#talentmanagement

If you’ve been at Target long enough, you already know the script. Every quarter, leadership throws around the phrase “Talent Management.” Translation: time to trim the herd.

They’ll call it “attrition.” Some whisper “quiet layoffs.” But the reality? Someone’s getting cut — period.

The “how” is a messy art form. The 9-box moved like a chess game. Performance “indicators” twisted to fit a narrative. And don’t forget — personal favorites always seem to survive.

Let’s not pretend — sales numbers and the economy are the real puppet masters here. When performance dips, heads roll.

Based on past cycles, expect another round around late January or March.

Don’t get cozy — recession vibes are real, and this economy isn’t healing overnight.

So here’s your wake-up call. Update that resume. Polish that LinkedIn. Tap your network. Start thinking pivot, not panic.

Because when the next “reorg” email drops, it’s not if — it’s when.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

things are happening:
1) update talent profile
2) interactions totals
3) use the specialist/ pipeline accelerate

guessing stack rankings

I get so frustrated when I hear LBT say that one of his goals is to attract and retain top technical talent. At the same time, he runs on a hiring spree for his old friends for the top buck EVP positions, people who make no impact or difference whatsoever. Meanwhile, the actual engineers, architects and technical leaders from grades 7-10 are fleeing the company with no meaningful effort made to keep them. It's such a hypocrisy and a complete waste of money.

As a mid 30s product lead I am tired of watching the same lifers get promoted while teams drown. If the company wants to move forward they should stop protecting folks who add nothing and hire people who actually know modern tools and care about outcomes.

We’ve been losing competent and skilled employees for a long time now. Not just those in critical roles, but experienced, reliable people across the board. What’s the plan here?

Any one know how it will work? Who gets final say on who stays and who will go? Will people be forced to move groups? So many questions!

Just a general thread, tell us what you think.

I left Oracle three years ago and now see many former colleagues moving into VP or Senior Director roles. The bar seems lower than a decade ago. Back then, an IC5 promotion required pitching to several VPs; Director → Senior Director often took 5–8 years of hard work; becoming VP could take around a decade for top performers. Today I’m seeing a average guy become regional VP of AI with only a bachelor’s degree, little to no AI experience, and limited overall sales experience (<3 years at Microsoft, and in fact later fired). Has the process changed, or are titles being inflated? Where is this going? Is this a talent development, I guess not...