I don’t think anyone here disagrees that layoffs are part of any company’s lifecycle and it’s unreasonable to think a company can grow indefinitely. Contraction is inevitable given bad market conditions.
The disconnect among the ranks, I believe, is that ELT displays no sense of accountability when they make strategic mistakes. They appear immune to the consequences of their own decisions and actions while simultaneously laying off thousands of people.
They tell you to buy Cisco stock at a discount, while they sell millions of dollars worth of their own shares, they hint at the immorality of those supposedly working multiple jobs from home, while many of them sit on multiple corporate boards collecting paychecks and stocks and would have you believe those corporate board positions don’t interfere with their work at Cisco. Are we to believe ELT members attend board meetings on the weekends?
What kind of message does it send to the ranks when ELT (and their family members) is spending a week in Hawaii at a luxury resort while a week later they plan on laying off 4,000 (maybe more) of the ranks they called “family” some months ago. Be cognizant that a layoff just before the holidays is emotional, stressful, and painful to your employees and maybe cancel that trip to Hawaii. This is the true meaning of empathy. ELT needs to cease with the platitudes and buzzwords and lead by example. Show some accountability.
In war, when a general makes strategic mistakes which lead to the deaths of thousands of his soldiers, they are relieved of their command at worst or at best demoted. Unfortunately the message at Cisco is when the “general” messes up, there are no consequences.
I hope ELT takes criticisms to heart and changes course. I want to see Cisco succeed, but success requires true leadership and introspection. Leaders who lead from the front ultimately command the respect of the ranks and in return the ranks will fight tooth and nail to make this company a force to be reckoned with.
This is perfectly said. Bumped from @xir+1k8ITMwB for visibility.