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Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

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Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#101

Post by umeshunni »

henrikschroder wrote: post #38
pmoriarty wrote: post #10

Are all-hands meetings actually ever useful to anyone or ever more than merely internal PR?

I was at Yahoo under Marissa Mayer, who instated a weekly Friday all-hands, FYI, obviously modeled on whatever Google had. Those who worked at Yahoo before her said that it was a huge change, because previous upper management was pretty much invisible, no-one knew who they were, what they did, what they were thinking, which direction the company was going in. So even if you're 100% cynical about it and thinking the a…

Not 100% sure, but didn't Yahoo have TGIFs in the 90s?

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#102

Post by joshuamorton »

manigandham wrote: post #40
markovbot wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be clear, "keep politics out of the workplace" is another way of saying "I'm okay with the status quo, and if you don't like it I don't want to hear about it at work".

No it absolutely isn't. Adding an arbitrary and incendiary meaning to what others say is a major problem. You can create as many enemies as you want that way and it just fuels more division.

So, should people who are inherently political, say gay, trans, or non-binary folk not exist in the workplace?

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#103

Post by manigandham »

CydeWeys wrote: post #99
manigandham wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google and most SV companies are somewhere between left to far-left.

Google is currently fighting unionization efforts. That's not leftist.

What Google as a profit-seeking corporation does is not the same as the majority internal political culture amongst its employees.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#104

Post by monocasa »

reaperducer wrote: post #78
nostrademons wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more that they actively courted assertive people with opinions and then created a culture where you can bring your whole self to work. They did this so that they could get the benefits of creativity, which inherently requires emotional engagement, which requires that you not repress your emotions. (It turns out that it's not possible to selectively repress emotions: "I've got to watch what I say about po…

You can be creative and still act like a professional in a professional environment. One example is advertising agencies, which in the last century (in spite of what you see on popular television) were very button-up places but created cultural touchstones we still know today. (Edited to clarity I'm referencing ad agencies in the 20th century, not the SV-wannabe agencies a few have evolved into today.)

Since when were advertising agencies button-up affairs? Crispin Porter is down the street from me and they seem to be every silly brogrammer stereotype, just in a different market.

Like their shuttle looks like a prison bus but is labeled "disruptive thinkers transport" or some such. That's Mike Judge levels of ridiculousness.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#105

Post by tanilama »

Nothing to see here. While most employees are chill, I would imagine Google has a disproportionation of hyper ideologists who are intolerant to different opinions and self-righteous to bring everything down to achieve personal validation.

The trust is reduced, but it is both way, between employer and employees. Without that, any conversation is meaningless.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#106

Post by euroPoor »

manigandham wrote: post #97
euroPoor wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine saying this with a straight face when “Google and most SV companies” became literally the largest donors of neoliberal lobbying in the US during the last 10 years (also, Europe). Your worldview skews very right if you say that. While I respect you and your opinion, the framing of Google being ‘far-left’ is absolutely out of touch with reality. Sure, Google management tries to have a position in the US culture…

The keyword there is "between". Google is a trillion dollar company and donates to lots of political causes all over the spectrum. We're talking about the internal politics which are clearly left-wing.

Sorry how is suppressing your right to organize in the workplace not internal politics?

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#107

Post by drewg123 »

As an Xoogler (left in 2015) I find that news highly disappointing. I think that without honest, regular Q&A at events like TGIF, the company will become more and more out of touch.

When I was there, TGIF was watered down, but we still asked uncomfortable questions of management. I remember asking a question of Sundar when he was head of Android when the Nexus 6 came out questioning our chasing Apple into the high end market, rather than making affordable devices.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#109

Post by notJim »

reaperducer wrote: post #78
nostrademons wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more that they actively courted assertive people with opinions and then created a culture where you can bring your whole self to work. They did this so that they could get the benefits of creativity, which inherently requires emotional engagement, which requires that you not repress your emotions. (It turns out that it's not possible to selectively repress emotions: "I've got to watch what I say about po…

You can be creative and still act like a professional in a professional environment. One example is advertising agencies, which in the last century (in spite of what you see on popular television) were very button-up places but created cultural touchstones we still know today. (Edited to clarity I'm referencing ad agencies in the 20th century, not the SV-wannabe agencies a few have evolved into today.)

My brother worked in ad agencies, and this is the opposite of what he said. Tons of drinking and just generally bad behavior which would only be tolerated in the worst silicon valley startups. He moved to the startup world because it has a healthier work culture.

Re: Google cancels TGIF weekly all-hands meetings

#110

Post by inerte »

henrikschroder wrote: post #38
pmoriarty wrote: post #10

Are all-hands meetings actually ever useful to anyone or ever more than merely internal PR?

I was at Yahoo under Marissa Mayer, who instated a weekly Friday all-hands, FYI, obviously modeled on whatever Google had. Those who worked at Yahoo before her said that it was a huge change, because previous upper management was pretty much invisible, no-one knew who they were, what they did, what they were thinking, which direction the company was going in. So even if you're 100% cynical about it and thinking the a…

Can agree. I was also at Yahoo when FYI was implemented.

It was 45 minutes of scripted presentations, followed by Q&A (and later, raffles :))

The Q&A part was great. Super-awesome to know the executives will at least try to answer any random question that got enough upvotes during the week. Of course we would sometimes get the canned "we will look into that" answers, which Marissa would tell the exec to come prepared with the real numbers next time.

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