Thread regarding F5 Networks Inc. layoffs

With the current "leadership" of F5, there is no hope for greatness or excellence.

The reality is that "you are here to i.ncrease shareholder value". The same rules apply to any publicly traded company.

Management wasted money installing big screens in the common areas. They needed to fill the blank screens with vomit. Did you actually believe the messaging? I sure didn't.

https://youtu.be/RyTQ5-SQYTo?si=MzmpJYFXudw2FqFZ

Watch the whole video. Especially if you've never seen the speaker speak before. The full video. 22:40 starts the discussion of mass layoffs.

It's good to know someone gets it.

But then you realize he makes a living saying this over and over again (he even says this at the beginning) — you realize few if any companies are applying what he's preaching (video is 7 years old). Corporate culture is hard if not impossible to change. My advice, tilt the work/life balance scale towards what you can control. Build relationships outside of work. Be creative outside of work. Get fulfillment outside of work. Work pays the bills for the life you want to lead outside of work. If you can find work you love with a culture you love — fantastic. That's probably <1% of us (Four Seasons — watch the video), unfortunately.

99% of companies exist to make themselves thrive (read as “executives' pay”, or “shareholder supremacy” as the speaker mentions), not you. Saying “thrive” to employees and doing mass layoffs is incompatible. The speaker has faith corporations can change. But he also makes money the more he talks about it. While I'd love to have that faith, I'm not wasting time waiting for F5 (or any other company) to improve their culture. It's unlikely our leaders and managers will change, not without transformational leaders doing the things this speaker is preaching. And while a few employees at different levels could start being transformational, without those at the top doing it also, the culture will not change.

Life is short. The sooner you tilt the scale, the better.

Incapable people destroyed the great F5 culture. Is there any hope of making F5 great again?

In times when individual contributions are tracked and reviewed every quarter, almost all people take care of their own business and "visibility". Overloaded people would be judged if they deliver. Sorry, it's not a company that values teamwork and team responsibility. In the end, your position will go to India anyway, so why bother? Spend energy on creating multiple streams of income. Don't bother about F5. Most EVPs and middle managers are clueless. They care about preserving the status quo.