#culture

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 only the CEO wishes he could click his heels and go back, monetise the GUI, mouse, ethernet and PC and things would be a whole lot different. 👠 👠

Does the constant begging for AI ideas, use cases, prompts, and more drove anyone else crazy?

As someone who is very proficient with AI, (through taking classes, learning it, using it, etc,) I’m not sharing my knowledge/competence/learnings with the company at large outside what is required by my position. Why should they benefit from a knowledge base I built on my own time?

VZ “family” throwing each other under the bus — making arguments for why others should be cut while justifying their OWN existence. 🚢 🧊 Can’t you see we are ALL on a sinking ship? The VZ layoffs have only just begun ……. 🛟

Can somebody please explain why they're being so cagy with information? What would it hurt to provide us with some clarity? What do they gain by keeping us in the dark, other than reducing productivity and further eroding morale that has already hit rock bottom?

Will Belk corporate throw their lavish holiday party again? While stores can’t budget for basic supplies, much needed maintenance and more than one or two fitting rooms open?

Tom Brady told us we were the best in the business a year ago. Was that fake news? Since then we’ve done meaningful pulse surveys, volunteering, moments that matter such as endless reorgs, had a successful RTO rollout, and photo shoots. We bring our whole selves to work and take guilt free vacations. Our customers love us. And we’re going to win the holidays with our great products and services. Don’t tell me we’ve been lied to!

Have you seen the discounts on Nike.com? Earlier than usually with higher discounts than ever. Pinnacle product like alphafly 3 and new introductions like Metcon are offered there in a way that it hurts to see. That together with the removal of wellness week and 4 week work from abroad shows that Nike is on a bad trajectory , worse than anticipated.

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.

We appreciate your sacrifice to help us older retireries collect for many years to come. Get back into those office cubicles and make JF proud.

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

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.

Salaried workers have big egos and think they're better than everyone else and management will see that and treat them well. They think unions are just to protect lazy losers, when it's really just about fair treatment. Bad employees in a union can still be fired.

I've been a Team Manager in claims with State Farm for over 30 years. I'm retiring this year after I get my MIP. Honestly feel sooooo sorry for everyone that has to stay. There have always been periods of ups and downs at SF. These last 10 years and especially this year have been an absolute nightmare. When I got promoted to TM in 1997, my boss told me to be sure to leave SF better than I found it. I tried my best but failed. The people running State Farm are absolute parasites, make no mistakes about it. To all employees, leave this place before it drains your soul, and damages your mental and physical health beyond repair. This place is just not worth it. Not saying the grass is greener on the other side but at least see if it is. The Executive leadership you have is exploiting you for only their gain, have destroyed any ounce of decency left at State Farm and are just pure clueless sc-m bags. All they want is conformity, not your opinion. All the Peakon, Voice and View, Skip Level Meetings cr-p are all just the same smoke and mirrors that the politicians use to steal you blind. It's not your TMs fault, but there are TMs that are bad and make it even worse as they drink the Kool Aid. There are still a few decent TMs/SMs that try to do the right thing but if they get caught doing it they get punished. State Farm is a sinking ship, that they crashed, and now the Captain and other officers are stepping over the elderly, women and children to save themselves and kicking people off the life boats. I get you need to pay the bills, but find a way out sooner than later. This get's a lot worse and does every day. I almost feel dirty everyday I have to work at this place, and you know deep down what this company is doing is just wrong at every level. Get out, just get out, Sorry, hope that helps some of you decide.

Can’t support a company upending American workers’ lives while stuffing the execs pockets with millions.

Just switched over 4 lines this weekend and convinced 4 other family members to switch to T Mobile.

The best part is that T Mobile is in fact cheaper for everyone. So it’s a win - win.

Verizon employees have been advised (through management) not to speak on any social media or face being pulled into 'review meetings.' We're not even allowed to post group outings, literally nothing.

What in the world is going on?

I’ve tried to stay on the positive side of this for a long time. It is quickly fading.

Too many initiatives, not enough people to drive them and not enough time to manage people effectively.

When you wake up and dread coming to work each morning, it’s time to do something different.

get out of this company ASAP

Is it just a skill issue or is it really hard to get promoted without bullsh-tting a lot in meetings?

This company has the most micro managing toxic leadership ever. Avoid it if you can. The pressure is productivity. It's a sweatshop. Leadership will smile while they stab you in the back. Hypocrisy is big here.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/14/business/ousted-verizon-boss-could-still-pocket-most-of-20m-salary-as-company-cuts-15000-jobs-report/

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.

how many times will LC say AI. Drinking game!

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.

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.

in R this week. Tell mgmt how much you hate Viya. Meetup workshops for directors and VPs on how to write vague linkedin posts about wanting a new challenge. Everyone else can attend a session about applying for unemployment during the holidays.

Since the rumors started, my workload has exploded. I was already busy in my role, but now other work groups have been piling meetings and projects onto my calendar—almost as if they’re trying to prove how “busy” they are.

At this point, I’m sitting in 8–10 hours of back-to-back meetings most days.

As if anyone is actually checking calendars to make decisions. 😂

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

I walk the Vz br cafe and while I’m hearing the gloom and doom talk I am blasted by a 120 inch screen w Kevin heart as a ice cream cone, than Pete Davidson for a Vz commercial. Like are we fr? Why are we paying millions to these mo--ns? You think that having those guys in a commercial helps the bottom line even by .0000001 ? NO. Stop wasting millions on stupidity, Jesus

You know, telling us way in advance then going completely silent, allowing us to speculate, panic, fear, then eventually fight about it. There's a LOT of psychology happening amongst us in these boards. That's not my field of education or expertise, but it's fascinating to me, all the same.

Then again, it could just be the unfortunate byproduct of a new CEO with a different narcissistic driven output from the previous guy.

I’m done with RTO for the rest of the year. Seriously. This whole 5 day grind has drained every ounce of motivation I had left. If we aren’t back to a sane hybrid schedule next year, I’m out. No hesitation. No second guessing.

I love my work, I’m good at it, and I’ve given this place more than enough chances to get its act together. But I’m not sacrificing my health, my time, or my sanity for a policy that does nothing but burn people out and push talent out the door.

Fix it or lose the people who actually keep this place running. The clock’s ticking.

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.

Seriously employees and manager need to boycott tires all talk no action. They abusing employees and no one is standing up for them

(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.

If you are working hard for this company, dont. They dont deserve any of our efforts or loyalty. They have to be the most hated group of "leaders" in Chevron history and might rank up there on most hated in US history. They single handedly took a much loved company to one that the employees cant stand. They should be ashamed!

Jobs sit empty, people quit without warning, and benefits keep shrinking while profits grow. Don't even get me started on the raises. This is not an employee friendly place and it never was.