#culture

As I reflect on my life and career I have learned that no one is in charge except me. Yes there are so so many things we can’t control. You have to adjust and do what is best for you. Trust your gut. One door closes, another opens. Be true to yourself and never give up. We will all get past this. Stay positive and resilient. Wish all you better days, it will come, just have hope!!!! At the end of the day we are all human no matter what position you have or what money you make.

Is it a bit tone deaf that leadership teams are traveling to Mexico and Canada for “offsites” to attend World Cup games? Nike is a sports company and employees should embrace the World Cup but when increases are 0% to 2% and PSP will be , this might not be a priority when there will probably be more layoffs coming

Look, nobody knows jobs better than me. Nobody. And what Verizon is doing? Total disaster. A complete and total disgrace! They just fired 67 brilliant, incredible American workers from the NRB—the Network Repair Bureau. These are the people who keep the wires working, folks. Real Americans, tough, smart, the best. Gone! Just like that.

And where did their jobs go? India! They sent them to India. Unbelievable.

And you have to look at who is running the show over there. Dan Schulman—what is he doing? What a total lightweight. He comes in, he fires 67 of our great, hardworking American people, and for what? I thought these big corporate geniuses were telling us that "Agentic AI" was going to do everything. They said AI was going to fix the phones, fix the networks, make the coffee—everything!

So I have to ask: Are the people in India smarter than the AI? Or is Dan Schulman just completely clueless? I think we know the answer, folks. It’s a total mess. He can't figure out the AI, so he just ships the jobs overseas. Sad!

But let me tell you something, we’ve seen this story before. Remember Carrier AC? Carrier was going to move all those air conditioning jobs to Mexico, totally abandon Indiana. And what did I do? I stepped in, I made the call, and we saved over a thousand American jobs! The fake news said it couldn't be done, but we did it. We protected those workers, and they stayed right here in the USA where they belong.

And I am going to do the exact same thing for the Verizon workers!

We are not going to let these big corporate executives destroy American families and ship our legacy overseas. We have the best workers right here in America. We’re going to bring those jobs back, we’re going to look at Verizon, and we are going to take care of our people.

America First, folks. Always!

Has anyone heard what they are going to do about 7/3? The 2026 holiday calendar shows 7/3 as a holiday but we have never observed the Friday before when a holiday falls on a Saturday. We usually get a float day. The federal reserve, DTC and everyone else is open on 7/3 so wondering if we are really going to be closed.

Is “Advisor” the new Exxon retirement plan?

Every week I see another Advisor, Advanced Advisor, Senior Advisor, Expert Advisor, Strategy Advisor, Effectiveness Advisor, Change Advisor, etc.

At what point does a company have more advisors than people actually doing the work?

Asking for the engineers, technicians, operators, and researchers who are somehow expected to absorb the workload every reorg.

Over 70% of AT&T employees are over 50 years old… Let that sink in.

This company is rapidly approaching a point where a huge percentage of its workforce will be eligible for retirement, taking decades of knowledge and experience with them.

Normally that wouldn’t be a problem. You’d replace them with the next generation of talent.

But that’s the problem.

AT&T has made itself deeply unattractive to many professionals under 40. Five-day RTO. Presence reports. Badge tracking. Relocations. Constant uncertainty. Policies that feel like they’re from 40 years ago, not 2026.

The people leaving aren’t the ones with no options. They’re the ones who do have options. The ones with the skills they want to keep around.

And the people choosing where to start or build their careers are increasingly choosing somewhere else. The applications here have never been lower.

Leadership seems convinced employees are interchangeable. They aren’t.

You can replace a body. You can’t replace experience. You can’t replace institutional knowledge. And you can’t force talented people to join a company they don’t want to work for.

That’s the real risk….

Five years from now, what does this workforce look like if retirements accelerate, experienced employees keep leaving, and younger talent keeps looking elsewhere?

The answer should concern everyone, especially you, Stink!

The solution isn’t complicated… end five-day RTO, ki-l the presence reports, and start making this company a place people actually want to work again.

Because right now we’re not just losing today’s talent, we’re losing tomorrow’s too.

This company is #3 out of the big 3 in telecom with no chance of ever becoming #1 again. Things are headed downhill fast and this company is circling the drain. Time to make a change before it’s too late. Your move, Stinky-Legg and Gerbil Jeffy McSelfish!

My team just moved managers to individual contributors because they had about far below the new minimum requirement of 9 directs. This was a major positive because they were very negative and known for micromanaging and creating rework for their directs and now the directs have a decent manager. Anyone else seeing good or bad things because of this rule? It looks like it’s rolling out faster in some groups that others.

I've heard there are some teams and people with various BH licenses not being allowed to make calls and do their role "while they look into it". Supposedly someone noticed something and now they are questioning if they are even allowed to make the outreaches. The timing is fishy. Anyone else heard this or having the experience? I don't feel secure in my role at all.

Should I leave a competitor to come work for P66? I currently have 8 years where I’m at now!

The why……Currently unhappy with the politics and d-mb ranking system. I know every job has a downfall but unaware of how P66 operates!

So we were informed that we need to have 7 hours of steady typing, mouse clicks and phone per day. After removing allotted lunch/breaks, that is 100% of time chained to a desk? So we are forced to drive hours to sit in an open plan sweatshop just to continuously type and click? Wasn't the "purpose" of forcing everyone into an office for COLLABORATION? Why does WF hate their employees?

Has anyone had any dealings with the senior head of HR? My understanding is he is the one pushing RIFS, and a reason behind this increasingly toxic place. He wants RIFS everywhere but has the most toxic people leading HR teams.

Anyone know the business logic on being the only processor that does not observe Juneteenth?

If we replaced the operating committee with AI agents trained on the latest groupthink, what would change.

nada.

These people have no clue.

Who wants to submit them to the Guinness book of WR? How can you destroy 2 top 10 banks? Unreal!

After over a decade in corporate banking, I’ve realized that one of the most frustrating things about modern corporate culture is when performance expectations become increasingly subjective.

It’s one thing to be measured on clear outcomes, production, quality, deadlines, or objective standards. It’s another to be told you need more “critical thinking,” more “ownership,” more “judgment,” or more “independence” without clear definitions of what success actually looks like.

What I’ve experienced is a shift away from structured work and toward ambiguity. Employees are expected to make decisions with incomplete information, navigate constantly changing expectations, and somehow know exactly what leaders want even when the target keeps moving.

The irony is that the people doing the work are often asking for clarity because they genuinely want to succeed. Instead, they can be labeled as needing too much guidance or not being independent enough.

At some point, organizations have to ask themselves whether they are creating environments where people can succeed or environments where expectations are so subjective that almost anyone can be told they aren’t meeting them.

I’ve always believed that if someone knows what success looks like, most people will work hard to achieve it. The challenge is when success becomes a moving target.

Maybe it’s not that employees don’t want to perform. Maybe they’re exhausted from trying to hit goals that are difficult to define in the first place.

This is from 1999 when we saw share prices drop by 24 percent just wondered if they dusted this off from an old set of meeting minutes..it feel awful familiar.

"In April, Thoman unveiled a plan to remake Xerox’s image as a technology company instead of a copier maker. The shift, which involves realigning the sales force, is designed to let Xerox sell customized packages of consulting services, software and machines that the company says will generate half its revenue in the next decade."

Not wanting to raise the alarm bells but take a look at Verizon layoffs if you want an idea at how unpopular the new CHRO has been and get ready for inane posts on LinkedIn featuring vacuous slogans

Thanks to McKinsey for ruining an American gem

… that’s all.

First principles are the foundational, irreducible truths of a system that cannot be deduced any further. SNPS is a software company that depends on selling software for profits. So the first principles of the company are those who write codes and those who sell the software. Anything else should serve these two principles: reduce distraction, provide a comfortable working environment, and give them good compensation.

However, at SNPS, these 2 groups are the ones who are mostly ignored and suppressed. When management flips the organizational hierarchy, bureaucracy cannibalizes the engineers who build the product and the sales professionals who generate revenue. Every supporting department—from middle management to HR—should exist solely to optimize this pipeline, not obstruct it. Losing sight of this foundational truth triggers immediate organizational decay. This is the root cause of extreme low productivity compared with our competitors.

This structural inversion creates dangerous consequences for the company's market position. High-performing talent does not stay where it is marginalized. When top-tier developers and elite sales executives face hostility, they leave for competitors who respect first principles. The company is then left with a culture of compliance rather than innovation, where survival depends on pleasing managers rather than creating superior products or winning market share.

To see this reality clearly, it is worthwhile to pause and count the people around you. Ask yourself: how many actually write code? How many engage in real sales? And how many do nothing but to make their managers happy? When the talkers outnumber and outrank the doers, a company has abandoned its first principles.

At SNPS, It's not uncommon that an IC sits in the 8th or 9th layer in the reporting structure. We, the front line engineers, don't need so many nannies and care givers.

Fiserv cannot afford to keep ineffective, incompetent, inexperienced VPs! Waste of $$$$. They warm their seats, collect a nice salary and add no value. Their staff runs the ship without them - why keep them?? Their resume speaks for themselves - no real leadership or industry experience or knowledge and they don’t care about us or our clients! Someone explain WHY in the heck they get to take advantage of Fiserv?! We are dying here! Someone take responsibility!!! Let’s win back our reputation!

When will ELT and Sr Leaders slow down the type and quantity of change they are shoving down our throats?! I understand that change is required in any organization, but for fcks sake give us a change to digest these changes and understand them before you dump more on us!

Change fatigue is real, and is the main reason I want to leave but probably won't because of the amount of $$ I have wrapped up in my LP. Plus, I don't want the tax hit from having to sell it if I leave and work for a competing firm.

But seriously... just fckng leave us alone for a hot minute.

Extremely worried about the future here. Uncertain times. Will these centers survive?

Dell Federal was always the darling (along with Global). Federal had their own building annex next to building 3 when I was there (for -security- and their red outlined badges to easily identify them as part of the elite Fed team). They had the most lifers and boomers @ Dell. Many ex-military. Life couldn't get better at Dell if you were in Dell Federal Sales. Do they still reign supreme with their easy Government appropriations and special blanket purchase agreements worth billions of dollars... most of the mega easy commissions checks cut by Dell were for Federal AEs, ISRs, SEs and ISG/CSG TSRs. Hope they are still doing well and raking in the cash.

Some managers and dirs just do follow ups, just they pressure on developers to deliver data to meet deadlines. They didn't even know proper architecture, business, no proper direction to dev's and some even don't know basic git commands. I don't know how are they even surviving in this org.

I can’t believe these people are the leadership.

When is the next Beat. I am missing the commentary. That one person really made my day.

Did you like the Beat updates?

Apaches how’s the vibe now? You had 100 days to feel empowered and successful…now the man behind the curtain needs to drop trousers (oil price) so the midterms don’t destabilize the wizard of Oz.

What’s break even now? Can Apache continue nickel and dimming its vendors?

I don’t want to do any work, clearly why should we work when Sarah doesn’t give a damn about anyone but greedy self.
Sarah is a character she talks about the struggles of her mother and what she did for her on LinkedIn for Mother’s Day. Than she does this. Come on do better and stop being fake.

I joined today's ESPP call after hearing about the share scheme and understanding that managers had been awarded shares, with some reportedly receiving free shares worth around $10,000. I expected the session to explain a similar opportunity for employees.

Instead, we were told that we can participate by purchasing shares at a 15% discount. While I appreciate that a discounted purchase plan has value, it was disappointing to learn that managers receive shares at no cost while individual contributors are expected to buy them.

The difference in treatment feels inconsistent with the "One Hitachi" message that was highlighted during the presentation. If the goal is to foster a sense of shared ownership and unity across the organisation, a scheme that is perceived as benefiting one group significantly more than another risks sending the opposite message.

For all the people posting "just quit," I'm assuming you either have wealthy parents, a wealthy spouse, a trust fund, or simply don't understand that most American households rely on two incomes to keep the lights on.

The idea that people can "just quit" comes from a place of privilege. Many people can't simply walk away from a paycheck. They can't magically afford a maid, laundry service, extra childcare, or elder care to make RTO more manageable, or months of reduced income or no income on unemployment while they search for something new. And let's be honest—the job market isn't exactly making that decision easier right now.

What makes this especially frustrating is that many of us chose these roles over the last few years because they were advertised as remote or hybrid—not because we were specifically committed to one company. Changing the rules after people have built their lives around those expectations feels like a bait-and-switch.

So when people say, "just quit," what they're really saying is, "just absorb the financial risk and disruption to your life." That's easy advice to give when you have a safety net. Not everyone does.

The result isn't that people leave. The result is that you end up with a lot of frustrated, disengaged employees who feel stuck because they can't simply walk away.

And yes, it's hard not to notice that many of the people making these decisions have financial security and flexibility that most workers don't. It's a lot easier to tell someone else to take a risk when you're insulated from the consequences yourself.

Not to mention that the office setup, hot-desking, and commutes are terrible.

Am I getting paid for that commute time? No. Should I be? Probably. We all should be.

And let's not pretend there aren't real quality-of-life impacts. A lot of people use the flexibility of remote work to take a walk, go to the gym, attend a doctor's appointment, pick up a family member, or simply take a break that helps them manage stress and stay productive. When you're spending hours each day commuting to and from an office, that time disappears.

For many people, return-to-office doesn't just mean working from a different location. It means less time for exercise, less time for family, less time for errands, and less time to take care of their mental and physical health—all while doing the exact same work they were already doing successfully from home.

I’ve literally heard nothing about engine in my functions for months. Anyone have insight into it? Is it working? Or is it like agile, and we’ll just all forget it, and it’s associated magical thinking, ever happened?

Dear “leads”,
What the actual fu-k are you doing up there? If your goal is to make Mattel the least respected, most toxic, revolving door of all time - continue celebrating yourselves, you’ve done it.
Signed,
Someone struggling to care as little as you do.

Why is anyone still working here? Being unemployed would be better for you at this point. Leave the company. Let them choke on their own nonsense. Zuck deserves to be allowed to drive this thing into the ground.

Just to confirm, this will be implemented to track us and help them get rid of us?

Im sorry to say, this place is beyond cooked....and its not just BD, its the whole world.

Balance no longer exists. What remains is a world defined by imbalance so constant that it has become indistinguishable from normalcy. Excess and deficiency exist side by side, not in tension but in resignation, as though correction is no longer expected.

Across the public sphere, intelligent and coherent thought has grown less common, not because the capacity has disappeared, but because the conditions that sustain it have eroded. Attention is fragmented, discourse is accelerated beyond reflection, and communication is increasingly shaped by urgency rather than understanding. Conversations that once demanded depth are now compressed into immediacy, and in that compression, nuance is lost. The result is not silence, but noise without clarity.

At the same time, the natural systems that underpin life are under sustained stress. The ground, the water, the air, and the food supply carry the cumulative weight of industrial and chemical expansion, often in ways that are not immediately visible. These changes do not announce themselves dramatically. They accumulate quietly, persistently, until their consequences become unavoidable. What once could be assumed as stable now exists under conditions that are uncertain and increasingly difficult to restore.

Economic structures mirror this imbalance. Wealth and opportunity continue to concentrate, while access to stability becomes less predictable for much of the population. The idea that effort alone ensures security has weakened. Systems that suggest fairness in principle often fail to deliver it in experience. As disparity widens, so does the distance between those who can insulate themselves from instability and those who cannot.

Institutions that were meant to provide coherence reflect this fragmentation. Education struggles to reconcile its purpose with shifting demands. Governance often reacts rather than directs. Information systems prioritize engagement, leaving accuracy as a secondary concern. These structures continue to function, but their ability to produce alignment or trust has diminished.

On an individual level, the effects are less dramatic but no less significant. People remain connected through constant technological access, yet the sense of being understood does not scale with that connection. Productivity continues to increase, but fulfillment does not follow proportionally. Options expand, while direction becomes less certain. Activity grows, while meaning becomes harder to define.

None of these elements exist in isolation. Each reinforces the others. A decline in thoughtful discourse makes it more difficult to address complex problems. Environmental strain contributes to economic pressure. Inequality intensifies social fragmentation. The systems designed to manage these forces operate within the same conditions that weaken them.

This is not a moment defined by a single collapse, but by the gradual normalization of imbalance across every domain. It is a state in which strain is continuous, correction is delayed, and the expectation of equilibrium has quietly receded.

Did anyone win nascar tix? I’ve heard of nothing from anyone in my division/group which seems odd.

Did they hoard them for VPs?

Down another 50% in last year, now back to 2017 pricing. Tragicomic Q3 results puts this abject clownshow near 130 by EOD.

When your "operating model" is to find the most enthusiastically incompetent, dishonest, lazy "leaders" available and give them absolute control over sales, marketing, and service delivery...