and money getting to the office just to log into virtual meetings anyway. The actual work process does not change much. Communication tools, documents, and collaboration ALL still happn online. At that point the office becomes more symbolic than practical, and people start questioning what the real purpose of the policy is.

Pretty much the title. I know every group has their bad apples but seeing how many employees of other ethnicities (not even talking about white people here) have been disproportionality replaced by those from South Asian countries is absurd. Am I alone in thinking this?

I’m listening to the AI session and the BOAs and FAs are absolutely unhinged 😂 It’s honestly hilarious and kind of refreshing how funny everyone is. At one point someone asked, “Can Copilot tell people to mute their phones?” and I lost it.

This Lisa Bodello lady they are paying to talk about culture, too many meetings, taking the time to think, and all the other hogwash… she must not be in the loop of all the things Edward Jones is taking away from us right now!

She says “take time to think”. When, during our two hour commute? Because being IN the office nine hours a day isn’t going to be where we get to think when we are hearing everyone on zoom around us, being on zoom cause others still aren’t in the office, hearing people talking about their d-mb weekend plans, what they have for lunch, and other stupid bullsh-t.

She says:
Get rid of stuff that doesn’t matter— being in the office doesn’t matter.
Ki-l stupid rules at work —come into the office four days a week - it doesn’t add any value to the EMPLOYEEEE.

This Lisa lady speaking is absolutely fu--ing ironic and absurd - have a town hall basically telling us to fu-k off and our kids don’t matter - and the next day have this Lisa lady trying to tell us what we need to stop doing to be better for ourselves when Edward Jones is taking it all away. THANKS FOR THE GOOD BELLY LAUGHS EDWARD JONES.

"Silliness" LOL

Companies that operate with a hub-based workforce model should align their teams geographically rather than scattering small numbers of employees across multiple states. When the majority of a department or function is concentrated in a primary hub, it makes operational, financial, and collaborative sense to place the entire team in that same location instead of maintaining one or two employees in various other states.

First, collaboration and communication improve significantly when teams are centralized. Even in remote environments, employees located within the same region or hub tend to share similar, leadership structures, and workplace culture. When teams are spread out as “one here and two there,” those individuals often become disconnected from the main group, making collaboration less efficient and creating unnecessary communication barriers.

Second, centralizing teams supports stronger leadership and accountability. Managers can more effectively support employees when their teams are structured in a clear and cohesive way. When a handful of employees are placed outside the main hub, they may receive less consistent oversight, mentorship, and integration into team processes. Bringing employees together in the dominant hub location creates clearer reporting structures and stronger team cohesion.

Third, there are cost and operational efficiencies. Supporting employees in multiple states often introduces additional administrative complexity such as payroll compliance, state-specific regulations, and HR management differences. Consolidating teams in the primary hub reduces these complexities and allows resources to be focused where the company already has the strongest infrastructure.

Finally, a hub model should actually function like a hub. The purpose of a hub is to concentrate talent, resources, and collaboration in one central location. Maintaining scattered employees across various states contradicts the very concept of a hub structure and weakens the benefits that such a model is intended to provide.

For these reasons, companies that promote a hub-based workforce strategy should ensure that teams are largely located within the same primary hub rather than distributing small numbers of employees across multiple states where they operate in isolation from the core teams.

Ceiling tile looks like it’s about to burst open, drip has the sound of a faucet left on. Return to the office and expose yourself to mold and wastewater.

The asset management industry is changing rapidly, and staying ahead requires more than incremental adjustments.

One area that deserves close attention is the layer of middle management. Many of the managers responsible for executing strategy appear increasingly detached from the company’s long-term mission. When leadership positions become primarily about protecting paychecks rather than building lasting value, organizations inevitably lose talented people who want to contribute meaningfully.

Over the past years, a number of highly capable individuals have left because they wanted to deliver impact and build something meaningful. When those voices disappear, it is often a signal that something deeper in the culture needs attention.

The competitive landscape is also evolving. Firms like BlackRock have significantly expanded their position in areas such as ETFs and are investing heavily in AI and data-driven investment capabilities. Competing in this environment requires not only technology and capital, but authentic leadership and a culture that empowers people to act with conviction.

Strengthening leadership culture should start with divisions such as Strategic Advisers (SAI), where the connection between research, portfolio management, and long-term client outcomes is critical. This kind of review requires diligence and honesty, not narratives that avoid uncomfortable realities.

Organizations that are willing to examine themselves critically tend to emerge stronger. Those that ignore early signals often find themselves losing relevance over time.

The opportunity to reinforce a culture of accountability, integrity, and genuine leadership is still there—but it requires deliberate action.

Delivering the mission statement 'Lets get going' and simultaneously firing about 1000 people would appear to show a serious lack of common sense. Are you people serious?

i still can't comprehend the reality that there were people in a room deciding this is a necessary idea, are high level meetings just a bunch of sanitized robots? is there a culture of treating people lesser than? what has it achieved im still doing individual work plus teams meetings and not a single in person meeting

night and day difference in quality of life for the worse, just why?

There is no longer incentive to overachieve.
All loyalty is gone.
take care of yourself.

I reported in close proximity to Pete for 3 years and also worked around and with Felicia and Morgan. Pete was a great leader. Yes, he has two watches. But he was smart and asked good questions and focused on results and performance. He had what it takes. He’s a markedly better than Gail. The other leaders? Morgan? Ha. Felicia? Ha ha. Anthem has been a den of mediocrity at the top for a long time. Pete was better than them all…by a lot.

Remember when we had good pay, solid benefits, and you could move up without nepotism or a-s-kissing? When having Nike on your resume was an asset? Can we go back to those times? I miss liking my job. I truly do.

I’ve worked at Wells Fargo for five years. For four consecutive years, I met expectations and received merit bonuses. Last year was the only time I was rated “inconsistent,” based on metrics that were never clearly communicated, and I did not receive a raise.

Now I’m being told I must outperform everyone on the team because of last year’s rating. I’m required to have weekly check-ins and am being criticized over minor issues, while others with similar performance are not held to the same standard.

My manager has said this is due to a “new policy,” but the way it’s being applied feels selective and unfair. At the same time, documentation is being added to Workday that does not accurately reflect the full picture of my performance.

The company's entire focus is reducing costs. That means nobody is secure, no matter what you might think or what your manager might have told you.. If you're thinking of relocating or making long-term plans, think again. This isn't a place with a future.

I can live with LEX “taking over”. I can live with implementing improved processes from LEX and I can just about stomach the constant LEX narrative of “Xerox are sh** but everything we do is world-class” BUT what I can’t live with is the lack of diversity (of though, inclusion, demo graphics) that LEX have. I have workshops and calls all the time and I’m the ONLY female on them (as all the LEX people are male and white.) do LEX have female VPs? The culture that drives that non-diverse workforce make-up means the the underlying organization demonstrates s-xist and racist behaviors. I have literally seen so many example over the last 6 months of how LEX men bypass a female Xerox peer, so they can talk to a male Xerox person (regardless of “rank”) . It is like going back in time.

Dont let anyone help you or steal your work; you might be next. Hide, squirrel those files away! Yes mangers are doing this too.

Be great at execution! Be great at chopping headcount.

Do whats right: fire everyone!

Embrace candor: You will be fired.

Build a high performing team, bit in India.

Can the Mods create a separate thread or link for the Union folks? Just like VzW has its own...since these folks started posting here, we lost the fundamental topcs....

https://youtu.be/ApBnRnGFht4?si=lGmO5anh_7xoGAUk

The most toxic workshop culture I've ever seen with ill-fit incompetent management. More, More, More. Angry employees taking it out on one another. Do you think the execs know how it is down here? Horrible attrition, and still layoffs every 2 weeks. I used to be an over achiever, doesn't matter here, you'll only pick up the slack of the duds, bare minimum it is.

This will come as a surprise to Chevron management; respect is earned and not deserved due to title or legacy. It has been a long time since I worked with a Chevron manager who actually earned respect. Management drafts way too many entitled individuals into their ranks who have little to no regard for the workforce, do not have a reasonable understanding of the workflows they are responsible for nor a comprehension of the industry as a whole. Sad to see the company that I have worked for over twenty years start to cave in on itself due to poor leadership and decision making. Management ranks are full of nepo-babies, one hit wonders, and TikTok influencers without a clue. Experience, skills, and hard work are no longer valued here.

It’s striking how the true heartbeat of many companies the frontline workers in blue-collar roles rarely voices complaints about lack of recognition. Yet those in office based positions often amplify their own grievances about feeling undervalued or disrespected. The irony is clear: genuine appreciation is seldom extended where it’s most earned, to the individuals whose hands-on labor keeps operations running.
If the company strips layers and non-essential overhead, the organization would likely continue to function, and often thrive thanks to the quiet, relentless efficiency of those boots on the ground employees. Their backbreaking, essential work persists without fanfare, without viral complaints on forums, and without demands for constant validation. In contrast, the productivity of many keyboard bound roles is far more replaceable than the tangible output delivered by those who actually build, maintain, and deliver the company’s core value.
True organizational resilience isn’t found in boardrooms or spreadsheets it’s forged in the field, by people who show up, do the hard work, and let results speak for themselves.

Besides me, who else's TI dreams have been absolutely and convincingly shattered?
😭🥺😬😫😵‍💫🥴🤥

Creating this to discuss the circle jer… I mean town hall today

Employee appreciation gift- a $15 credit to grub hub. BUT you have to spend $50 to use it.

Cheap a-s Allstate can't even give employees a plain $15 gift card. Some of us don’t even have acess to grubhub in our areas.

Hate on me all you want but this is insulting.

Downstream VPs managers ruining Upstream, Uncon experienced folks ruining Deepwater and Deepwater folks ruining Uncon.

Yes we need cross fu ctional experience, but not Leaders/managers. They come and make people do uncecessary studies and projects which are doomed to fail. The upstream industry is more than 100 years old, yet these d-mb bozoz think they can change the world.

This is foolishness

#IGNITE Stupidity

My area is getting rid of our contractors, and not backfilling even after a large VSP leave. Checking to see if other areas are experiencing the same in the very near future. Is CF trying to get the rest of us that’s left to just quit? Entire company has fallen apart more in the past few months, just when I thought it couldn’t get worse but yet HR pretends we’re stronger than ever? Have they read comments from our members or providers or even employees? Leadership definitely doesn’t know how to read the room.

Between reducing OT making it virtually impossible , not enough staffing and AI taking over 😒

It’s been a year since DEI stopped (not taking about race, I’m talking about people who are unqualified and will not put in extra effort to be good at their jobs). Fidelity put us in this position because they promoted the least qualified people for management, rather than laying them off.

Layoffs SHOULD happen, but it needs to focus mostly on lower and middle management. That would literally solve the culture problem, the stress problem, and the culture of fear and stress. Instead of making a few bad apples sad, Fidelity has destroyed itself from the inside out.

Just like so many other sites, they were given a feel good speech and feel all safe and sound. It’s all nice weather before the storm hits. The layoffs are a roving spot light. Sometimes it quickly passes over, sometimes it stops and stays for a while focusing on one area only. Right now the Belfast office feels safe but so does the docks before the ocean swells. Oh, there’s plans for Belfast alright, they’ve just not manifested yet.

So after the multi phased layoff, re-orgs, I have a MD 3 layers up that does not understand the tech they are over. No shocker there, but they are making decisions that more than hamper operations. I can’t be specific naturally but let’s just say they are out of their depth.

It’s like “so you need nails to build a house, are you sure you can’t cut back on the number of nails used? or let’s try using half the nails, how about that?. If you aren’t sure if the structure can remain standing, then just build half of the house.”

That’s as close to an example I can give without jeopardizing my employment but you can see how odd and reckless this is. Now imagine trying to explain the folly of using half of the nails and\or building only half of the house and they just don’t get it.

Despite the online gushing about a Verizon turnaround since CEO Dan Schulman took over, the completion of its break up by delayering, which started more than 10 years ago, seems a far more likely outcome for what was once the top wireless provider in the US.

Verizon has been delayering for a decade
Delayering is when a telco splits itself into separate ServCo, NetCo, and InfraCo layers and sells off its assets to address its debts. (For a deeper understanding, check out this TM Forum research report on it). Verizon has been at this awhile.

Sold its towers

Verizon began delayering in about 2015 when it sold most of its cell towers to American Tower and the rest to Vertical Bridge just last year. Now largely a ServCo-Netco, Verizon leases towers from American Tower, Vertical Bridge, Crown Castle, and SBA Communications. The company still owns its base stations and other network gear, which move toward obsolescence every day.

Sold its data centers

Verizon left the data center business in 2017 through a deal with Equinix and now partners with hyperscalers like AWS and Microsoft for data center capacity. So, Verizon does not own much of the physical plant where it runs its IT and network systems.

Verizon’s IT landscape remains on its books, but much or most of that is outsourced and licensed, some is obsolete, and all of it is aging fast. As the pace of change increases across IT markets worldwide, especially with the AI invasion, its legacy BSS and OSS systems become costlier and less relevant to future value.

Spinning off its stores

Most recently, Verizon announced it would convert its company-owned stores to franchised Authorized Retailers. Most likely these physical assets will go to big partners like Victra and Wireless Zone, which already operate thousands of Verizon stores. This also relates to the company’s announced layoffs of thousand of customer-facing employees to shed expense.

Fiber miles next?

Verizon still owns significant installed fiber optic assets. Just as AT&T and T‑Mobile US lease most of their fiber, we should probably expect to see Verizon sell off this physical plant to raise more cash.

Becoming customer-focused? Not really
Schulman’s turnaround spiel insists the company “must shift to a customer-first focus.” This is a tacit admission that Verizon isn’t customer-focused now.

Lip service ripped from T‑Mobile

Spinning out thousands of stores to partners who charge added service fees doesn’t sound like a customer-centric move. The messaging sounds disingenuous and is cut-and-pasted from T‑Mobile’s playbook. T‑Mobile’s “customer obsession” has helped it take the lead in US wireless and it took a few years to kick in.

Cut rate holiday offers

Verizon launched a “bring your bill” holiday campaign to undercut AT&T and T‑Mobile pricing. This isn’t customer-centric, it’s prospect-centric. And it’s a race to the bottom price gimmick Sprint failed with before being acquired by T‑Mobile US.

This desperation rate cut coupled with the 13,000 non-union layoffs looks more like a short-term ploy to bump Verizon’s stock by doing two things Wall Street likes: cutting costs and adding subscribers.

These moves might benefit Schulman’s cadre of executives and remaining shareholding employees. Keep an eye on insider sales the minute the stock price moves north, if it does.

Cannibalizing its own MVNOs
Part of Schulman’s justification for price cutting is to fend off its aggressive competitors and turn the tide on customer churn. Wireless offerings from cable MSOs are major drivers of the churn he wants to stop. Two of the biggest players in cable MVNOs are Comcast and Charter, which use Verizon’s network. Verizon might win some customers away from AT&T and T‑Mobile with its holiday sale, but they will also undercut these wholesale customers.

Back in May, Verizon Consumer CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath was telling the street that cable MSOs are “a very important strategic partner of ours” adding that because they only focus on certain segments and play in markets where Verizon “may not have a presence… it’s actually a gain for us.”

Here’s your mixed metaphor of the day: Verizon is a snake eating its tail while rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship. This is BS on top of BS from Verizon leadership.

A mountain of debt to conquer
One thing Verizon does own is a $147 billion mountain of debt. This stands against less than $8 billion in cash on hand. Some of this debt is a leftover from the company’s debt financed, $130 billion purchase of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless back in 2014. Selling off assets to American Tower for $5 billion hardly made a dent. Some debt also ties back to its C‑band spectrum auction “win” in 2021, which cost the company more than $45 billion. Spectrum remains Verizon’s prized asset, but it’s not enough to overcome its debts.

This makes Verizon dependent on its rich cash flows. The company reported about $135 billion in operating revenue for 2024, with about $37 billion in cash flow and $19.8 billion in free cash flow. Verizon’s annual interest expense alone is around $7 billion. This doesn’t set a great stage for a turnaround and is a big part of the reason for the company’s mass layoffs just before the US Thanksgiving holiday. Classy move.

There’s not much left for Verizon to sell out of its cupboard and only so many heads it can cut to deal with its ugly debt problem.

If you’re a Verizon IT vendor, get ready to feel the squeeze. You can bet a round of contract cancellations are on the way. It would not be the first-time new management in a US telco booted out as many IT players as it could to cut costs.

Private bankers happy, public shareholders not
What’s left of Verizon will be a low-cost wireless brand that offers less value to consumers than its own MVNOs.

This reduced company isn’t suddenly going to care better for its customers. It won’t cater to businesses better as it trims back the IT and employees it needs to do so. And it doesn’t offer a better network than its rivals.

Schulman may have a great track record making investors happy, but which investors is he trying to make happy now? I don’t think it’s the public market.

Private banking interests will benefit most from the finalization of Verizon’s break up. Public shareholders will be left with the brand, debts, spectrum — if that isn’t also sold off — IT expense, and probably a reduced dividend in the not-too-distant future.

Verizon turn-around? It seems doubtful that’s even the plan. The completion of its de-layering and devouring by private money interests looks like a far more likely outcome. Then it’s a question of who buys whatever is left.

I think what’s worse than the tangible changes being made is the culture and environment it’s creating. They lack actual leadership competency to know that with any change comes a far and wide ripple effect you have to LEAD through! In the absence of that you create irreparable chaos that flows all the way downstream. Your next level leaders fear their jobs so they start throwing down hammers, those leaders isolate in fear cause they don’t know how to cascade those messages. Employees then feel the weight of all of it knowing something is going on and watching their colleagues disappear like it’s a reaping. The stress causes people to act in ways they normal wouldn’t and it’s not good! Unethical behavior takes shape, employees suddenly view their colleagues as threats - he-l even leaders do. You create a culture of every man out for himself trying to essentially save their life while dying on the inside.
Whatever your intended outcome is, congratulations MC, you effectively destroyed your workforce in the end.