#leadership

4 out of 6 market presidents shown the door! Any confirmations?

So with Edmundo moving on to greener pastures. Any ideas who will be taking his place? I have heard Dave Marino is in the running to pick up where Edmundo left off. Let's hope this is true.

Earlier this week, my post was removed from here.
Hours later, HR quietly pinned a “Team Player” award on my profile, one I never applied for and don’t want. What I actually asked for was a clear growth path. Instead, my manager (who still calls one-on-one meetings “bro chats”) has stonewalled every promotion conversation. This week he announced a new Director role… filled by an external hire in India. I’m exhausted. If real opportunity now requires a passport and a 12-hour time-zone jump, just say it. I’ll book the flight.

Not giving the time of day to your number one supporter.
Tim Clark Said He's "P.O." Boeing Isn't Talking To Him!
Another 2 year delay with the 777X and Tim Clark
president of Emirates Air, gets the news from the media rather than Boeing.
https://youtu.be/kaCfTuk_9UA

Boeing is definitely #2 figuratively and literally.
https://youtu.be/1OgHjmWOWec

@OP+1k8v6k4md

For anyone who hasn’t seen “The Truman Show”: it’s a story about a man who lives inside a perfect illusion. His entire life is a TV set. The town, the neighbors, even his wife and coworkers… all actors. They know it’s fake. They get paid to keep the illusion running so Truman never realizes the truth.

The employees in Truman’s world were enablers.

They smiled on cue, stuck to the script, and did whatever it took to keep the show believable. Not because they believed in it, but because it was their job. Because it paid the bills.

Sound familiar?

For years, that’s what we, Xerox employees, have done here.

We’ve watched the numbers collapse, the debt balloon, the rhetoric pile up… and we’ve kept performing.

We’ve called decline “transformation,” losses “investments,” and chaos “reinvention”.

We’ve applauded speeches that we knew were hollow, because the alternative was uncomfortable truth.

We weren’t fooled. We were complicit.

Now the walls of the set are falling down.

Let’s stop pretending we didn’t know. We all knew.

We saw the numbers slide quarter after quarter.

We sat through the town halls, clapped like it mattered, then went back to our desks to whisper the obvious: this company’s been dead for years; we’re just managing the c0rpse.

Why?

Because the salary was decent.

Because it was easier to play d-mb than to stand up and say the emperor had no clothes.

Because survival inside a dying machine feels safer than the uncertainty outside it.

Every spreadsheet, every “adjusted” margin, every fake pep talk… we saw it all.

And instead of calling it out, we became the extras in the show.

We smiled, nodded, and sold the illusion that Xerox was turning a corner.

But the truth is brutal: we helped build the illusion.

We traded everything for comfort, and comfort is what leads companies to de4th.

We knew the business model was obsolete, that “Reinvention” was just branding without any substance.

We heard the excuses: tariffs, macroeconomy, delayed orders, COVID (in 2025?)… and pretended those were answers.

Now the curtain’s down.

No plot twist, no surprise ending… just the arithmetic of brutal financials that don’t lie.

The problem isn’t that management lied: the real problem is that we let them.

We built a culture where truth was optional and optimism mandatory.

We rewarded obedience over thinking.

Every time we clapped at jargon, every time we stayed silent while the company hollowed out, we helped build the lie.

Now there’s nothing left to hide behind.

The show’s over.

Stop clapping.

Why does leadership continue to leave from Zug? Are they finding better opportunities or are they being forced out?

MB, CTO is on the move!

Chris McCarthy being “let go” as co-CEO back in August was probably the first sensible decision Paramount’s made in years. The man’s entire career has been one long masterclass in failing upward. Now he’s probably slinking over to 101 Studios or NBCU to “collaborate” with Taylor Sheridan, who’s already planning his big exit from Paramount in 2028. It’s the perfect Hollywood farce. One guy can’t keep a job without wrecking it, the other’s counting down the days till he can cash out and ride off on a horse named Ego. You decide which is which. Chris somehow walks away with a multi-million dollar payout for achieving absolutely nothing, proving once again that in this town, being useless isn’t a flaw,it’s a business model. That's right, Amy, Liza, Laurel, Nina, and co.

At BNY, leadership isn’t something you do—it’s something you post about. In this gilded age of corporate theater, where substance is optional but hashtags are mandatory, BNY has perfected the art of appearing important while doing absolutely nothing of measurable value. Welcome to the House of Optics™, where the louder you are on Teams, the closer you are to God (or at least to a LinkedIn shoutout from someone with “Global” or "Head" in their title).

Let’s begin with the sacred ritual of the Selfie of Significance™. At BNY, no moment is too trivial to commemorate with a front-facing camera and a forced grin. Did you attend a 15-minute “Leadership Listening Session” where no one listened and nothing was led? That’s a selfie. Did you stand near a VP while they cut a ribbon on a building funded by tax credits and the dreams of displaced mid-career professionals? That’s a selfie. Did you walk past a banner that said “Innovation Starts Here” while wondering what your job actually is? Selfie. Bonus points if you tag the Executive Committee member who once waved in your general direction at a town hall.

But the real magic happens in the Testimonial Industrial Complex™, where associates are gently nudged (read: strongly encouraged) to post about how “energized,” “inspired,” and “humbled” they are to be in the presence of greatness—greatness being defined as someone who once said “synergy” in a meeting without laughing. These testimonials are often indistinguishable from hostage notes, except with more emojis and fewer demands. “Feeling so proud to be part of today’s strategic alignment session with our fearless leader!” reads one post, accompanied by a photo of a man in a Patagonia vest nodding at his own PowerPoint.

Leadership at BNY is not measured by outcomes, impact, or even basic competence. It is measured by decibel level and calendar saturation. The true leaders are those who speak the most in Teams meetings, regardless of whether they say anything. In fact, saying nothing is preferred—it reduces the risk of accountability. The goal is to be seen speaking, not heard making sense. Bonus points for using phrases like “double-click,” “value prop,” and “let’s circle back” in a single breathless monologue.

And oh, the meetings. BNY has elevated the Meeting as Performance Art to an Olympic sport. There are meetings to plan meetings, meetings to debrief meetings, and meetings to align on the outcomes of meetings that never had outcomes. If you’re not in at least six simultaneous Teams calls, are you even leading?

Meanwhile, the Executive Committee floats above it all, like a celestial body emitting vague strategic radiation. They are thanked profusely in every post, regardless of their involvement. “Huge thanks to [Insert EC Member] for their visionary leadership!” reads a caption beneath a photo of a hallway. No one knows what the EC actually does, but their names are invoked like corporate deities—part reverence, part insurance policy.

But BNY’s pièce de résistance is its Public Diversion Strategy™, a masterclass in distraction marketing. While morale craters and more layoffs loom, the company unveils a new building, a new partnership, or a new initiative with a state college mascot no one’s heard of. These announcements are accompanied by drone footage, branded cupcakes, and LinkedIn posts with captions like “So proud to be part of this journey!”—a journey that, coincidentally, involves replacing experienced professionals with interns and new college grads who think COBOL is a TikTok dance.

These partnerships are not about education or community impact. They are about labor arbitrage agreements with a side of PR frosting. BNY receives generous economic development credits to build “pipelines” of low-cost, inexperienced talent while quietly offboarding seasoned employees like expired yogurt. The message is clear: if you’ve been here long enough to know how things work, you’re a liability. Please collect your commemorative stress ball and don't let the door hit you in the a*ss on the way out!

And yet, the illusion persists. Awards, merit and promotions are given for “visibility,” not value. Promotions go to those who master the art of Strategic Echoing™—repeating what someone just said, but louder and with a slide. Recognition is bestowed upon those who “lean in” to performative enthusiasm, not those who quietly deliver results. The loudest voice in the room is assumed to be the smartest, even if it’s just reading the agenda out loud.

In this ecosystem, actual accomplishment is a liability. It implies you were focused on work instead of cultivating your personal brand. Worse, it might make others look bad. The safest path to success is to be loud, visible, and vaguely inspirational. Think TED Talk energy, but with less content and more acronyms. Afterall, who started this practice and how has this become the fabric of the Robin Vince BNY culture?

So what’s the lesson here? At BNLie, it’s not about what you do—it’s about what you appear to do. Leadership is not a function of impact, but of optics, volume, and proximity to power. The currency of success is not competence, but curated enthusiasm and PR hype. And the ultimate sin is not failure—it’s silence.

So smile for the camera, tag your favorite executive, and remember: the building may be empty, the strategy may be incoherent, and the talent may be fleeing—but as long as the LinkedIn post gets 100 likes and 450 impressions, everything is fine with the personal brand.

When the only thing that “matters” is quarterly performance, leadership starts trimming everything that isn’t a number that moves the stock. Pay. Comfort. Flexibility. Those are the first to go.

Directors and VPs play it safe. They tighten rules not because they believe in them, but because they’re scared to stick their neck out. Fear trickles down faster than trust ever does.

Who leads the Service and claims organization at Allstate?

Picture caption: For Fiserv reported very weak results last week. One analyst told clients earlier to get out, but his competitors kept telling them to buy. (Caleb Santiago Alvarado/Bloomberg News)

Stock analysts’ favorite line may no longer be “great quarter, guys,” given all the attention it got—including an academic study.

Sound familiar? Yup every earnings call for the last 4 years (obviously with the exception of last weeks). We here had been sounding the alarm for several years. Too little attention is given to associates concerns in 'right sizing' too much authority to leadership.

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-11-06-2025/card/are-stock-analysts-useless--9eGo3EYP3SrymMcq1bnS?siteid=yhoof2

Kakistocracy is the rule by the incompetent.
That is, those who govern are the least fit to do so, but the most skilled at holding onto power.

5 Rules of Kakistocracy:

Incompetence: Promotions are not given to the most competent, but to the most loyal and ambitious.
Corruption: Those in power no longer work for the common good, but for their own interests and those of their network.
Weakening of checks and balances: Dissenting voices are silenced to prevent questioning of their decisions.
Manipulation: Lies are used to divert attention from failures and to shape public opinion in their favor.
Deceit: Mistakes are never acknowledged. They protect each other and shift responsibility elsewhere. Bad faith and dishonesty are no longer flaws, but strategies.

The reign of the incompetent has a bright future ahead.

I keep seeing posts on LinkedIn and places that it’s a reset and Fiserv is a legacy company etc, I worked at Fiserv for 9 years and loved the place. What I saw post merger with First Data, is atrocious. The amount of layoffs and the total dismantling of a great company for short term goals should be downright illegal.

Frank is absolutely responsible for where Fiserv’s stock sits today. Instead of building on what made Fiserv great—long-term, recurring contract value driven by core processing relationships—he chased short-term gains. The repeated rounds of layoffs might have bumped margins for a quarter, but they stripped out the expertise and continuity that sustained core revenue for decades.

He never truly understood the value of the core franchise. Instead of strengthening those contracts, he diverted focus to Clover, which is built on shorter-term merchant agreements that simply don’t offer the same stability or lifetime value. That shift toward quick wins and short-cycle contracts is exactly why the long-term fundamentals have weakened.

In the end, he traded durable revenue for momentary optics—and the stock price reflects that.

Mike reads these posts? Somehow, I think he does. Unlike Frank, it seems like it gives him a pulse on employees, better than the survey. Frank used it to find out our thoughts and get revenge

Considering most of us are stuck, when do you think the stock will recover ?.

Even insiders are not buying at these prices, that's the concerning part.

In orgs that reward visibility over results, advancement goes to the safest pick, not the strongest performer… the chosen few keep things calm, nod along, and soothe the people above them…

Real competence can unsettle because it exposes gaps and weaknesses... when u do excellent work leaders are forced to confront how little control they actually have….So instead of building strength, these systems recycle timidity and value loyalty much more than leadership. Once the loop starts each layer shields the one above, and real talent burns out or walks. This is how mediocrity becomes the norm.

Schrodinger began laying off the clinical team today. They’re also ending “independent” clinical development, which really closes the door on their entire clinical pipeline - especially since these poor performing assets have failed to attract any partner interest even after years of development. The Chief Medical Officer is also leaving.

These actions highlight the failure of Schrodinger’s executive leadership and board of directors. Their inability to deliver any assets that can succeed in the clinic is a direct reflection their incompetence, inexperience and ineffective leadership. There’s a repeated pattern of poor judgment, weak decision-making, and avoidance of accountability. It’s amazing that, despite this utter abysmal performance, the C-suite and BoD has not been held accountable. It’s time to clean house and find competent replacements that can deliver results.

Over the past 12 months, the Pune and Penang R&D centers has not delivered any significant new products or features that have made a meaningful impact on roadmap or revenue. Given the scale of investment, the output from these sites appears misaligned with expectations, and they should seriously reassess the strategy, scope, and leadership of this team to ensure a better return on R&D spend.

Are customer even buying this sh-t to justify all the hype or is leadership getting fired soon?

The company culture is built on a foundation of distrust, particularly regarding leadership and feedback mechanisms. Pulse surveys are treated as a joke; the promise of anonymity isn't trusted, and employees see no positive change resulting from constructive criticism.

Follow-up meetings feel like attempts to 'brainwash' employees into believing their voice matters, which is made worse by condescending 'family' and 'Vteam' rhetoric.

The most toxic part is that leaders are reportedly penalized if their teams are too honest, creating a system where compliance is valued over improvement. Leadership's communication is viewed as political and disingenuous, and the company feels like a hollow shell of what it once was.

Mostly impacted middle management in marketing and engineering. However, some teams are entirely gone and being merged into different units. This has been going on in smaller batches throughout the year, but this is one of the first times leadership kind of addressed it. Coincided with Q3 earnings call, unsure whether c-suite discussed with investors.

Thoughts on new lp?

Someone talking about few key well known leaders are going to let go. Anyone knows more about it. Big guys names are in the talk. Share or if you hear anything about it.

Job offshoring in the country is gaining momentum at an unprecedented pace. Major companies are making headlines that show it’s no longer confined to lower-level positions — middle and upper management roles are now being transferred to India as well. A striking irony: those who once designed and championed the offshoring strategy may soon find themselves among its casualties. (Some may feel gleeful at that thought.)

How do you stop it? A lot would need to change, but one thing is certain, the leadership that implements this will go down in history as saving society.

The Inside team is full of terrible leadership. If you enjoy low morale, harassment, and being talked to like a dog, apply today! High turnover, low pay, the typical CCI way! The new CEO has his work cut out for him!

This group is closer to penny wize, dollar foolish than most. Here's why. Remember all the times BH mentioned de-layering and reducing decision making authority? The exact opposite is true. I know this as I look at the list of job grades of those recently axed. Nothing higher than manager and overall average job grade let go is 9. At the same time we (they) mint more VP's. The consistent and frequent additions to the "C" suite ONLY increases beaurocrocy, time and effort to approve low $, low risk investments. Lastly, the severance for these folks was drastically REDUCED compared to previous January layoff. The thing about boiling frogs is, they all end up cooked. Demand leaders with integrity, not these imposters.

L and D is posting on various platforms stating what a huge success the Month of Learning was.
No it wasn’t, it was the same failure it’s always been since the new group of leaders took over.
Everyone I’ve talked to says they didn’t get anything out of it.
They’re trying too hard to convince, I don’t know somebody, maybe even themselves, that they are really performing a good service to the employees.

The bickering between EQT elites and Zayo has beens now? Oh yeah, and the New Crown leftovers?

As we continue to feel strains and increased costs as a company perhaps looking at top exec costs would help cut off some of that. Are there business travels at that level that are really needed or lunches for those in those positions that really need to be paid for? How are leaders paid more and advancing levels when others are not? How many additional senior leaders do we really need? Our members need to be able to reach live, direct workers. Happy employees lead to happy members and business which organically leads to overall better business. Telling associates benefits are more, AIP is less, and growth will not really happen is tough for lower ranking associates. I wonder when that piece of the puzzle will be realized by the business. Further consider these associates are also members trying to make it in the world today.

What’s really frustrating, and honestly a little disturbing, is how many of our leaders have started acting like politicians. They ignore anything negative, spin reality, and only focus on whatever sounds good in a town hall or email. It’s insulting to our intelligence and completely out of touch with what’s actually happening on the front lines, where the real work gets done.

Until leadership stops pretending everything is fine and starts listening to the people doing the work, nothing will change. Just more talk, less trust, and a widening gap between the top and the rest of us.

This isn’t rumor, emotion, or gossip.

This is what the company itself has said, plus the math that follows from it.

No fluff. No slogans. Just reality.

Where Xerox actually is:

• Q3 cash generation did not cover costs; free cash flow driven by working-capital timing, not profits.

• Legacy business declining on a like-for-like basis.

• GAAP gross margin is 22%, very thin to support debt, restructuring, investment, and dividends.

• Significant debt added to fund acquisitions.

• Leadership has stated we do not have 2 years to fix this.

• Workforce reductions confirmed to continue into 2025–2026.

• Integration urgency now tied directly to SURVIVAL narrative.

• Merit / raises tied to profit (uncertain to say the least).

• Strategy locked: no pivot planned, only “execute faster”.

This is a turnaround under time pressure, not a routine quarter.

What has been signaled:

• The model is right, execution has failed!

• The company will run out of runway without faster performance!

• More layoffs are expected!

• Every function and region expected to “do more with less”!

• Employees told to stop prioritizing personal situations and put the company first!

• Execution failures = leadership changes!

The bets are already placed. No turning back. Sink or swim on execution.

Employee reality:

• Job security is performance- and speed-dependent.

• Raises contingent on profitability, not guaranteed.

• Higher workloads, fewer resources.

• Culture shifted from “corporate career” to “survival, sprint, sacrifice”.

Clear message: contribute at full speed or self-select out.

What happens next? Likely 12–18 month environment:

• Continued restructuring & RIFs

• Ongoing cost compression

• Integration friction + tech platform migration

• Talent drain and forced performance pressure

• Narrow focus: cash, margin, execution speed

Best case? Turnaround works, company stabilizes, slow growth returns.

Middle case? Extended grind — layoffs, morale erosion, cash tightness.

Worst case? cash performance fails... strategic alternatives come to play (asset sales / debt restructuring / Private Equity involvement).

All are standard outcomes in leveraged turnarounds; which one we hit depends on speed, cost takeout, and execution.

Bottom line:

• Xerox is no longer operating in “business as usual”.

• This is SteveB's plan A: execution speed vs. cash runway.

• There is no plan B. And plan A must work quickly.

• Everything else — morale, culture, careers — is secondary to operational survival right now.

Wartime rules are in effect. Everyone just heard it live.

The mood shift, the urgency, the tone, the pressure... all real.

This is what corporate in distress looks like when management says it out loud.

Now you know.

Nothing seems to have a good captaincy anymore. Sailors are shaking the boat. In Visa domain knowledge and love for systems is not rewarded anymore. New direction is looking at easy points. Share prices stumbling. Old people are let go. Maybe if there's any small indication, it is right time to part.

I mean, at these point executives have not only become tone deaf but truly cynical. At least we know that these surveys are completely worthless. No matter the results, they will label them as "opportunities".

I might not have liked all of Dan’s message but at least it was spoken plainly and honestly. What is really annoying and a little disturbing is that a lot of our leaders now seem to operate like politicians. They ignore anything negative or challenging and only look to talk about the positives. This is totally insulting to employees intelligence and emphasises the gulf between senior leaders with what is happening on the front line

And clueless management to boot!

Big companies are laying off and repositioning themselves to run more like a start up. Why? Because everyone has AI FOMO! Everywhere you look billions are being invested in AI. The work force is getting trimmed before companies understand whether or not AI can deliver on all that it's developers promise. Sending all your employees the message that they need to worry about their employment just days into your new position is not the definition of leadership. This is not how you build a winning team. The posts on this board are a reflection of Dan's leadership. You have yet to share the substance of your vision on just how Verizon will pivot. All you have accomplished so far is the demoralization of the work force. You are getting off to a very disappointing start.

Morale is horrible across the board. Unless you’re in leadership or close with someone who is, you’re on your own. U.S. employees are treated like they don’t matter, while offshore teams get better support, flexibility, and recognition. It’s discouraging and unsustainable- and yet no one seems to be able to stop it. US employees (not in leadership roles) need to unite and demand changes immediately.

We know leadership at a certain point is about potential- not actual merit or experience/ qualifications.

Who would you say our great leaders would be if it was really up to merit and qualifications?