Thread regarding Mattel Inc. layoffs

holy comeback batman! one of the copywriting hacks in the NY office must have written you that witty retort!

the last poster is stupid...........as it looks itself in the mirror.

look in the mirror and cast blame for not knowing how to diplomatically stand up for yourself.

I'll concur that there are places worse than MattHell but I guess my point of view/experience was that at one time it was a GREAT place to work! It was a fun, cool, creative place to work, & full of talented people. Granted there were a few back stabbing credit stealers but in general it was a blast to work there and talent was respected and rewarded accordingly.

That's why I witnessed the slow but sure decline in the culture due to the useless, countless top heavy mismanagement/stupidity/arrogance. Too much overhead to carry as the product suffered cost reduction after cost reduction in order to make margin & pay 15% royalty rates for licenses. It became a political back stabbing swamp where if you didn't kiss butt & do the dance you were gone or passed over for promotions.

Glad I left when I was able to, never been happier. Oh well, nothing lasts forever & will always remember the fun times I had there as I learned the toy biz from scratch generating millions of dollars playing with toys......

Totally respect that if that was your experience at Mattel. Wasn't the same for me at all. Everyone was pretty decent. More than what I've seen from the outside.

Lots of crazy people outside.

"Mattel and hasbro put culture as a corporate goal. In general this is not a priority for the smaller companies. Employees are secondary as growth and profit is the only priority. "

I disagree. Having worked at Mattel and three smaller toy companies I can say Mattel's culture was BY FAR the worst. Totally toxic, people knifing each other in the back to get up the next rung of the ladder, poor management promoting the wrong people.

Smaller companies are flatter, so less rungs on the ladder and less attempts to stab and climb. You need to wear more hats, so there is better understanding among the different factions.

That wacko is at the top of the list of why not to go there. Period.

That nut job that runs MGA used to post that Mattel security was following his family and stalking him on his website. The might have bounced back as a company but he's waaaaaaay to crazy for me to ever work for. Not enough money in the world to deal with that kind of leadership.

As I've been evaluating by experience the difference between Mattel and other companies there are stark differences between the top 2 vs the second level companies.

Mattel and hasbro put culture as a corporate goal. In general this is not a priority for the smaller companies. Employees are secondary as growth and profit is the only priority. Think about that. We can all complain about mattel here and that's fine. And everyone is free to leave as we please. But based on experience there are much worse places to be.

True that and all you have to do is look at all the talented peeps who planned their exit strategy and are now at either Lego, Hasbro, or Spinmaster as I hear MGA is even crazier than MattHell but who knows as these are desperate times there.

Assuming the "true talent" is yourself? Because you're so good that you had to go and you had had enough of this bananas...

The last poster is actually the "lame" one as that's exactly what's wrong with MattHell and why it's at where it at. Everything there needs "Final Approval" from everybody at the front table at these stupid meetings.

90% of comments from upper mismanagement are subjective but that doesn't matter, if you try to protest and stand your ground you're then labeled as a "loose cannon with a bad attitude" and terminated ASAP. The place is full of sycophants which is why the real true talent has left.

You all sound so lame when you say "get approval". For God's sake, stand up and believe in yourself. The only reason there are "approvals" is because you allow it. I worked for years with a Sr. Design Manager who took accountability for his and his team's work, and as a Marketer I respected him because we would never do anything that he didn't believe in - whether I suggested it or someone else suggested it. He did what was RIGHT FOR THE BUSINESS and he as always interested in understanding the product and brand eco-system - not just Design.

I concur with the last post, Design is not always the end all, and it never should be. Never.

It's supposed to be a total team effort, just like sports............. Marketing, Design, & Engineering are the key drivers, basic math going forward.

Marketing will always art direct Packaging because Design is not included in those meetings until we have to cost reduce the dream Packaging/Marketing unrealistically wants. Same as Design does not travel to the TV shoots that Marketing art directs the ad agency unless it's in-house shoot across the street on a weekend. Whatever right, no travel benefits/free booze, no Designers needed :)

In my many decades there as a Designer I did receive and welcome constructive ideas from Marketing & Engineering as long as they weren't subjective opinions about color at approval meetings which is typical, no worries.

Pay me and I'll make something glow in the dark if you give me the more ex factory dollars/MOQ/Quota.drop dead date needed so I can hit my SRP @ planogram and still make margin.

Stay in your lane as a team player which used to happen more back in the day, but no worries, I'll just be labeled as a know nothing old timer by the anti "worker bee guy" who actually knows how to generate a quick sketch & use an exact knife/hot melt/rattle can spray primer to generate a quick foam core study in several hours in order to get approval post haste.

Dear Mattel Design Monkeys;

Communication is the key. The last poster is spot on. But it doesn't have to come from Designer to good, nor does everything from a Marketer means it's bad. To think you have to be a designer to know what a good product is, is misguided. That's like saying you can only make the right decision on ordering from a restaurant, if you're a chef. C'mon - most people know what good food tastes like without having to have actually made it.

The best Design managers need to know how to communicate, exactly correct. Design is communication, the rest just BS...............Someone generates a sketch but hey there's a way to make it even better so your manager can communicate his input by simply sketching over it.

What do you do at a true brainstorm? You generate a list of verbal ideas and bang out quick sketches of the best concepts with actual call outs describing the features & play pattern. That's what design is, not continually giving miss direction because you aren't capable of communicating what you mean.

That's why Marketing shouldn't play Designers which is what's been happening at MattHell now for years and just look where thats gotten it.

First of all if you are managing design you should actually know how to design. Drawing is just one part of that. It's a way to communicate an idea. If you can't clearly communicate an idea or can't even visualize it then you should manage a McDonalds instead.

You can't inspire people if you don't know what you're talking about.

Your people won't really respect you if they don't believe you understand what and how they do things. I've seen managers like that. Even VPs. They make their people run around in circles because they don't know what or how to give direction.

And to the marketing managers who don't actually do any marketing and try to direct design you're only as good as what you've seen before. Hence all the line lists that really any intern can do but interestingly enough take 3 months to create. Laughable.

Bringing in GM, VP, and Director without design background to manage design teams is exactly what Mattel has done so far. Are you satisfied with the result? Don’t call designers “design dope”. A good manager will not say that, with or without design background. It is a pity that some people inside Mattel have lost the knowledge of how to make products they can be proud of. Instead, the only thing left to do is to label people who were let go as old timers, implying their pay is too high and their experience is worthless. Those people are now making other companies stronger than ever!! You can say this is all about business as much as you want, at the end of the day Mattel’s stock is dropping like a fly. What a business!! Do you really care to know why? Soulless business. You need to know that Mattel’s toy need to have higher meaning and purpose to stay. It is called the vision of a company. The products need to touch your customers. Do you like your toy? Would you buy your toy? Why do consumers have to buy your toy? Those highly paid design GM and VP, where is your magic power to turn things around? The easiest thing to do is to let go the people thinks differently from you. When you have no one dares to speak up the truth or knows what the truth is, then you should have cleared all the roadblocks. And things should turn around by now. Check out LinkedIn, there is a post from MGA’s CEO. He is making fun of you!! That is your competitor and you are sending your best designers to him. If I am the CEO of Mattel, I will not take a dime until I turn things around. Earn your title!! That is how design managers used to do before!!

Some of my best bosses have not been what I would consider Design experts. What is important is that they respect you, inspire, and acquire the resources to let you do your job. I'd take that over someone who can draw any day.

One of the best Design Managers I ever had there was a working manager who drew and constructed rough prototypes with the rest of us, just as I did when I went into mid management. If one doesn't possess the design skill sets how can he evaluate what is decent/makes sense play pattern/cost wise.

This is a direct reply to the idiotic troll who posted who needs to know how to use an exact knife? It's butt kissing morons like that which have made the company as bad as it is now.

"Worker bees", what a stupid mind set you no talent brown nose Photoshop paster hack........

the last poster is the exact mentality that has held mattel down for so many quarters now. the "us and them" mindset. worker bees? give my brown a tongue bath. you need to prove yourself time and time again because your evaluations and decision making haven't the company a lick of good. roll up your sleeves and get back in the trenches. people who manage designers are middle management and laughed at by directors for thinking they're "empowered" by a minuscule salary bump to be a lap dog. keep licking, i had indian for lunch.

You design dopes just tickle me! Why would a manager have to EVER draw?! A manager manages - they evaluate the work and suggest ways to improve it or.......toss you out if you're a lazy hack. A designer who draws is a worker bee, and that's it. Managers manage worker bees. Why is this such an alien concept to you?

You all hope to be managers some day because you want the money and the title. Once that happens (god willing that you learn to stop complaining and get back to work!), then you won't be drawing either. Grow up or get out.

With regards to comment from post ID @OPCLeXJ-qmy below… with the comment about this being the "digital age”. This person is not a designer, but only a troll. I work at the other company, the successful one. And I have 3-D printers humming in my office as we speak. Yet last time Walmart was in, when AP (most important person in this entire industry, like it or not) made a suggestion, we pulled out the X-acto knifes and hot glue and built a quick foamcore model to show him that afternoon. It was approved and we aded another 1m+ is revenue on that item alone. The person speaking below is either is a troll, or an idiot who has no idea what they are doing. I do use an x-acto knife. As does everyone else i work with. Paychecks, bonuses, and employment at a successful company do not lie.

What do all you "young'uns" have to show for all this apparent talent? Mattel is in the toilet. At least the old timers have proven themselves. Maybe they have things to teach you if you would actually respect their expertise? And if not, it's okay. They will have the laugh as they retire comfortably while you guys deal with the mess of what has become Mattel.

Who needs to use an x-acto knife?! This is the digital age....must have been an "old timer" posting that. Best you sit rocking on your front porch whittling some cute lil' animals with that x-acto knife of your's, Pops. Leave this conversation to us young 'uns. The rubber cement fumes from your 1980's pasted up presentation boards must have gone to your head.

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