#leadership

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.

We had to find out from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal that 15,000 of us are losing our jobs this week. But from our own leadership team, we are getting radio silence. Instead, we have to come to this board in order to get any information. It’s tragic. Where is the communication?

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.

As a 20 yr employee who was let go last year, I empathize with what you all are feeling this week. But, it feels really good to be on the other side of VZ and moving on with life. I thought my world collapsed when I was let go last year, but I've realized multiple times it was the best thing that could have happened, especially seeing what life is like at VZ now. Sad to see our once great company imploding. Since 2015, it has been a slippery slope down hill. First a small slope, then bigger...then bigger...and now it feels like the slop has near hit bottom. Everyone said a certain leader would run this company into the ground...seems they were right when this was said back in 2018 at the first VSP. May the odds be in your favor...rooting for you Vteam.

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

Vz needs employees with engineering degree running the network and operations .
Any network related job should be run by an engineer with a valid Engineering degree.
Not Liberal arts, not poliical science not vetenrian not home science and not social science history or seimnary majors ! This can be attributed to the degradation of the network over the past 8 years
Change the skillsets at every level of leadership touching the network and you will see performance and customer satisfaction improve.

Monday Morning- 5V staff calls with 6V calls will happen, news will be shared. No delegates can join.

Monday Morning - your weekly staff calls (6V ADs with 6V sr managers and 7 band and lower), these will be cancelled.

The slack or just calendar invite being cancelled will be your only communication until Thursday with your manager.

Monday- Wednesday … will be a ghost town between people impacted and their leaders. You won’t hear from leadership until you’re notified.

Thursday- people notified and leaders get back to normal.

March 2026 rinse and repeat

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.

In 2024, Christian Klein, the CEO of SAP, received a total compensation package of approximately €19 million ($19.9 million), which included significant bonuses tied to the company's performance and share price increase. This amount marked a 165% increase from the previous year, reflecting the company's strong performance in the AI sector and overall growth.

One of the reasons given for regular layoffs is that there’s not enough money at SAP. The main reason for cutting benefits and MOVE SAP is that there isn’t enough money. And in March, there will be a lower salary appraisal for everyone because there isn’t enough money and because performance management makes it easy to pay less.

Despite this, the board is negotiating with the supervisory board about increasing their bonuses for 2025. To give you an example, CK is supposed to get €23 million for his “exceptional work” in 2025 which is a massive 200% increase compared to 2023.

This is despite the fact that the stock price is plummeting to less than €200 by the end of the year.

This is redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich. Call your supervisory board members and ask them to stop this. The board should get a pay cut and lower bonuses. And the money saved should be used to give salary appraisals to employees.

There will be many leadership “retiring” announcements over the next 48 hours. Many of those emails are shocking as people have no idea in their orgs. You shouldn’t be fooled as this is an attempt to make you believe that the leadership is suffering like the regular rank and file. Leadership’s numbers pale to what will happen on Thursday. They will all get at least a year of pay and a year of medical while real workers will only get a max of 35 weeks.
Which day will they tell us about the 5 days a week RTO? It is too sinister not to announce to drive the nail deeper in our hearts.

Do you think Billy is so out of touch that when he says things like ‘all in’, 'know your brief' and ‘lead from the front,’ he genuinely thinks we’re inspired and in awe of him… when really we’re just thinking ‘bellend'?

Same with old man JC and his 'cool' teeshirts. Cringe off the scale.

They're rich and won't give a sht what us minions think. It's like when an old person stinks, or has food on their face, you hope someone close to them tells them for their own sake.

(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.

We should all water paint like the great AI Centoni shared on her latest LinkedIn post

What do Frontier employees have to say about Nick J?

How have things been since the September layoffs?

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!

Working at this bank feels like watching a reality show with no script. Ideas fly around, half of them make no sense, and somehow projects still move forward like it’s all totally normal. I just sit there wondering when someone will notice how crazy things actually are.

What I don’t see is Nike ever reaching the heights of its old glory again. I actually used to enjoy working here. Now it just feels like any other random job that could vanish at any moment, and I wouldn't even care. You can’t be invested when leadership isn’t, and you can’t feel like part of a team when there’s no team left. We’ve become bland, and cutting people seems to be the only strategy they have to stay afloat.

Feels like a lot of waste. Where is the value? Can we not do the same with less? Other companies seem to do fine. I don’t know where the value add or money savings comes from anymore outside RIF’s.

Maybe just reset every leader. Don’t know if any are actually well liked by their own teams even.

And in parallel Naga's fault we still have these id--ts around tanking the foundries

The massive cuts and all the cheerful announcements haven’t helped the stock much.

Chevron has appointed a new Vice President of Exploration, bringing proven success from outside the company. This is a welcome change, as the performance of most current exploration managers has been consistently poor. Teams such as ERT, Excellence Exploration, GOA, and New Ventures between others, have not delivered the technical or leadership standards required. To move forward, Chevron will likely need to replace most of its Chevron's managers—up to 80%—to ensure stronger results. With new leadership, better times for exploration are ahead.

Narcissism is the only explanation for sending weekly videos of yourself in a sleeveless workout shirt to the entire CX org. I'm guessing he thinks it makes him "cool" or impresses us that he's outside, but really it's hard for us to imagine having no self-cringe-radar. The cost of PC replacements in CX must be enormous, cause I want to smash my computer every Saturday when he sends the video over. Each Monday I just hope that my face is not locked into a permacringe stance because I don't want customers to have to feel my pain. Andy, please help CX because this is the most feckless leader I've encountered in my career.

#RunWithHans last update was 6 weeks ago. Will he still be having them?

Notice how after a layoff, the Lumen higher ups like to post about the "wonderful awards" they seem to garner from this group or that group, and directors like to post about "brain storming" sessions with subordinates that they are working on things like AI and NAAS, but not addressing the real elephant in the room regarding declining revenues on the services that are still paying the bills? "look at this shiny thing over her, while we run Lumen into the ground" Kate and Kye are truly lost, it's no wonder why they jump from company to company, and bring all their friends with them.

Results received by Kevin, Stef & Senthil and they couldn’t be worse. Some of the worst / lowest in years.

They are trying to sweep them under the rug and write them off as people are always upset during times of change.

Kevin & Senthil called out repeatedly in comments for little to no ability to lead, motivate, communicate, arrogance, condescending behavior, etc….

They are trying their hardest to not share these results with the teams / larger organization.

If they aren’t held accountable we should stage a walkout fur a day to get CC attention.

While the RIF may be needed to cut cost and financially support or spend on new areas but the outcome of a quick decision like this usually does not work out from my experience. The employees did not get much time since the announcement was made. My concerns is they will be cutting people not having enough time to look at their scope of work. A poor judgement will be made. The leaders should have taken their time to do this exercise. That way we could have kept the right people or department to support our customers and the network. I just do not get what is the hurry for…

Anyone else think that this week’s productivity will reach an all time low? Is there any hope of it improving the following week? The only chance management has of rallying the workforce is to significantly cut the bloated layers of management. Leaving the old CEO on the board for another year sent a loud and clear message regarding Verizon’s non-commitment to change. That was a very stupid move! Telling the entire workforce that they would find out in just three weeks if they still have a job is just off the charts D-MB! If Verizon cuts front line employees without cutting significant management you might as well lock the doors and sell off the assets.

Any one else's senior director started using increasing profanity on joint team calls, and openly degrading others as 'failures' in front of 20+ folks? The level of unprofessionalism if out of hand since Dan's webcast few weeks back.

Is SS/TS still in charge of GSSO?

Sampath or Stratton? Who do you think makes more sense and why?

I was hired about two years ago so I only know the cultural under this CEO and CEO leadership. Honest question for those who have been here for a decade or so - how does this culture compare to prior CEOs and leadership team? Better? worse? If different, then how?

Why do we have a US leadership and Indian leadership in IT.
Possibility to trim the fat..

As chairman of Frontier.. does John Stratton come back?

Maybe Mike Lanman and George Fischer weren’t also so bad; compared to what we had the last decade?

Remember when the 10 points of the Credo were stuck on every wall, printed and stuck on every desk.

I just found out that the cost for my mental health visits will double in 2026. WTF is the ELT thinking by slashing mental health benefits, especially at a time that employees need this most? MW and the rest of them will have bl00d on their hands if someone who is on the brink is pushed over in desperation, seeing care they desperately need.

He is getting his Pals the pay...

As f5 continues to sink we can turn this around. Go back to hiring people not on how they look but on what skills and vision they bring to the table. How John McAdam did it.

Every time the org chart gets shuffled, employees don’t feel “aligned”; they feel like another layoff wave is coming. That kind of background anxiety eventually becomes its own full-time job.

The constant context switching is just as costly.
Teams barely settle into new priorities, new leaders, or new workflows before everything resets again. It’s impossible to build momentum when you’re always reintroducing yourself and relearning the mission of the month.

At some point, leadership has to realize that stability is a competitive advantage. You can’t demand world-class creativity and execution from people who are bracing for impact every quarter.

What the company actually needs isn’t another reorg ; it’s a resilient long-term plan, consistent direction, and a culture where people feel safe enough to do their best work. That’s how you “win,” whether it’s now or later.