#leadership

Good luck and best wishes to all of us!
The worst thing at the worst time of the year!
Shame on you Board and Dan! Had the board been stronger and not rubber stamping all of Hans’ hires and ideas - we may not be in this mess.

Same id--ts are just moving around from one place to another and calling it turn around. NO no more turn around. We want the id--ts are OUT. No layoff to them.

Speaking strictly as a customer, Verizon's culture is 100% anti-customer.

Twice a year price increases...declining value for what paid...endless prompts to attempt to reach live help...nasty customer service reps...inflexiblility to address customer issues...hidden fees & charges...terrible website...repeated requests for security passwords...the list goes on & on!

TRUTHFULLY, this is way beyond blaming Verizon leadership. Some heads need to roll at every level to begin to root out a systemic anti-customer corporate wide culture!

I’ve heard Lucy Hughes, SVP people operations leaving PepsiCo.

What’s going on at PepsiCo?

Anyone knows what are the on CXO or Brian Higgins ?

I was shocked by dolls vp gutting. Some seriously big deals. Who did a lot. What happened?

well well well, that was short lived.

our manager even put down having a DUI as one of our goals for this year in order to please leadership.

very sad news!

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/optum-health-names-new-ceo/805670/

Well, looks like he’s leaving after all.

n/m

We started the town hall strong, but things took a turn once the conversation shifted to “culture” and how we plan to integrate it into everything. It was disappointing to hear how culture and sentiment were being framed.

Culture isn’t a buzzword or something you sprinkle on top of initiatives it’s what employees feel when they walk through the doors every day. It’s reflected in how we support people, how decisions are made, and how work actually gets done.

Right now, we don’t have a defined culture strategy or a competitive differentiator, so saying we’re doing “market-based culture” rings hollow. And leaning heavily on AI because it sounds innovative doesn’t address the real issue: we haven’t clarified who we are, what we stand for, or how we create an employee experience people can trust.
AT&T is not culturally where it needs to be. Culture is shaped by systems, leadership behavior, consistent norms, and shared meaning—and right now those elements aren’t aligned or clearly defined.

It began, as these things often do, with a badge scan and a fruit tray.

Robin Vince and the Executive Committee descended upon Lake Mary two weeks ago, bringing with them a whirlwind of strategic platitudes, pre-cleared talking points, and a palpable sense of curated warmth. The site was abuzz. Floors were vacuumed. Acronyms were polished. Someone even replaced the “Out of Order” sign on the espresso machine with “Temporarily Visioning a Better Brew.”

The town hall began promptly, or as it’s known in EC time, at “Empathy O’Clock.” Robin opened with a heartfelt nod to “the incredible work happening here,” followed by a 17-minute meditation on resilience, stakeholder trust, and the importance of “showing up”—which, ironically, most of the EC had not done since the last earnings call.

The Q&A was pre-screened, of course. No questions about layoffs, offshoring, or why the new “Agile Transformation Hub” is just a SharePoint folder with a GIF of a hamster on a wheel. Instead, we heard about “listening deeply,” “leading with heart,” and “unlocking the power of our people”—phrases that sound profound until you realize they mean absolutely nothing and cost nothing to say.

Enter James Legrand, our site lead and resident Zen Buddha philosopher-king of LinkedIn. Within hours, his post appeared:

"Leadership is not a destination. It is a sunrise reflected in the eyes of those we serve. Grateful for Robin's visit and the reminder that empathy is a verb."

What does that mean? No one knows. But it got 247 likes, mostly from new recent new hire analysts and people who also post about “intentional gratitude” and “the ROI of kindness.”

One associate commented, “So true, James. I felt the empathy in the hallway.” Another chapped lips sympathizer fabio-sly replied, “I didn’t see Robin but I felt him.” We’re still unsure if that was metaphorical or HR-worthy.

Meanwhile, back at our desks, nothing changed. The org chart still resembles a game of Jenga played during an earthquake. The “transformation” roadmap is now in version 6.2b. And the only thing cascading is the mandatory empathy training module, which now includes a quiz on “active listening postures.”

But hey—Robin gestured (while admiring his new Rolex). The EC smiled. James posted. And somewhere, a hamster keeps running and more jobs are lost in this heartless and unemotional chaos.

If everything crashes again on Thursday, I swear my heart is going to give out from the stress, because with the total lack of real communication from leadership, this place is the only spot where I can even try to figure out what’s going on. I’m begging the universe not to let this fall apart on D-day, because losing this one source of updates would push the anxiety into a whole different level.

Anyone else on a team that has a leadership change every few months and given very little direction? Seems like people are constantly disappearing and we’re all expected to work in a “matrix” environment which basically means the manager has no clue what you work on and is not expected to provide you direction on projects so there’s no one to provide support…and these are all being framed as efficiency changes which I have seen no efficiency at all

I still can’t figure out why some Sr Directors are saying “I know nothing at all.. I’m waiting to hear too” and then other Sr Directors (and even ADs) know the names of those affected on their team. Why is the comms plan and information leaking so different this time?

Haskers mentor was Dave Calhoun (look it up they worked with eachother at Nielsen). You know the guy who got grilled in senate hearing because Boeing planes were falling out of the sky. Dave and the infamous Jack Welch worked with eachother at GE and people consider him to be jacks protégée. Jack Welch invented stacked ranking and cutting bottom 10% and was infamous for layoffs at GE. It all makes sense now. This dump isn’t just typical corporate but what makes it worse is the CEO is manufactured by psychos and outdated practices.

The higher ups will be notified tomorrow. Well those who haven't heard already. This will be the longest week ever. C'mon Thursday at least us lower levels will know our fate.

Who are the best leaders in what org and why?

Following today's announcement, I am seeking clarification regarding Thursday's schedule. I observed that two individuals, including myself, are not scheduled for a 15-minute meeting, while three colleagues and my Associate Director are scheduled for such a meeting around 1:00 p.m., and another meeting at 3:45 p.m. Has there been any communication regarding the purpose of these two meetings, or do they signify a potential change in my employment status? I would appreciate any insights from an Associate Director or Senior Director. Thank you in advance.

Turn it around employees. Zero identity or evolution.

To EH: this isn’t 2010. Try something new for once. The old playbook is dusty.

Fondly,
Former shareholder

Masters of suspense. Who cares that we’re all twisting ourselves into knots over here.

Could you imagine what would happen if someone took Mike up on his offer to call him with feedback?
“Umm, we haven’t been responding immediately to customers rfis etc. bc we’re severely understaffed and have been working 60 hours a week for 6 months to just get releases out the door, so you’re really just asking us to work 70 and 80 hours a week.”
Recalibrating is not “hey let’s Really focus, people “ lol
And all the svp and vp henchmen would love to know who calls to know who to layoff.

Starting this thread to discuss the key wins and strategic successes of the most successful Five9 executive who has turned our ship around (its the wrong way however.)

I want to say that I like and trust EH and think he's what we need. All of that. But comms handing him a card that says the chat was being mean was strange in a way that I think illustrates something. I remember seeing a lot of shock and surprise in the chat, but no one was expressing anything inappropriate I don't think. So them giving him a card and getting him to cry is just odd. What did that card tell him we were even saying?

I think it speaks to a sense across Nike that we can't process things or have human responses to big news. If Comms didn't want shocked emojis in the chat, they should have just sent an email. I'm not saying we're in the "we don't tolerate dissent" zone (yet), but that is the vibe Comms seems to be sending, intentionally or not. If I could tell EH/Comms one thing it would be: you can be shocked at somewhat shocking news and still believe in our mission. We've still got so much of our comeback journey left. It's going to be important for leadership not to confuse being a person with not caring about this place.

Seems lazy to just cut 15% across board and say AI will solve all Verizons woes. Lots of stupid decisions over last 10 years that has dragged us into the quagmire. No easy solutions and the old slash and burn technique will not really help. Seems the problem solving approach is gone and AI will solve all our ills. Again lazy and uninspired leadership.

@aj+1ka6kcsxq hit the nail on the head.

When I first entered this industry decades ago I was told by a fellow associate who had been in the industry for decades themselves this is how leaders who are insecure operate. In my decades in the industry I have seen this first hand for myself to know my former fellow associate was correct. I feel this is playing out again at Edward Jones right before my eyes again. Weak leaders who are insecure about their own abilities come in and make drastic changes in order to justify their existence. Many times they are handed companies who are in great positions even making record net income (sound familiar?). I was at a company that had a leadership change. The new leadership came in from another larger company. When they took over we had a conference call. The new leadership said they were implementing this plan that did not work at their former larger company. They admitted they made mistakes, but assured us they had learned from their mistakes and were not going to make the same mistakes at our company. In the meantime they shut down our department and I was laid off. Nine months later I received a call saying they were getting the old band back together and asking if I wanted to come back. Some people went back, but most people including myself had moved on and never looked back. The leadership at this company made drastic changes, severely disrupted thousands of lives, and in the end nothing really changed. The company is still positioned in the same spot as they were before these drastic changes. Then new leadership comes in again and many times they change policy back to the original plan in order to make changes for the sake of making change in order to justify their own existence. Penny was handed a great company in a great spot. She just could not help herself. Here we go again. Let's bring in Chubak who laid thousands off at Citi and now Citi has already reversed many of his decisions. DC has been proven to be a failed leader and Penny has hitched her wagon to him. By the time Penny is done with this firm she will have spent millions of dollars and disrupted thousands of people's lives and the company will be in the same position as when she took over. Look at our past few managing partners. They stood by the firm's long tested and tried policies and we saw significant slow and steady growth to put us in the best situation we have ever been in. Even Penny has said these drastic changes are being made from a position of strength not weakness. There is an old saying in investing and business. It goes, "Bulls make money, bears make money, but pigs get sla-ghtered. Don't be hoggish." There is even a sign in the West entrance of the South St. Louis Campus that says, "Buy and hold". Make sure you make your money, but don't get greedy. These are the tenants that got this firm to where it is today. Slow and steady growth. A stable ship led with a stable hand. Think of JW navigating a horrible 2008 economy. The firm came out of 2008 better than when we went in. Penny is being greedy. She is burning many associates and she is going to get burnt herself.

We had to find out from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal that 15,000 of us are losing our jobs this week. But from our own leadership team, we are getting radio silence. Instead, we have to come to this board in order to get any information. It’s tragic. Where is the communication?

That’s all they care about. People in Mar solutions and other places keep going on about leadership visibility but it’s all about their own pay. They could care less about you

In 1897, while most factory women labored 14-hour days in dangerous, filthy conditions for pennies, the women at H.J. Heinz’s Pittsburgh factory received hot meals, medical care, and even had rooftop gardens. They worked for a man who believed something radical: that workers were human.

The photograph shows women in white aprons at their stations, bottling ketchup—filling, capping, labeling—hour after hour. Yet their faces are not hollow or broken; they look dignified, almost content. In the Gilded Age, when industrial progress was built on disposable labor, this was extraordinary. Factories were typically dark, unsafe, and exploitative, but Heinz’s factory was different.

Henry John Heinz, who began his company in 1869 with bottled horseradish, built an empire on quality food. By the 1880s, his slogan “57 Varieties” symbolized trust, but he also pursued a quieter revolution: treating workers with dignity. His Pittsburgh factory, opened in 1888, was clean, bright, and safe, with white uniforms laundered by the company.

The amenities were unprecedented: free hot meals, locker rooms with showers, on-site medical care, manicure services, rooftop gardens, and educational programs. Workers learned English, sewing, and cooking, investing in their future. Critics thought Heinz was crazy, but his approach paid off: loyalty was high, turnover low, and productivity strong.
During the 1894 economic depression, while other factories laid off workers, Heinz expanded, keeping everyone employed and offering support. Employees remembered his personal care and reassurance during hard times. By the early 1900s, the factory became famous not just for ketchup, but as a model of welfare capitalism, attracting visitors eager to see its progressive approach.
Women at Heinz worked with skill and dignity, often coming from families trapped in brutal steel mills. Sarah O’Brien, a worker from 1895 to 1919, wrote that they were treated “like proper ladies,” experiencing clean work, fair wages, and personal respect from Heinz himself.

H.J. Heinz died in 1919, but his philosophy endured. Those women were pioneers, proving that fair treatment wasn’t weakness but smart business. Every bottle of Heinz ketchup carries their legacy—not just a product, but evidence that capitalism can be humane. In 1897, inside that Pittsburgh factory, a quiet revolution was happening, one bottle at a time.

As a 20 yr employee who was let go last year, I empathize with what you all are feeling this week. But, it feels really good to be on the other side of VZ and moving on with life. I thought my world collapsed when I was let go last year, but I've realized multiple times it was the best thing that could have happened, especially seeing what life is like at VZ now. Sad to see our once great company imploding. Since 2015, it has been a slippery slope down hill. First a small slope, then bigger...then bigger...and now it feels like the slop has near hit bottom. Everyone said a certain leader would run this company into the ground...seems they were right when this was said back in 2018 at the first VSP. May the odds be in your favor...rooting for you Vteam.

A leader with a supposed high-integrity image often maintains it only by removing the people who saw otherwise, notice which leader they were removed by , then look higher, you’ll see who is also in the brand games

Vz needs employees with engineering degree running the network and operations .
Any network related job should be run by an engineer with a valid Engineering degree.
Not Liberal arts, not poliical science not vetenrian not home science and not social science history or seimnary majors ! This can be attributed to the degradation of the network over the past 8 years
Change the skillsets at every level of leadership touching the network and you will see performance and customer satisfaction improve.

Monday Morning- 5V staff calls with 6V calls will happen, news will be shared. No delegates can join.

Monday Morning - your weekly staff calls (6V ADs with 6V sr managers and 7 band and lower), these will be cancelled.

The slack or just calendar invite being cancelled will be your only communication until Thursday with your manager.

Monday- Wednesday … will be a ghost town between people impacted and their leaders. You won’t hear from leadership until you’re notified.

Thursday- people notified and leaders get back to normal.

March 2026 rinse and repeat

It's frustrating when the leaders responsible for AI implementation are completely out of touch. The folks actually building the solutions are not the ones attending major industry AI events.

Instead, we get VPs and CDOs who secured their positions through politics, not expertise. They talk big about "AI models" and use all the buzzwords in meetings, but have zero technical background and have never written a line of AI code.

The gap between leadership talk and ground-level reality is HUGE. This is why we struggle to innovate. Stop promoting boot-lickers and start promoting builders! Reduce slide preparations and do actual work.

If Dan really wants AI to transform, remove all top level execs from AI&D/EDAI team and replace with real folks who has some background in this space. Otherwise, this will remain as myth.

In 2024, Christian Klein, the CEO of SAP, received a total compensation package of approximately €19 million ($19.9 million), which included significant bonuses tied to the company's performance and share price increase. This amount marked a 165% increase from the previous year, reflecting the company's strong performance in the AI sector and overall growth.

One of the reasons given for regular layoffs is that there’s not enough money at SAP. The main reason for cutting benefits and MOVE SAP is that there isn’t enough money. And in March, there will be a lower salary appraisal for everyone because there isn’t enough money and because performance management makes it easy to pay less.

Despite this, the board is negotiating with the supervisory board about increasing their bonuses for 2025. To give you an example, CK is supposed to get €23 million for his “exceptional work” in 2025 which is a massive 200% increase compared to 2023.

This is despite the fact that the stock price is plummeting to less than €200 by the end of the year.

This is redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich. Call your supervisory board members and ask them to stop this. The board should get a pay cut and lower bonuses. And the money saved should be used to give salary appraisals to employees.

There will be many leadership “retiring” announcements over the next 48 hours. Many of those emails are shocking as people have no idea in their orgs. You shouldn’t be fooled as this is an attempt to make you believe that the leadership is suffering like the regular rank and file. Leadership’s numbers pale to what will happen on Thursday. They will all get at least a year of pay and a year of medical while real workers will only get a max of 35 weeks.
Which day will they tell us about the 5 days a week RTO? It is too sinister not to announce to drive the nail deeper in our hearts.

Do you think Billy is so out of touch that when he says things like ‘all in’, 'know your brief' and ‘lead from the front,’ he genuinely thinks we’re inspired and in awe of him… when really we’re just thinking ‘bellend'?

Same with old man JC and his 'cool' teeshirts. Cringe off the scale.

They're rich and won't give a sht what us minions think. It's like when an old person stinks, or has food on their face, you hope someone close to them tells them for their own sake.

(To the tune of: Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys)

Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to work for Big Red Don't let 'em pick networks or chase that 5G Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to work for VZ They'll never be home, and they'll always be stressed Even if they give you their all, they'll just cut you to be "lean"

(Verse 1) He'd bleed red and black, wore the polo with pride Believed in the network, felt good deep inside He missed kids' ballgames for "critical work" Now he's a "cost transformation," a shareholder perk.

(Chorus) 'Cause they'll get a new CEO from PayPal, you see Who talks about "culture" and "scrappy" He'll take a fifty-million-dollar bonus and then Cut fifteen thousand people just before the holidays again.

(Verse 2) He heard all the rumors, the "critical inflection" The talk about "synergy" and "cost correction" Then the call came on Thursday, "November the 20th" "We're making you 'leaner'," just a number, not a person.

(Chorus) 'Cause they'll get a new CEO from PayPal, you see Who talks about "culture" and "scrappy" He'll take a fifty-million-dollar bonus and then Cut fifteen thousand people just before the holidays again.

(Bridge) They'll say you're all "family" when they want your long hours But you're just a line item when they're in the glass towers They're losin' subscribers, so you'll pay the steep price While Dan Schulman's bonus is lookin' real nice.

(Verse 3) So Mammas, go tell 'em before they sign on That loyalty's a one-way street, and then it is gone They don't care about you, just the stock and the churn It's a "Home for the Holidays" lesson you'll learn.

(Outro Chorus) Yeah, they'll get a new CEO from PayPal, you see Who talks about "culture" and "scrappy" He'll take a fifty-million-dollar bonus and then Cut fifteen thousand people just before the holidays again.