#leadership

Kyndryl has become top heavy. Each week, some new executive joins to “transform” and bring “thought leadership” while laying off highly technical hands on keyboard skills.
@115+1kn7fxr2v

Came here to check for layoff updates, ran into this post. Bumping it up for visibility.

"Do more with less" and "we're all in this together." I don't want to hear any pep talk. None of us are here to clean up leadership's mess, only to be dismissed with a generic email. I'm staying until they show me the door. For now, it's about what I take from this job, not what they squeeze out of me.

There is a significant concern across the teams regarding the lack of bottom-up input in this new structure. From the conversations I’m having, there is near-zero buy-in because the workload and structure don't seem to reflect our operational reality. How does leadership plan to address the fact that the people expected to execute this plan believe it is fundamentally set up for failure?

Who is hiring these unqualified window dressing only store managers?
This is becoming a serious problem at Belk.

Is Mr. "Everything's Computer!" really just that much smarter than all the Intel PhD's, MBA's and "Rockstars" combined? These so called businessmen were all scrapping Intel for parts when Trump basically handed them their as--s and said "You are going to make computer chips like you are supposed to or go to jail." Now Intel is at ATH in less than a year. I guess he really is a VERY STABLE GENIUS and everyone one working at Intel owes him a giant debt of gratitude.

Educated at Ivy League universities vs no-name college

Worked at prestigious organizations like Bain, Paypal, Service now vs Nike only experience ( that too which he got by literally begging for it)

$170 share price and $52 billion revenue vs comedy that we are seeing now

Has PHK made a mistake by replacing a highly educated, intelligent leader with Shoe salesman? The results are for everyone to see, even if JD continued I am sure that share prices wouldn't have dipped this low.

I am not saying JD would have been the best person to continue on the job, but he would be as aweful as EH. EH got free hand in literally replacing JD's handpicked team, and all the freedom to reshape company's strategy but the outcomes have been the worst.

What do you guys think, how much time does EH have before he is shown the door?

GK’s brand reputation clearly stands for doing what’s best for the stock and not for the employees.
It’s time to show her again, like we did after the first townhall, that we do have a say.
Go on Glassdoor, indeed, etc. and tell those looking for work at USB that this place su-ks and she, along with her MC, are a bunch of knuckleheads with no care for the employees.

Ask the tough questions on the townhall. Vote up the questions about trust, transparency and lack of care for employees. Call out the head of HR for being such a terrible leader and policy maker and reach out to your local news and let them know about this last RTO mess they created.

I’ve been in R&D long enough to think I’d seen every organizational oddity, but lately I look at my reporting chain and just… sigh. I’m a Principal Engineer, the most technical person on my team, and yet there are seven layers of management between me and the top. Seven. At this point it feels like performance art.

And the part that blows my mind? We’re a software company. We really only need three groups to function: developers who ship code, sales/AEs who bring in revenue, and top leadership who set direction. Everything else should be supporting those three — not ballooning into a management ecosystem that needs its own food chain.

Comments on recent IT leadership announcement? How was the newly promoted GM?

Why is leadership teams so unnecessarily large? What real value do they actually add? They hold fancy titles but contribute nothing to product strategy or execution. Most seem obsessed with impressive job titles, posting on LinkedIn, and organizing pointless town halls that drain everyone's energy. These aren't leaders,they're overpaid parasites feeding off the work of G5/G6 employees.

Leadership stays busy, just with all the wrong things. Great way to use resources efficiently, right? It'd be hilarious if it weren't crushing us in the process.

A lot of people who were not here ask how was EJ different pre-2019. A few callouts:

• JW cut $100M+ out of the budget to avoid layoffs during the ‘08-‘09 crisis. PP wants to layoff home office associates to capture millions in what she sees as “expenses”.

• JW’s agenda was the field, home office, and client. PP’s agenda was her legacy but now that she has bitten the hand that feeds her (the field) and has bitten the hand that pet her (the home office/CSTs) now her agenda is retribution.

Besides her animosity geared towards associates who did not fit her political and social beliefs, she now despises everyone.

Pre 2019 there was a saying, “You think and act different when you’re a partner”. I haven’t heard that mantra in 7 years as it went out the window with her mandates and the people she has brought in along with the leaders hired in the lower ranks. The reason her door mimics her FA door from Michigan is because the name on the door is the only name that matters to her.

Looking at new directors and senior directors for consumer, direct, and channel for Kinetic.

6 out of 7 are an easy find on LinkedIn from Frontier.

It's shocking at how much new upper management folks are from Frontier.

At this point, it makes the most sense to file CH11 now and start a planned slide into restructuring, ensuring the best possible outcome and odds for survival. Save the company, and as many jobs as you can.

They will not do that.

As bad as things are, life is still pretty good in the command bunker. The EC is paid well and treated like royalty. They go to their F1 races, and attend sporting events in skyboxes with vendors they will eventually default on their line of credit with. It's nice, they run things, and have a comfortable standard of living; it is ideal.

What is not ideal is giving up control, giving up the perks, giving up the excessive compensation to drive the company into a ditch.

Actually saving the company would require sacrifice from the EC. They have chosen not to do that. Instead, they attend F1 races, spend lavishly (on themselves) and run out the clock on a company that could be saved. The company is an end to their means - nothing else. Whatever happens will be a lot worse that it needed to be, because they want to go to one more race, sit in one more skybox for a hockey game, lord over you for one more day, before a mandated bankruptcy trustee reined them in, and put an end to it.

Remember that when they say WE have to make sacrifices, WE have to do difficult things. WE, isn't we, it's YOU.

Leadership needs to get their act together.

Shouting, pressure, and creating a climate of fear in engineering won’t fix anything: in fact, it only makes things worse. Right now, people are acting out of fear instead of making rational decisions aligned with actual goals.

That’s how you end up with poor outcomes, short-term thinking, and teams that stop taking ownership.

If the goal is better performance, this approach is doing the opposite.

Share price still falling, revenues down SLT terrible from the top to bottom, especially corporates. Not even in the top 3 legal AI, CoCounsel not had the right vision, stand alone product the trying to link it with everything, clients just not buying it literally. When wil the board step in and purge the lot of them?

I was just told that Rick Fleisher and Anne-Marie Pepi left suddenly yesterday. No word if it was voluntary or not. Anyone know why?

This stupid company is always organic meaning, all the Execs are long timers (CEO, CTO, CFO..), so they have the same narrow minded mentality.
The company needs some people from outside who have vision and know how to do business. The current mo--ns do not fit for their positions and will only get worse...

Where is NIke's destination eventurally, that is the question that has been floating around a lot in this platform.

As long as EH and upper management maintains this death march to the Death Valley, it will be in the teens.

Quite frankly, I was extremely disappointed that EH was not able to come out with new, clear direction after 18 months in the throne. Yeah, JD left sh-t load cr-p around but with EH's pay scale that is task that is included.

I resigned two months ago for a new opportunity and I was really nervous about how it would feel to leave Target. Losing “opportunity”, the chance to work on things at Target scale, the benefits of Target’s brand on my resume.

Honestly, all of those concerns faded a few days in to my new position. Not because my new job is just like Target, but because I didn’t realize how poor the leadership truly is at Target until I worked with people who get along with one another and understand the goal of their work.

People have been welcoming and collaborative. I haven’t been stonewalled in a turf war. Communication is simple and clear. I get what we’re doing and so does everyone else.

The compensation is also par and so is my opportunity.

If you feel like target isn’t firing on all cylinders for you, leave. There are jobs out there.

In most organizations, you will typically find two groups of people. Those that are desperate to lead and those that are not interested in leading. Most times, your best leaders are in the latter group. The question is, how do you convince the latter group to want to lead?

Anyone know why Tom Liguori was replaced as CFO all of a sudden?

I once heard PP say in private that one of the the firm's biggest problem is over retention of underperforning associates. Did ER solve this? A lot of talent has walked out the door and im still surrounded by id--ts.

Scientists have published a groundbreaking report where they studied the smoothest brain on the planet, belonging to AT&T CTO Jeremy Legg.

“It’s insane, we’ve never seen zero synaptic activity in a human ever”, one scientist said, “we’re honestly not even sure how he’s alive.”

“We’ve long thought humans evolved from apes, but we thought it was a one way street you know, we never thought humans could DEVOLVE from apes, until we met Jeremy.”

According to the report, Mr. Legg has less neural activity than Kanzi, the world’s smartest ape. The discovery of Mr. Legg has led to the funding of more ground breaking studies, “this opens up the opportunity to study how the Neanderthals actually communicated and thought”.

In response to the report, Jeremy Legg gave a statement to our newsroom intern, “AI is se-y, Azure is se-y, data centers are not se-y. This reporter is REALLY se-y.”

EDay is new to MB and I’m 8 years in the MB division, this fruitbasket is a joke.

Scott Sheffield of Pioneer wants to get a job as an ExxonMobil board member

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/17/2025-06562/petition-of-scott-sheffield-to-reopen-and-set-aside-order

It’s hard not to notice the growing stagnation within 3M’s PSD division. For a company long known for innovation, the lack of meaningful new products coming out of this group is concerning. The pipeline feels dry, and the urgency that once defined 3M’s culture of invention seems to be missing. Just chasing lost business now.
Equally troubling is the apparent gap in leadership. Strong leadership should inspire direction, accountability and momentum and there’s a sense of drift. Without clear vision or decisive action, teams are left without the guidance needed to push boundaries or bring new ideas to life.
Employees feel it. When innovation slows and leadership doesn’t step up, morale takes a hit. Talented people want to build, create, and solve problems and not sit in a holding pattern.
3M has the legacy, talent, and resources to do better. But without renewed focus on innovation and stronger leadership within PSD, it risks falling behind where it once led.In addition commercial effectiveness is a total joke.
#3M #Layoffs #Innovation #Leadership #WorkplaceReality

Surprised nobody has said anything

Rolling layoffs, zero communication, blatant indifference. I have no idea who could deliver a "work hard" and "we're all in this together" load of cr-p with a straight face. But then again, they pick them specifically for such purposes.

Excessive discipline, control, micromanagement. They point to a business that's run out of real substance and strategic direction. From where I'm sitting, the whole thing is coming apart.

Thoughts on this? More general BS or or post large layoff related BS?

What happened to the highly anticipated external hire from a consulting company who was appointed to head DMC strategy? She disappeared after just a few months. Was she that bad?

How would I go about doing that? Is there someone I should send my resume to?

Detroit Employment Solutions Corp. (DESC) is addressing a significant budget deficit. The agency laid off 46 full-time employees, about one-third of its staff. The deficit resulted from accounting mistakes and expiring federal COVID-19 funds. Its CEO resigned, and the Chief Financial Officer position remains vacant. Interim leadership is working to stabilize operations and address remaining challenges.

Detroit, Michigan

https://outliermedia.org/detroit-at-work-job-training-unemployment/

Morale at USB is the lowest it’s ever been. Don’t believe the way they will try and spin the engagement survey. The only reason there is not a massive flight of talent is the economy. There is no support for the CEO or her managing committee. They are the worst in the industry and have shown that they despise the employees. They take millions for themselves and give no raises to thousands of employees.

Corporate real estate and the awful head of HR have ruined RTO. They forced people who were never hired as in office into the cheapest office spaces that are loud and dirty with people who sit on Teams meetings all day. The locations they chose to keep do not work for most but they said people having a 90 minute commute each way is acceptable for RTO. Read other posts for how awful it is here for people. They do not care about employees or their well being.

The best we can all do is demand new leadership in any forum we can, do not bank with USB, do not take the survey. Refuse to do more than the bare minimum. The only positive you will hear about leadership will come from GK’s damage control minions and the boomer boot lickers.

To my dear, hardworking US Associates,

I am reaching out today with a heart full of "purpose" and a strategy full of "synergy." As your Managing Partner, I’ve been reflecting on our commitment to being a "human-centered" firm. And what is more human than wanting to keep more money for ourselves?

That is why David Chubak and I are absolutely thrilled to announce the opening of our newest Home Office location in India!

The "Proficiency-ish" Pivot
Now, I know what you’re thinking: "Penny, how can someone across the ocean do my job?" Well, the data is in! We’ve determined that our new international colleagues can perform your daily tasks with a solid 70% proficiency.

Sure, that leaves a 30% gap of "technical errors" and "client confusion," but when you look at the much reduced cost of labor, that 30% is just a rounding error in our quest for efficiency. We aren't just cutting corners; we’re "reimagining the circle."

Out With the Old, In With the Bold
To facilitate this exciting transition, we will be implementing a slow, methodical replacement of US headcount with Indian headcount. Think of it as a baton pass—except instead of passing a baton, we’re passing your desks and responsibilities to a time zone that’s thirteen hours ahead.

Why We’re Doing This (The Honest Part)
At Edward Jones, we often talk about the "Rule of 70." Usually, it’s about retirement, but today, it’s about the 70% increase David and I are eyeing for our own Executive Compensation.

By offloading your roles to a lower-cost market, we are finally able to unlock levels of personal wealth previously unseen in the history of the firm. It takes real leadership to look thousands of dedicated employees in the eye and say, "Your sacrifice is the fuel for my next vacation home."

Looking Ahead
As you badge in for your next Return to Office shift, please do so with a smile, knowing that every spreadsheet you finish helps David and me get one step closer to our "Golden Parachutes."

We are so grateful for everything you’ve done to build this firm. Now, if you could just spend the next few months documenting your processes in extreme detail for your replacements, that would be just "super."

With deep (financial) gratitude,

Penny Pennington
Managing Partner & Chief Compensation Optimizer

I didn’t fully connect the dots a couple weeks ago but our leader made sure we saw the update to the in office goal on Workday, and that it meant full days which was at least 6 hours. I didn’t think much of it until yesterday when we saw all of the discrepancies. The tracked number is over 6 hours which they will never tell you because they want 8.

You're gonna need it with your new CIO.

Curious if anyone’s leader actually did damage control today by talking to their people or teams as this in office message went out? It seems obvious to me we were all left to panic and figure it out on our own. Rewind the clock 2 months ago and our workday tracker said 11 days, and a percentage. Now today nearly half the company is below the mark. Did your leader help you clarify that today?!