#leadership

LMAO

I had a satanic squad leads recently and am wondering if I am responsible for this delicious backlash on this parasitic, useless role

I hired an Etsy witch to put a generational curse on the squad lead position

Today was the first day I went to my Target store after the layoff. It was weird. All that proud and belonging feeling vanished. I quickly went in and out, grabbed a few items and left.... How are you all feeling? Honestly I don't thing I will continuing buying anything at Target after Jan 3. The way we were all treated in this layoff tell me a lot about the company's leadership we were working for.

The condescension practically drips out of speakers mouths when answering questions in AMAs. "Compared to other companies, our RTO..."

We don't care about other companies, we care about this one. Answer the question.

These people should go into politics with their ability to talk for an hour and say nothing of value.

Open thread.

Initial thought: Pete sounds like he has no interest in being on this call. Perhaps Gail is leaving and he's been told he's not the heir apparent.

On the floor at BR.. seeing many VPs ,Sr Dr are having meetings that are not work related.

Sr Dr are meeting one by one with this VP.. most likely lists are getting generated.

What band is an AD? Director? Sr Director?

People are exhausted, wasting hours every week commuting just to sit in overcrowded offices on calls they could’ve done better from home. There’s zero trust left between leadership and employees, and every new “presence report” or “compliance check” only drives the wedge deeper.

Instead of showing empathy or even basic flexibility around the holidays, leadership doubles down like robots with no understanding of how real people live and work. Every decision is designed to make life harder, not to make the business better.

And for what? Headcount cuts without severance to fake numbers to Wall St. so we can pretend like the company is in good standing and stink can pull his Golden parachute right before the Sh!t hits the fan?

The people who are sticking around just to reach retirement aren’t the future of this company. The ones leaving, the under 50 high performers, the problem solvers, the people who actually care are the ones you should want to keep. But you’re pushing them out, and they ARE leaving.

If this continues, in five years AT&T will have gutted its talent base completely. The knowledge, the innovation, and the passion that built this company will be retired or gone for the “industry standard” hybrid or WFH arrangement. Anyone left will be the low performers with no options because nobody new is joining this toxic company. That’s not leadership, that’s destruction disguised as discipline.

It’s time to stop pretending this is working. Bring back flexibility, rebuild trust, and give people a reason to stay.

Can anyone circle back, follow up or close the loop on q4 kpis for Hans the special advisor? Vz is positioned to win the holiday with a top talent team, org structure and culture OS. Let’s keep the momentum going! Also if someone could make sure he completes the pulse and survey hours that would be great thanks. And make sure he takes the guilt free vacation too and brings his best self to power and empower the way we work live and play. Honored and humbled for world class art of the possible leadership that treats us with dignity and respect, honesty about the state of the business, and our bright future!

Layoffs have already started with multiple Market presidents. Just check Workvivo. Notice there’s some we don’t hear from lately. They gone! These layoffs are starting from the top and trickling down. A lot of Senior Directors and Directors are next. They are keeping them around to deliver the bad news to retail stores. Be aware of any open positions not being filled or weird last minute moves to save good employees from being cut. It’s simple math less stores, less retail employees, less Directors, less R2B and the dominos fall. Be very nervous if you get a calendar invite for a mandatory meeting between Nov18-20. Or if you start to see routine meetings canceled. Most likely you will be impacted in some way. Most executives have some knowledge just look at how a lot of Presidents, VPs, and Senior Directors are silent. That’s because they are already out of the business or will be soon. Go ahead and test it ask about why your President or VP has been off the grid lately.

Watch closely and observe the clinical precision of LBT in cleaning up the deadwood, scammers and imposters in leadership. Absolutely brilliant!

1. MJ gone
2. Christoph gone
3. Saf gone
4. Ann gone
5. Pambianchi gone
6. Lavender gone
7. Sandra gone
8. Sachin gone
9. Bruckner gone
10. Adding Craig to board must mean he’s getting ready to push someone out

Current or previous V-Teamer.

Since Amazon's leadership took over Walmart, the first thing they did was undermine the Walmart culture. Furthermore, they have become deeply entrenched, leading to frequent layoffs both in the past and present. No projects are progressing; everything appears to be at a standstill. It seems as though Amazon's board of directors has dispatched these individuals to Walmart as part of a covert operation to dismantle it, rendering Walmart internally ineffective. This strategy appears designed to ensure that Amazon can thrive exclusively in the retail market. The IT department at Walmart has been significantly disrupted for the past couple of years, making it challenging to regain its footing.

Kelly is imploding quickly- layoffs continue and those who aren’t being let go are jumping ship. The historical values Kelly was known for no longer exist. Thankful Peter is out - now if Chris and the board take their blinders off and Tammy follows quickly AND Chris can find it in him to execute fundamental leadership skills, maybe there’s a chance to recover what was once a noble company.

I have an offer from Carelon in the behavioral health area. I’ve heard the person that heads that business is a good leader (CP) but the person above her I should stay away from in Carelon (BW) I work in a similar field today but this is a promotion and seems like a good opportunity. I’m just concerned about what I’m hearing about the other leader. Any advice.

No, not that Craig Barratt.

#WhatAreWeGoingToDoWithGrandpa?

https://x.com/sk7037/status/1987998832270127601?s=20

Here is what the government is saying “At a minimum, Mr. Bisignano appears to have failed to manage Fiserv effectively, and may have misled investors and the public about the company’s financial status, raising concerns about his ability to serve as a key Social Security and IRS official in the Trump administration,”

Is not because of poor net adds or gained AI efficiencies but to finance the Frontier acquisition. Maybe if Lowell hadn’t squandered 10 billion on AOL and Yahoo we would all be enjoying this holiday season. Poor decisions by leadership with regards to spectrum purchases and failed mergers is why many of us will see our lives disrupted.

I am asking about top level, public figures, not the workers

This is all Clearlake Capital pushing things in the direction that works for them. It'll get worse. But, rest assured, no matter what happens Clearlake will come up on top. Private Equity always wins and unfortunately we were done for the moment they came in. This is just a gradual decay that needs to be sustained until Clearlake Capital extracts whatever they decided to extract. After that, sale, spin off, IPO, etc.

Unless you’re a senior leader. START APPLYING ASAP YALL. Get out of this company. And even if you’re a senior leader leave you will be forced to cut jobs on teams that are already short staffed. Not fear mongering yall. My manager also recently resigned had been with TR for over 5 years. It’s getting bad.

It’s time for us to take an honest look at our leadership culture. While we have strong strategic talent across all levels, we continue to fall short in one critical area: people leadership. Leading people is not a secondary or passive responsibility, it’s the foundation of effective leadership.

Across the product organization, we’re seeing recurring issues that point to a gap in leadership development and accountability, including:

• Limited engagement and communication between leaders and their teams
• Over-reliance on operations or individual contributors to manage upward, downward and across without proper support
• Avoidance of difficult conversations and unresolved team conflicts (it is a leaders responsibility to support, manage and develop their people through conflict.. this includes addressing how your direct report is managing their team. EVERYONE BELOW YOU IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY)
• Inconsistent emotional regulation and listening skills among leaders (why are leaders snapping at junior employees on the reg?)
• Insufficient development of emerging talent and reluctance to promote based on growth potential
• Hierarchical attitudes that prioritize status over collaboration and merit (many TNF leaders were promoted because they were buddies with the right people, not because they are strong people leaders)

We cannot build a strong organization on weak leadership fundamentals. True leaders invest in their people, communicate transparently, and model the behaviors they expect from others. So let’s be clear about what effective people leadership looks like:

• Regular, meaningful check-ins with your direct reports (and no, being a busy VP is not an excuse.. you’re not special, we’re all busy and you get paid well for it. Support your people)
• Addressing performance or behavior concerns early and constructively
• Listening to feedback without defensiveness and taking accountability for outcomes
• Asking your team what they need from you and acting on it (I’ve seen associate employees open meetings with asking their coworkers how they’re doing and what support they need.. I have yet to see that from a senior leader)
• Providing direct, actionable development guidance and clear pathways for advancement (if you deny your employee a promotion, you better have a checklist of skills and developmental goals ready to hand over)
• Promoting based on potential and committing to coaching team members to success (if you don’t promote because your employee isn’t 100% ready, you’re a bad leader; promote when they are 80% there and invest time and LEADERSHIP into developing them the rest of the way.. talking to you, GM)

Leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room, it’s about creating an environment where everyone can succeed. Each of us has a responsibility to uphold that standard, but it should be of special interest to our leaders to set that bar. And unfortunately, the current location of our bar is in he-l.

To strengthen our leadership culture, we should be defining clear expectations for how much of every leadership role is dedicated to people development versus strategic execution. We also need targeted training on emotional intelligence, communication, and conflict management to better equip our leaders to LEAD.

Final thought.. HR outwardly being friends with Senior Leaders is problematic. Your people are afraid to speak up.

Xerox has too many challenges in their main "core competency" to overcome objections from their customers regarding IT services. Just because a small portion of our customer have onboarded, doesn't predict future success. On any given day, my email box is filled with HCL related issues that have carried on for weeks or months. At least once a day, I hear an issue I've never had before, with no possible short term resolution. We are not built for speed or flexibility. We have processes with so many chokepoints including the language barrier, technology barrier (HCL folks regularly lose internet connection), and often no direct line to whomever can resolve the issue. I am not aware of a single customer (I have over 120) who hasn't complained that Xerox su-ks now. The slogan We make work Work is a common insult we hear. And if the trust wasn't enough of a wake up call, remember that compensation for IT solutions as a Sales Rep is awful. I don't know anyone who wants to sell it unless its a "layup". Xerox will not turn around. Layoffs are going to happen Q1, and they will transfer most accounts to the crack team of inside sales. Those people are not as bad as HCL , but that's a low bar to clear. I often wonder on our Xerox calls, are IT people really this ignorant to our current situation, or are they just disconnected enough because of other non Xerox clients? One last thought...As a Xerox employee, do you really believe that Xerox can outshine the IT competition, in one of the most competitive markets, with all of our processes, and current leadership when we are losing more often in Xerox's legacy core competency?

Ive worked here long enough to sit thru at least 5 strategic shuffles, and I’ve never seen leadership this tight-lipped... All this while morale sinks sooo fast.

Dan keeps talking about building a leaner company and bold changes, but all we get are buzzwords and MORE SILENCE. It’s the same canned lines on earnings calls & the same trust the process nonsense in internal metings... and meanwhile we’re supposed to act like we dont see the layoffs coming a mile away.

Everyone already knows something big is happening by November 20... the rumors are everywhere, not just this site.

Yet instead of addressing it head-on we get happy emails about embracing agility and AI transformation (what the fu-k is that).

People are anxious, scared, updating resumes on company time, and pretending to care about the future vision while half the teams are quietly being gutted.

If you really believe in being a transparent leader, prove it. Stop hiding behind corporate PR.

Tell people what’s happening so they can prepare. We’re adults indeed and we can handle the truth.

What we can’t handle is another round of fake optimism from execs posting champagne selfies on linkdin while the rest of us are bracing for impact.

If this is your idea of leadership, it’s no different from the Hans era - just with better lighting + fewer vowels in your buzzwords.

If all these VP level leaders are getting Rif'd, then who decided which Sr Directors and ADs to Rif? If people were chosen for layoff before the VPs, then in many cases, the people deciding if you keep your job could very well not be good enough to keep their own job.

So ADIPEC just wrapped up, and it seems we managed to send a lot of folks to Abu Dhabi to support. Wondering what the final price tag of that ended up being. Seems I saw on another company's page that they put a conservative number on a C-Suite attending at around 50K each (flights, lodging, logistics, incidentals, loss productivity while there). For Sr. Managers, it was near 35K, and for rank and file (non-business class flyers) it was in the area of 20K. Add all that up and it's crazy.

Know we need to be there, but it seems we send a lot of folks who use it more like a vacation and an opportunity to "team build" with the other managers.

No worries, just cut a couple of heads when you return to pay get the numbers where you need them to wrap up Q4 - no need for those folks to do any work.

All aside, consider the travel that is denied for your own team and than run some numbers on the cost to fly Houston to Abu Dhabi (business), stay at the Ritz or like (for ELT), logistics to move folks around, team dinners and the like and the work that has to be pushed back a week. It's not a small number, folks.

But we did win a couple of awards and booked a shitload of air miles for that vacation next year.

A motivational and strategic leader. He lead the charge during covid and our response was better than most.

Will the Chairman of the Board ever be held responsible for the Clown Circus that FF has built?

After failing to lift the sales, the leadership is ready with the next list impacting many old timers at the senior roles, the remaining testers and the product which is always creating top issues with weak revenue stream. Many people are being put into difficult situations intentionally for them to resign. Many did already and impossible situation for the rest. This is a big s**t hole now for Coupa 1.0 folks with no win, whatever effort they make.

Let's go over the basic results of the last 3 years..... and some basic facts of what's happened on the Re-Joyce era of NSIT. Now in Lame Duck mode..... LOL

Base Salary = $6Mil? $5.5? (Can feed a few families with that now can't you....)
Stock Sold = $2,0100,000
Shares Outstanding = $48,460 = let's say at $80 to be optimistic LLOL, since she'll be a lockout insider post Jan (and by then the stock will of more than likely be in the 70's at this pace) = $3,876,800
Shares Purchased = 0

Damage done to this company = Priceless
Sr Leaders hired with out the needed skills or competence = >20? >25?
Individuals laid off = 1,200+ (Easily) <- If you have a better estimate, put it in the comments
Job Offshored to India / Philippines ± 800
Market Cap Erosion = $3B
Current Market Cap = $2.784B
Previous Market Cap High = $5.78 billion (Thanks to riding Ken's Coat Tails)
Quarterly Estimates Missed

Q3 2025: Missed both EPS ($2.43 reported vs $2.49 consensus) and revenue estimates ($2.0 billion reported vs $2.15 billion consensus).
Q2 2025: Missed both EPS and revenue estimates. Revenue missed by 2.9%, and EPS missed by 33%.
Q1 2025: Beat analysts' EPS estimates by 2.5% but missed revenue estimates.
Q4 2024: Full year 2024 EPS missed expectations.
The available information indicates a recent trend of missing revenue estimates, particularly in the latter part of 2024 and through 2025, while EPS performance has been mixed, with two beats and two misses in the last four quarters. A complete history for the entire three-year period (from late 2022 to late 2025) would provide the exact total number of misses.

That's only one year, still not something to be doing Ted-X Talks on or guest Forbes articles.

Thanks InsightGPT!

So if rumors are true, looks like Boulben’s org is being hit hard. Deservedly so. I counted at least 20 AVP’ers and above. Seriously? For an org that really drove us to a lot of the issues we’re having. Kept raising prices and a lot of questionable value-prop decisions. If the trend continues, I applaud Dan’s decisions.

Penny Pennington announced Edward Jones is the official Wealth Management partner of the Big XII Conference. This figures. A third class wealth management firm for a third class athletic conference. Everyone knows the top two conferences are the Big 10 and the SEC. Come on, Penny, if you really mean business you should do better. Everyone knows you are not a real leader and you are in over your head. That is why you could only secure a deal with the Big XII. While the Big 10 and the SEC have been adding programs leading the NCAA in positive growth the Big XII has been losing programs and been scrambling to pick up third tier programs to fill the holes. This sounds very similar to Penny Pennington's leadership at Edward Jones. While top leaders at Schwab, Raymond James, and LPL take talent from Edward Jones Penny Pennington is scrambling to fill the gaps as best as she can. Penny Pennington is just not adding up. Penny Pennington has already sealed her fate as a doomed leader in firm history.

The 3 CEOs before Gail served an average of 4 years while she has been here for double the amount of time.

Here is a history of how long the previous CEOs served at Elevance/Anthem/Wellpoint.

Gail K. Boudreaux- CEO of Anthem/Elevance since 2017 (~8 years)

Joseph R. Swedish- CEO of Anthem from 2013-2017 (4 years)

Angela F. Braly CEO of Anthem from 2007-2012 (5 years)

Larry Glasscock CEO of WellPoint from 2004-2007 (3 years)

I find the posts on Linkdin by various leaders at Verizon, to be completely tone deaf. Fancy dinners, and trips to Paris. Sure, it might be work related, but its a real slap in the face to be living it up in luxury while your employees are preparing for the worst. Do better.

If AI is supposed to replace mundane, everyday tasks then why wouldn’t we reduce GP headcount further? Some of these GPs do not add any strategic value, they seldom make critical decisions and don’t have the competency to lead the people through 2030. We can cut further cost to fund the 2030 ambition and still attain sound input through AI.

Why is this new CEO- opting to be so cryptic? He has a company with highly talented employees wearing a dozen hats each. They all deserve at this point, to know what the new game plan is-
Every Verizon employee has been digging in, trying their best to keep things afloat, especially the last several years-

After every layoff- VSP/ISP talent has been lost and the work load consolidated. Yet even with all the internal struggles - we keep at it.

If Dan truly wants Verizon to succeed- he needs to be candid and up front with his employees. We can handle the hard truths- we can deal with change and limitations- but the C-suite silence is destroying the company from the top down.
Dan- be different-be frank- tell the people at Verizon what is happening and do it sooner than the Nov. 20 mark- the internal barometer is tipping negatively and once it goes too far we are looking at Sprint 2.0-
You are losing trust, confidence, and support from your workforce. We all know what is coming, but the way you are decidedly unveiling it- especially in these economic times, with all the political theatrics happening in DC, only exacerbates and compounds the situation- any other year might be fine- but this is not the current weather for it.

Come clean and do it quick- or everyone here will soon agree you’re no better than Hans……

HR and leadership teams remain intact despite large cuts to technical and customer service staff... They exist to serve themselves.

I’m concerned that the current CIO may not have the depth of experience required for a large semiconductor manufacturing company. His background at PagerDuty, while relevant in a different context, does not clearly demonstrate the capability to lead in this type of environment. I would encourage a review of this appointment and the criteria used in making it.

As a dedicated employee with over two decades of service in Verizon's Global Technology Services (GTS), I've weathered countless layoffs and economic shifts, proving my commitment and resilience. I'm no benchwarmer—I've poured my energy into this company, and it's heartbreaking to watch talented, hardworking colleagues depart year after year. My own time may come soon, but I'm not deterred; I'll land on my feet with a great opportunity. What truly saddens me is the thought of leaving Verizon in its current state, as I'm deeply passionate about our customers and the potential we hold.
Through my experiences, I've observed patterns in leadership that undermine our strength. When leaders aren't rooted in this country—even if they're citizens—they often lack a deep connection to its values and economy. They surround themselves with like-minded individuals who prioritize loyalty over innovation, creating echo chambers of "yes-men" rather than diverse, challenging teams. In GTS, the prevailing strategy seems limited to layoffs and rebadging, with little investment in developing talent here in the U.S. While global recruitment for top skills is essential, it shouldn't come at the expense of local communities. You hire an American employee,he buys car in local dealship who in turn buy Verizon services. True economic growth thrives on a cycle: Hire locally, and those employees become customers who fuel the business.
The principle is simple: Be local and stay local. If we're expanding hiring in India, we must pair it with strategies to grow revenue there—selling services and building markets to create a balanced, self-sustaining ecosystem. Unfortunately, this shortsighted approach is spreading beyond GTS into our Business Organization, where Indian leaders are bringing in H1B visa holders as Directors and Senior Directors from VDSI India. Many of these appointees lack strong technical expertise or effective communication skills, yet they rise due to unquestioning allegiance rather than merit.
I hope this trend reverses. Our CEO has the opportunity to champion a bold vision: Prioritizing American talent, fostering genuine diversity, and investing in people who drive innovation. With or without me, Verizon can emerge stronger. I love my job and this company dearly—let's rally behind leaders who can guide us out of this mess and toward a brighter future.

Dan said that most of his transformative change would be unveiled in his next 22 days as CEO. Week #1 revealed him hiring his PayPal buddy. What do you think will be revealed this week? Are you as excited as Dan to be part of the transformative experience?