#culture

Netflix loves talking about freedom, responssibility, radical candor (ouch)... Oh, talent density. This sure as he-l sounds awesome on paper. But... employee reviews keep telling a different story. Backstabbing, politics, nepotism/cronysm/favoritism, never-stopping reorgs, and just about 0 job security. Being liked by the right manager can matter more than doing your job well - being brilliang, delivering and contributing more than anyone else.... A high-performance culture, now do a podcast and write a book about it. If i was to define it i'd say it's 100% corporate political gamesmanship dressed up as excellence.

But I like the $$$. That's the trap - golden handcufs.... $$$ salaries, PTO, great bennies. But also the long hours, burnout, and non-stop anxiety about being the next person out - it catches up with you, sooner or latter.... Then diveristy between teams - Some are great, others are miserable, plain horrible in every sense. Your experience depends 100pct on who you report to - it's similar at other cos but here its more pronounced... i call it a lottery, some get good mgrs, some dont. Some mgrs are plain nuts, but i'll cover that in another post... those golden handcuffs get pretty uncomfortable when you realize what you're putting up with and how much abuse u have to tolerate to take home whatever they give u.

This brings me to the 1K cut that's in focus right now... with MOST (not many, not some) people questioning why experienced, highperforming employees are among those leaving. Here's my Q. Who holds mgmt accountable? When priorities constantly change, teams get reorged, and good people leave, why is it always the employees who pay the price? Does the famous keeper test apply to leadership too???? Or do execs and mgrs get to keep their jobs while everyone else keeps proving they deserve theirs????

The irony is that Netflix still has a large pool of exceptionally talented people. this makes this whole thing even more stupid. You can't keep burning through talent and expect high salaries & free lunches, and a culture memo to make everything OK. The execs and mgmt should stop preaching accountability and start practicing it. Like right now.... Because right now that famous/cherished Netflix culture is starting to look like a well planned marketing campaign for a pretty ordinary corp machine.

Peace out

After all, I always considered Larry to be the king of vaporware sales. He's been doing that since writing DB software for his very first government customers. Nobody has more experience selling vapor than Larry and yet, somehow Scam's pitch passed the smell test. Go figure.

The guy has to be slipping cognitively. He decides to become a very late entry into an already over-inflated, over-hyped, non-proven, questionable market. Now here we are 12 months later and the economic forces are all finally converging against him - all because of his own poor judgement.

RIP Oracle.
RIP Larry.

sometimes i have moments of clarity after grinding my a-s off on things where i look around and realize im like 1 of 2 people grinding their a-s off, and there's 10 people above us with better compensation, perks, work life balance, kinda just reporting the status of our work. Then theres people that report the reporting of the status of our work. Wtf?

how does a structure like this even survive any kind of audit for waste

Constant changes to processes, technologies, and rules as a result of short sighted leaders.

Some people are saying some of us will be in a new office by next March. How would we know if we’re destined to go to a new office? Doesn’t Abby know about the serious gang of Waraq that runs that town?

One executive told us to have a “challenger mindset.” Now employees are challenging leadership, and apparently this wasn’t what they had in mind.

Suddenly, we’re whiners. It’s all speculation. This place is unhealthy. Stop reading. Stop posting.

Sure, there are trolls. There are rumors. Nobody has to believe everything here. We’re adults. We can ask questions, compare information, and decide what holds up. A bad post doesn’t erase someone else’s experience.

Read what people are actually saying. There are accounts of people afraid to answer eNPS honestly. People who say they raised concerns and nothing changed. A commenter identifying themselves as an executive director described being mistreated by a leader above them. Having a title doesn’t necessarily protect you from this culture.

How many chances does a leader get to improve while everyone underneath them is expected to absorb the damage? Where is that same patience for employees? People shouldn’t have to spend their careers waiting for someone above them to learn how to treat them.

And if you’re a leader here complaining that employees are speaking up, who’s actually whining? Address what they’re describing instead of demanding they stop describing it.

To those saying, “That leader was always good to me” maybe they were. That doesn’t make everyone else wrong. It’s uncomfortable to question someone you’ve defended for years. But people don’t owe you silence so you can keep believing the best about them.

For some people, this is the first place they’ve said what happened and heard, “You weren’t the only one.” That matters. Don’t let anyone shame you out of it.

Keep sharing what you personally know. Be clear about what’s firsthand and what you’ve heard. Protect your privacy and other people’s. Assume leaders may be reading and remember that their discomfort doesn’t make your experience less relevant.

If you need a break from this board, take one. That’s your choice. But taking care of yourself and speaking up aren’t opposites. We want this company to change. That means listening, addressing the behavior, and replacing leaders who keep getting chances while the people beneath them keep paying for it.

Employees have spent years being told to adjust. It’s time leadership did some adjusting.

https://youtu.be/Xv8FBjo1Y8I?si=ZfRZ4rgFmK4_g9vC

I see it all the time people leaving with all their stuff after lunch in the office? Hard to be believe they got here at 4 am or 5 am. On my team we not only have to be here 8 hours they track our computer activity too! Seriously which teams should I be applying to?

Are there several upstream ppl now in downstream like I see so many senior downstream ppl in Upstream roles. Is the reverse also true?

Who gets rewarded with OwD? Is it just for Hippos and Managers? Do ICs get this regularly? What’s the reward per CL?

The true rate of unemployment in high tech is significantly higher than what is officially published and yet US companies continue to outsource jobs to Europe, Canada and other countries because the wages are lower overseas. At the same time companies like Cisco have been over-hiring for years resulting in duplication of efforts and cut-throat culture.
Many industry insiders and economists agree that the current operational model in high tech is hitting a wall. The combination of intense burn-out, hyper-fragmented workflows, and layers of middle management has created environments that are both culturally exhausting for workers and financially inefficient for businesses.

When Shell was still Dutch it wasn’t perfect either. People always looked out for their own but the culture was better: less brutal when it came to reorgs, more care for people and a lot more innovation and entrepreneurship instead of just cutting cost. Shell has definitely gotten worse since the center of gravity shifted from the Netherlands to London. Looking back though, hiring your own isn’t a Dutch trait. Everyone does it, with India now leading the pack.

Tulenko destroyed this company. Worst CEO I have ever known. Clueless pompous a hole.

not a single thing I've read here is confirmed or verifiable information. everything is speculation. E.g. we don't even know for sure if there will be 2 rounds of layoffs. focus on what we know, speak with your leadership, and stop reading this anonymous forum!!! it's not healthy!!! focus on more productive activities.

Like a human ping pong ball: AT&T, RingCentral, and T-Mobile, continues to bounce around in short time.

Funny to see all these external C-Suite people come from A&TT and now they churn out amongst themselves.

He should start with himself!!!

My Lawd, what a waste of time. Wonder how much money we burned for this "enlightenment" training of AI.

Leadership teams are plagued by the wrong people. They care only about personal ambition and looking busy, wrapping every failure as a "success." Business value and key metrics are not even taken into consideration, and decisions are rarely backed by data. It is a complete mess that needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible or it all goes to he-l.

The problem, however, is that those who have the power to change things are exactly the same: corrupt and compromised.

Oh dear , dear oh dear

Something is brewing in SF, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time before things come to a head. The signs are there if you’re paying attention. Is anyone else noticing a shift and sensing that something big is coming?

The Strategy. What is Cengage and what do we do? One voice one approach. and this guy JE he is so full of himself after 53 weeks being employed.

JE - Biggest challenges - how do we show up? Challenges what do we have in common what is our purpose. blah blah blah.... damn he talks so fast its like he's just trying to get through this stupid call.

How many CM are feeling overwhelmed with the metric goal of 73.

1. How are you successful in addressing needs timely?
2. Any difficulties completing follow up timely?

We are encouraged to ask questions voice concerns, however if anything less concerns voiced less questions..

I debated whether to post or not, but my boss said it was the first time sitting through a calibration meeting. All the ratings were done the week before our year-end evaluations were done. What's the point of bragging on your accomplishments if they did the ratings before you submitted them.

As far as I’m concerned when I’m in the office and at home, they can track me all they want. I don’t care because I’m doing my job. My question is we have someone in our world who comes in the morning signs intohis computer walks around so everyone sees him and then he leaves we don’t see him all day then he comes back back right at the 7 1/2 hour Mark and works the last half hour and leaves. On Teams he does appear as being seven hours away. So everyone knows he leaves, gets in his car - why arent they tracking that?

Organizations succeed when decisions are timely, priorities are clear, and the people doing the work have the resources and authority to deliver.

Too many layers of approval can slow progress. As problems move up the chain, critical information can get delayed or diluted. Management decisions made without a clear understanding of the actual technical work, actual workload, and operational challenges can create unrealistic commitments.

Frequent reorganizations and unclear ownership add overhead instead of solving problems.

L3Harris has publicly emphasized urgency, delivery, and meeting customer demand in its 2026 business outlook. Achieving those goals requires aligning commitments with available resources, addressing risks early, and listening to the people closest to the work.

In defense contracting, oversight, quality, and compliance are essential. But excessive risk aversion can be just as costly as taking unnecessary risks. When decisions take too long and opportunities are delayed, we risk losing business to competitors who can respond faster.

When approvals multiply, priorities conflict, and accountability isn't matched with authority, the organization becomes less effective—not more controlled.

Good management isn't about adding layers of oversight. It's about removing obstacles, making informed decisions, establishing clear priorities, and empowering people to deliver.

Ultimately, this is basic business: give people the direction, resources, and authority they need to meet the mission.

Good move to elevate BC to head of wealth even if inform not sure the decisions of having JD be co! Guess they forgot he learned from JT and BD before him.

Other moves interesting but ML is serious about change and moving towards something new.

Any thoughts? Lots of me OC members!

After the acquisition of touch surgery (which became digital technologies under surgical) , the surgical org became somehow isolated from the rest of Medtronic really forcing silos and no collaborations. It feels like they’re a different company to this date with such a toxic culture. Why did this happen?

As expected didn’t take ML long to kick him out

Gaslighting at Digital Surgery can be hard to name.

It can look like mixed messages in a private slack channel, blame in public, and someone taking credit for work you did. Over time, you may start doubting your memory, your skills, and your right to speak up.

This is not “being too sensitive.” The emotional impact is real.

Let’s talk about it. Have you seen this happen at work—or found a healthy way to respond?

Florida blue recently had a Townhall the feedback is it was demotivating and demoralizing. The CEO explained that when culture is up performances down with no further explanation. The consensus among folks is when he talks about heart and hustle. All you hear is the hustle there’s no heart people that work in Florida Blue love Florida Blue and they love what they do. Unfortunately the culture is subpar, and the executive team appeared to only know subpar cultures so they don’t understand what used to be. They truly believe what exist today is the norm.

It's failing in every way imaginable, including failing its employees and its customers. Smart people are already looking for a way out.

That is the culture they tried to shove down my throat.

Like sitting down for 2 hours to check the numbers is going to ki-l somebody.

Want to know why the products keep getting worse and so does everything else? I call it the Bombay Decay of goods at Danaher. Put you know who in charge and it turns into you know where.

Hi, I’m looking for honest perspectives. I work at UHC in their Medicaid business. It’s never been a great fit for me, but I’ve learned a lot. I’m interviewing for a manager role at Humana. Outside looking in, Humana appears more member-friendly than UHC. How’s the Medicaid business there?

months long planning leading to this **show with no change in some areas and changes in areas that dont make sense. favorites got favored. petty politics in full swing. clueless leaders-no understanding on what will happen next. we wait for round 2?!

I was laid off a couple of years ago after working on the AT&T TV then DTV Stream program. I've seen some others who were laid off in my LinkedIn which surprised me as they were senior engineers, some there since the beginning. Anyone still there? How is it now?

I will say that don't be afraid of the layoffs. My new job is infinitely better...

While yes it is true that no one individual can make any real impact to a behemoth corporation with a single comment on some public social media platform or an official registered complaint to EEOC, SEC, DOJ, Attorney General, Congressional persons, and contact employer attorney to file lawsuit for discrimination.

BUT let me share a metaphor with you that hopefully will bolster and inspire movement and momentum.

Metaphor:
A new homeowner when purchasing their first home, may see a single parch of crab grass begin to grow in what otherwise is a beautiful green lawn. So, they ignore it, because what is one single patch of crab grass, after all. Then a couple days later, the homeowner sees a couple dozen patches of crab grass beginning to grow. Still not a big deal. Then, one morning the homeowner arises with their nice cup of coffee and newspaper and looks out the window. Lo and behold, the yard has been utterly taken over by crab grass and choked any remaining green grass. The new homeowner is put in a position to either invest in so much poison to destroy the crab grass while at the same time risking destroying the green grass as well OR doing a complete lawn renovation by completing removing all existing grass and completely reseeding the lawn anew.

Point Being:
By ourselves it can feel daunting and pointless to seek to take any action against these behemoth corrupt corporations. And that is true; by ourselves it is a fool’s errand. However, our efforts when compounded with the single efforts of others WILL truly make a difference. It will! You just have to believe and I suggest that as you take actionable steps, you pray to one that can bless efforts.

I hope this encourages not just a few people but many people. Your efforts are not in vain. The pride, arrogance, and hubris in the hearts of executives over these corrupt behemoth corporations will be their downfall.

I always get a bit of a chuckle out of those LinkedIn posts from university students talking about what an amazing summer internship they had at Enbridge.

Then I notice the last name looks awfully familiar. Sure enough, scroll down to the comments and there’s Mom or Dad, who happens to be a VP or SVP at Enbridge, saying something like, “So proud of you and all your hard work!”

I’m not suggesting these students aren’t capable or didn’t work hard. But you have to wonder how many equally talented students without family connections ever had the same opportunity in the first place.

It’s not a great look for a company that talks so much about fairness, equal opportunity and hiring the best people for the job.

The pendulum swings. The shitheads crawl out from under the cabinets. First tactic will be to get in the way anything that tempers DEI, to embolden the beaten back SJWs and work towards taking back the second (and "fourth") branch(es) of government. Then in another couple of years, we'll be reliving the Good Ol' Joe years. The very thought makes want to vomit.

I've heard rumors going back a few years that employees will eventually be required to work in the same location as their manager. Is this still the plan?

So we are expected to come back to office 4 days a week while they cut expenses for snacks and lunch budget? If we earn ELT money then sure, but they are also not increasing our compensation? We are expected to eat air I suppose.

I recalled they said they don’t care where we work as long as we do our job. Also I’ve heard management making it so hard for employees to visit other offices for whatever bs reason