#poorleadership

What a joke. Left after a couple years of dealing with unqualified managers. Who decides to hire the failures from other companies into management roles?

The hits keep coming, but this isn’t even rock bottom. Rumors are more losses in the pipeline. KFC is significant. Marriott was significant. 35 year Pepsi partners calling it quits is really bad PR for PEP and a major red flag. Poppi not going to save us. Alani not going to save us. Siete another bad purchase. If Ramon has his job through mid 2027 I’d be shocked. Ram needs to go as well. Reorg coming in next few weeks. If you think it can’t get worse, you are in for a big surprise. Outsourcing will continue, consolidation will continue, you will do more with less. You will not be rewarded with merit or bonus. Buckle down.

OpenText has spent almost 10 years building and running our FedRAMP environment. In my estimation, we must have spent at least $30–45 million on this entire exercise. And how much revenue have we generated? I will be very surprised if it is even $2 million in total. That also with our usual margins of around 30–32%.

Now you tell me, in which universe does this make any business sense?

But apparently, our great leadership looked at this fantastic financial performance and decided, why stop here? Let us take this same wonderful business model and expand it further! So we went ahead with IRAP in Australia and Protected B in Canada.

What a brilliant idea, no? If one environment is losing money, let us build two more. Surely three loss-making initiatives will somehow become profitable. Excellent strategy, sir. Absolutely outstanding.

And just when you think, okay, surely by now we must have learnt something, along comes Steven L and convinces our executive leadership that sovereign compute is the next big thing.

So once again, we are spending huge amounts of money, adding infrastructure, complexity, operational overhead and ongoing costs. Revenue? Profitability? Return on investment? Arre, why worry about such small things when we can put together a beautiful PowerPoint presentation about our strategic vision?

Now some of you may be thinking, why should I care? This is management's problem, no?

Unfortunately, no. It is very much our problem.

Because when these wonderful strategic decisions fail to deliver, who suffers? Certainly not the people who approved them.

Management has only one solution left. Cut people. Cut budgets. Stop hiring. And then tell the remaining employees that they must somehow manage everything.

Earlier, the magic word was efficiency. We were told to do more with less. Now the magic word is AI. Suddenly, AI is supposed to solve every problem, eliminate every inefficiency and allow five people to do the work of twenty.

Boss, please. At least give us some credit. We are not fools.

Call it efficiency, transformation, optimisation, AI or whatever fancy terminology is fashionable this quarter. The reality is the same. Management makes poor investment decisions, burns through millions, and then expects ordinary employees to compensate for those mistakes by working harder with fewer resources.

And the best part?

The same executives who approved these decisions continue collecting their big bonuses, stock awards and handsome compensation packages. Very nice.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are expected to be grateful for a 0–2% salary increase when the cost of living has gone up by around 30%.

Wah. What a fantastic arrangement.

The people making the mistakes collect the rewards. The people who had nothing to do with those decisions are made to pay the price.

And if you complain? You are not being positive. You are not demonstrating the right mindset. You are not embracing transformation.

Arre bhai, what transformation? We are simply rearranging the furniture while the entire building is on fire.

Management, seriously, wake the fu-k up.

First, please look at these regulated environments properly. FedRAMP, IRAP, Protected B, sovereign compute. Show us the actual numbers. How much have we invested? What is the revenue? What is the operating cost? What is the realistic path to profitability?

If the business case is not there, then why are we continuing? Just because somebody made a commitment in a boardroom does not mean the rest of the company should keep paying for it indefinitely.

Second, look at our product portfolio. We have so many products, platforms, technologies and overlapping capabilities that even internally it is becoming difficult to understand what we are supposed to prioritise.

Reduce the portfolio by 50–75% if necessary. Focus on what customers are actually buying, what generates sustainable revenue and what we can realistically support.

Instead, we keep adding more products, more requirements, more complexity and more commitments while simultaneously reducing the number of people expected to deliver everything.

How exactly is this supposed to work?

You cannot keep removing people from engineering and then act surprised when delivery slows down, technical debt increases, incidents happen and customers become unhappy.

And please, do not tell us again that AI will magically fix everything. AI is a tool, not some divine intervention that will compensate for ten years of questionable management decisions.

Those of us in engineering are already stretched. People are working ridiculous hours, covering multiple responsibilities and constantly trying to keep things running. And somehow, every quarter, we are expected to deliver even more.

Boss, there is a limit to everything.

We are engineers, not magicians.

And one more thing, which management really needs to understand.

Engineering is not your enemy. Engineering is probably one of the most valuable assets you have. But you need to know how to use us.

If you take a hammer and try to start a fire, or take a sc--wdriver and try to drive a nail, obviously it will not work. But then you cannot turn around and blame the hammer or sc--wdriver for being useless.

The problem is not the tool. The problem is the person who does not understand how to use it.

Give engineering a sensible strategy. Give us clear priorities. Give us realistic resources. Remove unnecessary complexity. Stop funding initiatives simply because somebody senior thinks they sound impressive.

And most importantly, listen to the people who actually understand what it takes to build, operate and support these systems.

We want the company to succeed. We want to deliver value. We want our customers to be successful. We are not sitting here looking for excuses.

But you cannot keep making bad decisions at the top, passing the consequences down to employees and then giving everyone lectures about accountability, efficiency and ownership.

Accountability should start with the people making the decisions, not only with the people doing the work.

Help us help you, yaar.

Because right now, management is behaving as if engineering is the problem, when in reality engineering is the only reason many of these questionable decisions have not already become complete disasters.

And please, for once, instead of asking us to do more with less, how about giving us less nonsense to deal with so we can actually do something meaningful?

That itself would be a very good start.

Isnt it ironic how we were all forced back into the office supposedly for collaboration in person but now the new metric being tracked is screen time and keystrokes?? Apparently the focus is no longer RTO reporting as people are either complying or have been let go.

Now the new metric is tracking productivity which is starting with hours and then expanding to things like keystrokes and mouse clicks. Our director literally advised us to screen share by utilizing laptops for in person interactions. Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous?? We have to be chained to our computers now so no time for in person interaction or events then what is the point of RTO???

Ironically I know our leaders often are not online at all cause they’re ‘traveling’ on the company dime or just dialing it in though their work phone. This company literally disgusts me. The only people left are those who are stuck with no options at this point.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/spacex-spectrum-license-att-verizon-tmobile.html

Stink and “Leadership” laughed at Starlink and said they weren’t a real threat. Look where we are now.

SpaceX is making moves to become a serious competitor in wireless, acquiring nationwide low-band spectrum that could help Starlink Mobile compete directly with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. $T stock down 7.5% on the news.

And what the fu-k are we focused on? Badge swipes, 5x RTO and how many bowling alleys to put in Stinkey’s new corporate fantasy factory.

The industry is changing right in front of us, and leadership is worried about forcing people into an office instead of focusing on the competition, innovation and the future of this business.

We’re fighting employees over where they sit while competitors are fighting for the future of connectivity.

Get this loser Stinkey out before he does any more damage.

Our department got a low engagement results on our annual survey. This year our director told everyone that we own the results and need to fix it at our monthly safety meeting. Not sure if he is suggesting we need to score higher or lie next year to help the department!

Is this ethical?

Let's go everyone! The mid year farse has begun. Pointless exercise after pointless exercise. How about we spend time doing a mid year review when these useless id--ts can spend time taking care of their employees.

Layoffs in the Tech org are slated for late this year or early next year. It’s pretty evident there’s no plan for growth and no one left to innovate. The entire MO is to keep the business running for a few more quarters so they can IPO. The moment they’re able to do this, most of the senior leadership will leave so all these problems become someone else’s!

Reposting from @ys+1m3xy5kgs for info.

This used to be a fully functional company. Now it's just broken processes, poor communication, and a lack of accountability.

It’s like they don’t want to do their job and just pass the buck. Poor grammar, no social skills, and clearly no clue.

Okay fellow WF’ers. A poorly run dept usually means layoffs are coming soon. So help a friend out by letting us know which depts are run real real bad. Use managers initials only.

1.There are too many managers and VPs who don’t know the basics and they are leading teams. All that they know are some processes and they all depend on the line managers for everything. This is true across all support organizations.

1. There are some teams building AI tools and we are also asked to build tools using codes which would just be a repeat of what we already have. No one knows what the other team is doing and we all keep reinventing stuff.

2. We don’t know why organizations like Middleware and Linux exist as those products are completely obsolete. Though there are customers there is absolutely no need for so many people.

3. AI is being overhyped while in reality AI is not solving any issues. The numbers being shown are made up and no one has the patience and time to get into the details of what’s actually happening.

4. We are being forced to write KMs but in reality many of those KMs are junk. No one really knows if the KM has resolved a customer’s issue or not.

5. The org structures are pathetic especially in OCI and no one has a clue why we have such a structure. Technical skills is not given importance and it’s always metrics.

6. We keep reducing people and the load shifts on the others who remain and it gets frustrating for an individual to handle 40 to 50 SRs a month.

7. Customers hate being redirected to an Agent and we really get very bad feedback. No one is even looking or bothered.

It’s freaking frustrating to work in this organization with poor leadership especially in India. I am quitting this shithole.

This company has been led for years by a bunch of good ole boy RE--RDS. Nobody goes to college to work for these a-s clowns.

A piece of advice to those looking for another job: find yourself a boss that is proficient in the job you’ll be doing. This is based on my experience in N&T where we would get a boss after every reshuffle that had not much experience in the department they were taking over. They may have been a hard worker that did well in their previous position but that’s not enough to take on a completely different function. Amateur hour just doesn’t cut it and it creates a very awkward situation where you have to correct your boss or watch them make stupid decisions because they don’t know any better.

A boss that’s proficient in the job you’ll be doing can also provide guidance and help make correct decisions when there are multiple ways to skin the cat. I could never get a clear answer from my boss when I would present two valid options with the pros and cons of each. I would get a non-answer like “We have to do what’s right!” Like duh! Thanks for that enlightening answer!

Awful senior leadership. Destroying the owner's legacy.

Another layoff coming..... how far Ally has falllen ever since this new leadership team has joined is so very sad. Time for the board to wake the f up!!! Micheal Rhodes is on the spectrum, Hope is a mute, Lindsay is an absolute id--t. She was hired to drive deposit strategy, then she hires a guy to figure out strategy and he hires a guy to figure out strategy.... still no strategy! A bank with no products. A company with a decaying culture.

Prepare yourself fellow Cengagers. Just when you thought the layoffs were over for the year - surprise! Get those resumes updated and expect the axe to fall again. The scent of cuts is in the air. The fun never ends! Cengage is bleeding talent by the boatload and the hacks in charge don't care. Slash slash slash! It's a rush to the bottom. It's the Cengage way. IYKYK. What lies ahead is worse than anything Freddie, Michael, Jason, Chucky and Pennywise can do. The Hannibal Lecters at the top have no remorse in making the company worse by the minute. Keep cutting the workforce and no one knowledgeable will be left to run the store. Gross dereliction of duty anyone? Shouldn't sales be better this time of year? Are educational institutions losing confidence in Cengage? Will Cengage even be around in the future to honor existing paid digital product fulfillment?
Artificial Intelligence could do a better job managing the company than those at the top because there is certainly no intelligence coming from these short sighted decisions. The competition doesn't have to do a thing when top leadership is destroying Cengage from within. It's like watching a train wreck in person. Great job! IPO anyone? Nobody is going to buy a sinking ship. Strap yourselves in and grab the popcorn folks. It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Calling Fidelity managers “leaders” is the biggest insult to the term leader. There is a difference between a leader and a manager and i could probably count on one hand how many of the ~90k employees I would count as a true leader.

Give the term back to the universities that believe someone could lead.

Yesterday's email from senior management has convinced me that they have absolutely no clue and are now racing full speed to a crash. There are thousands of people and their families whose livelihoods will be impacted by this. We are now seeing collapse of a fintech pioneer in real time

Enrique Lores has completely lost control of this company and it’s a complete train wreck with lower and lower output from employees. Everyone keeps talking about layoffs leading to sh-t productivity. Each day is worse than the one before.

a well planned mind fu-k? Several groups have been subjected to last minute (or are they) changes to their status. Some with RIF dates are then given different assignments within days of their change dates, some inside the company, some not. Now, the only update is that these offers are now given, allegedly, with the option to take severance or accept the extension keeping their severance offer intact. Be sure to get that in writing.

We had a great manager who was knowledgeable, supportive, and respected. They forced him out and now we have a credit-stealing dolt. Can somebody explain to me why this was done? Because I certainly can't figure this stupidity out.

If your manager asks you to take on extra work because of laid-off colleagues, but then gives you a poor performance rating for not doing "enough" and lays you off anyway, sue.
​You can sue as an individual or join together with others to file a group class action lawsuit. In either case, keep a detailed paper trail of extra work you were asked to do.

A whole bunch of people in Integrated Services are being asked to interview for jobs. The implication being, if you don't find a job you are no longer employed.

You can argue about the value of Integrated Services, but this is a cr-ppy way to treat people. It is sad that the company is starting to use these tactics.

This is what happens when consultants with very little real people leadership experience get to run the show.

An Open Letter to Shane O'Kelly, the Executive Leadership Team, and the Board of Directors of Advance Auto Parts

From one of the thousands of leaders in the field.

Today, another respected leader is gone in RVA.

Whether you agree with the decision or not, field leaders across the company are asking the same question:

Have we reached the point where a Vice President's, DMs', GM's, TM's career can be defined by Project Pack sales?

If that perception is true, then we have lost sight of what is actually wrong with this company.

I honestly don't know what's more disappointing.

The previous leadership team that many employees believed focused on corporate initiatives while the business continued to deteriorate...

Or the current leadership team that appears to believe Advance Auto Parts can fight its way back by demanding more Project Packs, more attachments, more scorecards, and more pressure.

This isn't a turnaround strategy.

It's a distraction.

Selling more Project Packs will not fix years of declining market share, inconsistent inventory, operational challenges, technology issues, staffing shortages, customer frustration, or decades of strategic mistakes made far above the store level.

Those problems weren't created by Store Managers.

They weren't created by General Managers.

They weren't created by District Managers.

They weren't created by Vice Presidents.

Yet somehow, the people closest to the customer continue to carry the burden.

Every quarter there's another initiative.

Another metric.

Another conference call.

Another dashboard.

Another leader gone.

Meanwhile, the fundamental questions remain unanswered.

Why do we continue to lose experienced leaders?

Why do we continue to replace homegrown talent with outsiders who don't understand our culture?

Why does it feel like accountability flows only downward?

And where is the Board of Directors in all of this?

At what point does the Board stop measuring PowerPoint presentations and start asking why so many dedicated field leaders have lost confidence in the direction of this company?

The people in the stores are not asking for miracles.

We're asking for leadership.

Real leadership.

Leadership that listens before it mandates.

Leadership that fixes broken systems instead of creating new scorecards.

Leadership that values people more than weekly KPI reports.

Most of us have dedicated years—some, decades—of our lives to Advance Auto Parts.

We have missed birthdays.

Worked hurricanes.

Opened stores before sunrise.

Closed them after dark.

Worked weekends.

Covered vacancies.

Helped struggling stores.

Trained future leaders.

We stayed because we believed in this company.

We still do.

But belief alone cannot carry a company forward.

If today's events have taught us anything, it's this:

Fear does not inspire performance.

Pressure does not create loyalty.

And no company has ever KPI'd its way back to greatness.

Advance Auto Parts deserves better.

Its customers deserve better.

Its shareholders deserve better.

And most importantly...

Its people deserve better.

A Concerned Advance Auto Parts Leader

Thanks for a great quarter

Stock has done nothing in 5 years. I'm surprised the they haven't started selling more parts of the company. Typical of tanking companies.

What a waste of time. These guys are useless je-koffs.

There were so, so, so many better ways do do this. Ways that wouldn't have half of us on Xanax just to get through this with our mental health intact. Who decided to do it this way should be fired immediately.

The people running this place don't know what they're doing. They just play games and waste time. It's obvious and it's hurting everything.

The more I interact with top management the less impressed I am. Conflicting guidance constantly is given. They even conflict their own stated written strategies and policies. They want everything and refuse to make decisions on trade offs instead just yelling about how they want to be top quintile in every metric even ones that are obviously in direct conflict with each other. How is it leadership to make no decisions in tradeoffs and constantly just yell about wanting it all?

I know how we see this mess. Now I know how others see it. Pretty much the same.

https://x.com/johsinny/status/2077162630452519380
Posted at 10:45 PM on Jul 14, 2026

"Verizon was once a pillar of American innovation. Today it reflects strategic drift and a failure to lead.

With no clear path to growth or meaningful differentiation, CEO Dan Schulman appears to be reverting to the oldest and weakest playbook: cutting skilled American workers to prop up short term stock bump.

This tactic ignores a fundamental truth. A company cannot hollow out its own institutional knowledge without consequence. The talent being discarded is the very foundation that made Verizon great.

What we are seeing resembles railway operator’s “last car” fallacy. Remove the weakest link for a smoother ride, but there is always another last car. Eventually, nothing of value remains.

This is not leadership. It is managed decline.

The board must recognize the trajectory and act before an iconic American company is diminished beyond repair."

They completely sc--wed up the decisions on the Customer Experience team. Many hardworking, genuine, and talented people were let go, while many boot-licking, useless, and incompetent people were left behind. I can’t wrap my head around it.

At the very least, leadership should have checked how many launches each team actually delivered during the calendar year before making these decisions.

The rest of us are now stuck working with these incompetent Digital Experience team who works on egos and not for Verizon.

It's very clear by the town halls that he has been in the forefront of that labor force reduction is his goal. Someone needs to get this guy sensitivity training or put a mouthpiece in front of him. He's making it very clear that the people doing the work are of little long term value.

Too many layers and way too many people who think they're important but don't actually contribute anything. We spend our days in pointless meetings, dealing with endless back-and-forth, and watching people fight over territory instead of actually moving things forward. Nothing gets accomplished because everyone is too busy trying to look like they're in charge. Flatten the management structure and watch as things improve overnight.

For years, many of us watched the ISG organization abandon the very disciplines required to build successful enterprise software. Some spoke up. Most stayed silent. Leadership either didn't listen or simply didn't care.

Now the bill has finally come due.

Products are being shut down. Teams are being eliminated. Many good people are paying the price—not because they failed, but because leadership failed them.

This wasn't bad luck.

This wasn't "market conditions."

This wasn't AI.

This was years of poor execution, weak leadership, and a culture that stopped holding itself accountable.

Engineering operated without meaningful deadlines. Roadmaps became wish lists instead of commitments. Deliverables slipped quarter after quarter with few, if any, consequences.

Product Management became meaningless. Engineering dictated schedules and features it repeatedly failed to meet. The competition, with 1/10th the resources, moved three to five times faster in their velocities. Customers were promised capabilities that never materialized. Eventually leadership stopped publishing roadmaps altogether because they had lost all credibility.

None of this should surprise anyone. When an organization rewards excuses instead of execution, failure becomes inevitable. When commitments mean nothing, customers eventually notice. When accountability disappears, poor quality follows. When mediocrity is tolerated long enough, it becomes the culture.

No engineering organization succeeds without discipline. No product organization succeeds without accountability. No enterprise software company succeeds when deadlines become optional and execution becomes negotiable. The market eventually exposes every weakness that leadership chooses to ignore.

That's exactly what happened.

Companies the size of Dell don't fail overnight. They fail one missed commitment, one ignored warning, one delayed release, and one poor leadership decision at a time.

Eventually, reality always wins. The bill has finally come due.

Good Job Team PEP, YTD Return for the Dow is positive 8.48%, S&P500 is positive 10.20% and the NASDAQ is positive 12.79% and then we have the big bloated hapless no-clue dinosaur PEP with a NEGATIVE 3% YTD return. The BS PowerPoint and cliche-based management culture isn't cutting it anymore.