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Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

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Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#11

Post by kafkaesq »

jsprogrammer wrote: post #5
kafkaesq wrote: post #2

I'll call him out, right now. Even though I previously criticized[1] talia jane's original missive (not for being ideologically incorrect, or otherwise "out of bounds"; but for being depressingly defeatist and self-negating) -- this was definitely a moment that called for restraint and magnanimity on the CEO's part. But as it went down, his instinctive response (to smash the lowly, disenchanted employee) was incredib…

>But as it went down, his instinctive response (to fire the lowly, disenchanted employee) I believe the CEO said he was not involved in the firing (and perhaps only heard of it after Talia's termination?).

Right -- he said that, but if you think for a moment how decisions are made in these environments, it lacks credibility.

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#12

Post by bonestamp2 »

bruceb wrote: post #3

Maybe because her post was whiny more than constructive criticism. Also this guy's post is I am richer than Yelp's CEO and quite self righteous. That being said at least he brings up more numbers. This stood out: "Half of my staff is under 30" I look forward to a medium post "Why isn't anyone calling out nxVenture Capital's CEO for age discrimination!"

> Also this guy's post is I am richer than Yelp's CEO and quite self righteous.

I didn't read it that way; I read it as "you can pay people well and be richer than Yelp's CEO and here's proof."

The purpose of that ethos is to negate the argument that you have to pay people shit to have a good balance sheet. He's using his numbers to argue that paying people well makes you more profitable because you can have the best, most engaged people -- and better retain those people, which is important since you've invested a lot to teach them your domain knowledge.

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#13

Post by xlm1717 »

bruceb wrote: post #3

Maybe because her post was whiny more than constructive criticism. Also this guy's post is I am richer than Yelp's CEO and quite self righteous. That being said at least he brings up more numbers. This stood out: "Half of my staff is under 30" I look forward to a medium post "Why isn't anyone calling out nxVenture Capital's CEO for age discrimination!"

>and quite self righteous

Perhaps people aren't calling out the Yelp CEO because they are getting tired of participating in the internet's self-righteous rage mob.

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#14

Post by nilkn »

kafkaesq wrote: post #11
jsprogrammer wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>But as it went down, his instinctive response (to fire the lowly, disenchanted employee) I believe the CEO said he was not involved in the firing (and perhaps only heard of it after Talia's termination?).

Right -- he said that, but if you think for a moment how decisions are made in these environments, it lacks credibility.

Talia has also confidently maintained on Twitter that she was told she was fired for the letter, even though Yelp's CEO wrote that her dismissal was unrelated to it. I'm personally more inclined to believe her. It would be far too coincidental that she was let go immediately after the letter but the letter was not involved in any way. Once you've established that part of the CEO's response was fabricated, the rest of it doesn't seem trustworthy either.

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#15

Post by kafkaesq »

nilkn wrote: post #14
kafkaesq wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right -- he said that, but if you think for a moment how decisions are made in these environments, it lacks credibility.

Talia has also confidently maintained on Twitter that she was told she was fired for the letter, even though Yelp's CEO wrote that her dismissal was unrelated to it. I'm personally more inclined to believe her. It would be far too coincidental that she was let go immediately after the letter but the letter was not involved in any way. Once you've established that part of the CEO's response was fabricated, the rest of…

I'm personally more inclined to believe her.

Right, me too. The CEO's evasions on this matter serve no purpose, and just bring Yelp's credibility further into question, generally.

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#16

Post by breischl »

Seems to me they pretty much all suck.

Talia Jane had some points, but was also whiny and defeatist.

Stoppelman and Yelp seem to have pretty much failed at HR and possibly business in general.

Jensen (author of this article) seems mostly interested in talking about how much more rich and badass he is than everyone in sight, and generally being an egomaniacal prick. And I notice that he has plenty of time to talk about how much he pays employees and his vacation house in Florida, but spent not one word on how much his investors have made. And I would not be even a little bit surprised if he's talking his own book. ie, they shorted Yelp right before he published this article.

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#17

Post by russelluresti »

No one is calling out Yelp's CEO because we live in a culture that idolizes young, entrepreneurial CEOs like gods.

Steve Jobs can make billions off the backs of underpaid and abused overseas employees and intentionally avoiding paying taxes to the country that helped him succeed.

"Zuck" can run psychological experiments on his users and try to destroy net neutrality in developing countries.

But no one speaks up because they are the people we want to be, and no one wants to think the person they want to be is a bad person.

Instead, it's much easier to hop on the "millennials are entitled" train - largely because GenX (my generation) is so antisocial that any attempt to point out flaws in the system or make improvements is met with mockery, because we don't understand how to actually empathize with people.

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#18

Post by wdmeldon »

bonestamp2 wrote: post #12
bruceb wrote: post #3

Maybe because her post was whiny more than constructive criticism. Also this guy's post is I am richer than Yelp's CEO and quite self righteous. That being said at least he brings up more numbers. This stood out: "Half of my staff is under 30" I look forward to a medium post "Why isn't anyone calling out nxVenture Capital's CEO for age discrimination!"

> Also this guy's post is I am richer than Yelp's CEO and quite self righteous. I didn't read it that way; I read it as "you can pay people well and be richer than Yelp's CEO and here's proof." The purpose of that ethos is to negate the argument that you have to pay people shit to have a good balance sheet. He's using his numbers to argue that paying people well makes you more profitable because you can have the best…

Why do I get the feeling Yelp has a lot more low skill employees than nxVenture Capital? The exact opposite point can be made with Walmart.

edit: also, did anyone else find his claim that he pays his Administrative Assistant 300k to be a bit strange? That's an insane amount of money for that position is it not?

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#19

Post by jsprogrammer »

kafkaesq wrote: post #11
jsprogrammer wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>But as it went down, his instinctive response (to fire the lowly, disenchanted employee) I believe the CEO said he was not involved in the firing (and perhaps only heard of it after Talia's termination?).

Right -- he said that, but if you think for a moment how decisions are made in these environments, it lacks credibility.

Why would the CEO of Yelp lie? My understanding was that she was fired within a few hours of making the post, on a Friday afternoon.

Does the Yelp CEO make every hiring (and firing) decision?

Re: Why isn't anyone calling out Yelp's CEO

#20

Post by kelvin0 »

russelluresti wrote: post #17

No one is calling out Yelp's CEO because we live in a culture that idolizes young, entrepreneurial CEOs like gods. Steve Jobs can make billions off the backs of underpaid and abused overseas employees and intentionally avoiding paying taxes to the country that helped him succeed. "Zuck" can run psychological experiments on his users and try to destroy net neutrality in developing countries. But no one speaks up becau…

I think your logic is impeccable, and I think it's time we take a good hard look at the things we as a society value. You can't have your cake and eat it too ...
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