Riffed…. The Knives are clearly out for any knowledgeable Old Guard and senior level people. Packages su-k. Two months for nearly seven years. WTFMofos But what can you expect from this broke a-s company. Pretty clear that high quality work on high revenue product lines counts for nothing with this low “IQ” crowd. Product Program management will devolve to bureaucracy by a petty tyrant queen bee. Chaos is coming bi--hes More rifs are coming. Glad to be out. Run don’t walk to the doors.
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My V1 MOM is still alive and kicking, 82, Alzheimers and osteoporosis, but she's still has more going for her than V2.
Definitely must use V2MOMs to identify the effective employees …. Under the new “regime” at Riverbed, if you are smarter, more capable and more effective than your “manager” you definitely must be eliminated. Because your performance might make them look bad and we can’t have that. The “emperor” has no clothes but if you dare point that out, you are on the list….
Good news. V2MOMs are back, b1tches! Your manager was just told to have amnesia in your prior performance review, so you’re going to have to start all over again. 2% inflationary adjustment?! Don’t even think about it, peasants.
That’s unfair to dogs. Riverbed has/had good people who stick around for a variety of reasons. However, the rotating cast of senior management has been cr-p for years and for them, dinosaurs would be a better metaphor. To paraphrase The Far Side: “The picture’s pretty bleak gentlemen, the climate is changing, the mammals are taking over and we have brains the size of walnuts” Yup. That’s Riverbed. The comet is coming.
The Economist had a quote that reminded me of Riverbed: “Dogs are known for their loyalty, not for their brains”
Don’t forget the whole Returnity debacle!
Let’s look at the numbers, over the last seven (7) years:
Riverbed has had five (5) different CEOs (Kennelly, Montfort, McBee, Smoot, Donatelli). Owned by three (3) different private equity firms (Thoma Bravo, Apollo, Vector).
Multiple VPs of Product Management and Engineering (rotating doors for those guys) . One (1) major rebranding (“Alluvio”) .
One (1) bankruptcy.
Much attrition.
Multiple Layoffs.
Zero (0) successful brand new product releases. (Alluvio IQ revenue <1M) .
And let’s not forget “V2MOM”. The performance review strategy that was going to save us all. (Spoiler alert…it doesn’t)
Adds up to…..Zero (0) consistency as the company lurched from one product/business/leadership strategy to the next.
My favorite metaphor : It’s a clown car hurtling down the mountain with egotistical id--ts arguing over the steering whilst the remaining employees try to keep the engines working even as parts are flying off (or being thrown out) and the gas is emptying out the tank from a gaping hole.
“He’s dead Jim” . Stick a fork in it.
@cpfp - I'd say eight years not ten; July 2015 being ground zero. Getting RIF'd back then would have been a treat. When Jerry left and the goofball salesdweeb became CEO - who I recall at a global all hands told the bonus-receiving class of employees (director+?) that they were getting bonuses again "... and, um, thanks to everyone else for all the hard work." - that's when I started the quiet quitting regimen.
@8de - yeah, light workload - 15-25 - for the past couple of years was hard to resist. I'm thankful I got RIF'd in June and not in August, as the package is now abysmal. If I were still there I'd be looking harder that I am now.
I don’t understand how anyone can still drink the Riverbed kool-aid thinking Riverbad can be saved. For the past 10 years, it has simply been a career springboard and check-collection center. There are no good leaders because they’ve all left. Now just a bunch of washed up middle-aged imposters through the revolving doors. The last decent CEO was McBee.
Very disappointed in the new CEO Dave Donatelli. Some of us thought he would see through the bullsh-t. He seemed smart and experienced but….Through lack of action, he is enabling Tworek to lay waste to what’s left. Not sure what Vectors goal is here but IQ isn’t going to save the company and having a number of very good experienced senior people associated with the products that DO make $$$ either fired via “reorganization “ or leave of their own accord isn’t a good sign.
@pqa…two decades? I guess you want to ride that gravy train till the bitter end.
I’ve been looking for another job but the market is sort of soft and if I’m honest, wfh with a 15 hour workload is kind of chill.
I just heard Tworek fired another Aternity PM - the guy who did Sentiment and Service Now - which both filled long time gaps in the product.
Aternity is one of the biggest revenue generators for Riverbed, but it's almost like Tworek is trying to undermine and weaken it.
I'm surprised the new CEO hasn't seen through his B.S. yet.
It's worth thinking about the fact that Tworek was never allowed to have a team of more than a few people until after both of the people who had known him a long time - Agnes and McBee - left the company.
The company is making bad decisions, but Tworek is making really bad decisions. He's fired some very talented people for key products which doesn't make any sense. He's going to ruin some great products because he's too proud to fold his IQ failure.
What product did you work on? Obv not IQ.
Two months for seven years of service?! Ooofff, that’s not good. Far cry from the standard 3 plus an additional month for every two years. I wonder if VC is starting to regret their purchase.
Scrapping senior people to save money only accelerates the death spiral, as the less-invested and younger employees are much more likely to move on (as has been the case with a few of my ex-colleagues who've voluntarily moved on since the June RIF).
Two months for seven years is way worse than the six months for my almost two decades.