What will JohnV say? Will be inspire confidence and excitement?
Anne was respected and admired, and people wanted to believe in her.
Ursula was hated as she seemed to hate the employees and didn't give a c-ap about us.
Jeff seemed to have respect, seemed to believe in Xerox and our technology.
JohnV - I can't imagine him saying anything that will rally the troops behind us. He came in with the stink of Icahn on him, and I don't think it's going away. I almost look back with fondness at Ursula.
It didn’t take John V long to engage in the well known “Xerox Double Speak.”
The John V webcast was WORD FOR WORD from the Canadian town hall the week before - WORD FOR WORD - I guess he didn't think Canada employees would be dialed into his webcast.
Sad. And so not inspiring. If I hear 'tech powerhouse' one more time, I will scream. What is that? What are we doing to become one and what investments are we making to get there? Also, apparently an all hands HR call happended and Steve B said Xerox does not have the right talent right now - also so inspirational - not sure what makes him and the other EC commitee members feels they ARE the right talent - I see no evidence there
I also have to disagree with the comment that Anne wasn't a leader. She led us through what was until then the darkest period in Xerox history.
Not only did she have to deal with the SEC investigation, but the company was close to bankruptcy. She negotiated those treacherous times and managed to inspire the troops.
Current leadership (and even specifically Xerox) aside, you will never find out any “eye opening” information from these sorts of communications, for both business and legal reasons.
They’re always going to be more of a pep rally and publicly-available-info regurgitation. They might be interesting to get a read on attitude or something like that, but don’t forget any of these C level people are experts in this sort of thing. They’re not going to suddenly blush if someone asks “Are you going to cut this job?”
I disagree with an earlier post saying Anne wasn’t a leader. Every person in the field LOVED her. She knew the business, she listened, and was always relatable and inspiring. Not every Leader rides a white horse and carries a sword. Some never expected they would be a leader, yet the people told them so.
To OP:
Anne had nowhere to go but up. Xerox culture was deeply ingrained in her. She was not much of a leader.
Ursula was clueless. Worked with her husband, niced guy. Met and talked with her several times. She is/was a lost child.
Jeff is/was a dolt. He came into a meeting earlier this year smiling and saying, "Well, my job is safe." In front of a room full of people that were and still are deeply concerned about their future. He should have had his a-- kicked for saying that. He cares/cared no more for those of us that are left than JohnV does.
JohnV is hand picked by Carl Icahn to run this company until it is sold.
Will he dance for us again?
He will say, how he has traveled the world and the thing he sees the most is how much Xerox people care. We will interpret that as a good thing and keep caring. What he will not say is how much he cares about Xerox people. Because he doesn't. He will speak about respect is the primary objective of every employee, and yet, he will not define what respect looks like to him. He will be evasive so as not to have to tell the truth. He will say "hard decisions" will have to be made. He will leave thinking only of the bottom line and how it affects his pocket and his superiors pockets. He will say and do anything to make that happen. The words he uses will be delivered from a position of strength. He will make you believe he is strong, and even stronger than you. And yet, when it all comes down to it, he does NOTHING. Its YOU that do the work for HIM. What you do with this information is up to you. To feed your family, and maintain your life, but do not think this man has any grand ideas to turn this company around, other than to slash the living sh.t out of it. Drink the koolaid and be fooled or not. Do what it is you are going to do. My naivete is done. You will catch up. It won't be long.