Thread regarding Allstate Corp. layoffs

It'll be interesting to call back to that article in a year's time because, internally, that's not what I am seeing at all.

Customer-centricity? We're losing customers hand over fist because of pricing and an awful customer experience, the latter led by middle and upper management making bad decisions that directly impact the customer with respect to architecture, technology and even design decisions in the applications.

Outcome-orientation: just a buzzword for nonsense.

Empowered-leadership: No-one's empowered. Zulfi and Kamal's ego means that everyone's a "yes" person. They don't want to hear "no". They don't want bad survey results. Decisions are made to placate those two, not to benefit our customers or create better ways of working or improve internal morale, and this mindset is what's driving ev everything else.

Speed-thru-structure: We're pushing out code that's barely tested, defects are not being fixed because "speed" [of new code] is more important. Tech debt is unimportant. Release new functionality! More! More! Add new states! Add new products! Who cares if there are 1000 defects?

It all sounds good from the outside, but look closer and it really doesn't stack up. I can pick out any number of quotes from McKeown's article and prove it's nothing but rubbish. It's a puff piece, and I bet even he knows it.

But it's a published piece in Forbes, and I bet Zufli and Kamal fu--ing love it.

@ct He's not stupid. He knows exactly what he is. He also knows that he can sit in this role for another year or so then move somewhere else without any real reputational damage. He's playing the game.

I think Stevie boy actually believes this cr-p. As mentioned in the other topic he’s quite a delusional fellow. It’d be funny if he hadn’t already oversaw the amount of layoffs he’s already presided over. He doesn’t actually realise that’s why he was hired, to be the face of the ANI layoffs and Zool’s puppet.

DPT's (Dysfunctional Product Teams) leading to OBD (Obsession Based Dysfunction) = Allstate Culture today

It's all an attempt to d-mb everything down to the point where everyone can be offshored.

As much as this old legacy company wants to cut over to a product/technology led operating model vs. a customer/business unit expert lead operating model, it requires 2 primary things…Your reliance on SME’s to perform the work is less than 75% and the product/technology teams have profitability as their only performance standard. Until then, the math will never math as portrayed.

All technology projects are failing

How many times have they pushed a variation of this theme? Pretty much every time a new self important tu-d takes over the 'digital transformation', we've heard some version of this nonsense. And they keep laying people off, keep losing market share, keep sipping behind the competition.

One more clear demonstration of the Grand Canyon sized disconnect between the people at the top of the company and the people who work on the digital platform day to day. See, he REALLY believes this. Because Z man says it and there are legions of a-s kissing strap hangers (sorry.....'influencers') in the middle telling him it's so. The middle management layer, who's main priorities are maintaining their own position and getting a bonus check, make damn sure the big boys don't even get a whiff of reality. They're also the people who scatter like cockroaches when it hits the fan and they get missed in each round of layoffs.

This has been the cycle at Allstate as far back as I can remember. The beat goes on. When the Zulfi and Kamal Comedy Hour has run its course, some other inept, snake oil peddling buffoon or buffoons will take the helm

That's Allstate's plan.