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Twitter announces layoffs

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Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#321

Post by deanCommie »

hitekker wrote: post #288
coldpie wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Legitimately asking: Do you have any evidence that this achieves certain goals better than how this email was phrased? Are you sure those goals are the same as those of the author of this email?

You're right that the CEO's goals may not be the idealistic goals I'm thinking of. The goals I had in mind were: be honest with your employees about something terrible and show them, don't tell them, that you valued their service to the company. Judging by the contents of this email: the goal might be to confound or confuse counter-arguments to the decision, limit the damage PR-wise (and stock wise), and above all, i…

Let's be practical, and I don't mean this in a cynical way: The goal isn't to actually BE honest.

The goal is for the employees to feel as if you ARE being honest, and that they have something positive to focus on that is not just plain disappointment and insecurity.

Plenty of corporate drones take this too far and focus too much on the sugar-coating to the point that only other top corporate drones think the email is a good one.

But I think Dorsey's passes the b.s. test (Most people's reactions, even those being fired isn't going to be "what a load of b.s.")

Could he be more direct? Yes. But it would come at a risk of coming off as callous and incosiderate.

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#322

Post by Retra »

xytop wrote: post #318
frostmatthew wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So at what point does a company stop being a "startup" nowadays? Wikipedia defines startup as a new business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model .[1] Not sure where an exact "point" is (if one even exists) but would seem that Twitter (a nearly ten year old company with revenues of $1.4B) no longer fits that definition. [1]…

I heard that Twitter has no revenue only loses.. is that changed recently?

Maybe everyone else just calls their customers "investors" for some reason?

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#323

Post by kenko »

aaroninsf wrote: post #260
rconti wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Anymore" is just a word used to mean "now" anymore. (I kid, but seriously, I've searched for analysis on the use of the word 'anymore' in the positive (eg, as something other than part of a 'not...anymore' clause) and haven't been able to find anything. Any links would be appreciated, I am legitimately curious as to when and how this became a thing).

Ranks right up there with 'infer' for 'imply' in usage changes which I will go to my grave hearing foremost as a brazen signal of incomplete education. Kids: do not use either if you care about the judgment of your elders. Bonus protip: until you vest, you should care.

"usage changes" which have been around since long before you were born. Are there other long-established regionalisms/dialects you have a bug up your butt about?

It might be pragmatic to care about the judgment of one's ignorant elders, when the ignorant have power over you, but in no other sense should one care about such opinions.

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#325

Post by BinaryIdiot »

coldpie wrote: post #270
hitekker wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone should take note of this person's excellent structure: he put the decision first. If you are writing a decisive message that can greatly impact many people's lives: write the decision first. Don't "sandwich" the truth. Sandwiching only makes sense when the decision or the mistake is not of huge significance. Beating around the bush in matters of great import will always harm the sincerity of your words. Afte…

Legitimately asking: Do you have any evidence that this achieves certain goals better than how this email was phrased? Are you sure those goals are the same as those of the author of this email?

I had read a couple of books both of which said the sandwich technique is an out-of-date way of delivering bad news and it's significantly better to do it immediately to help not continue to build up to the bad news that the person on the other side knows it coming (because, let's face it, the sandwich is obvious from 100ft away).

Unfortunately I can't figure out what books I read and I'm having a hard time finding studies (just keep finding damn buzzfeed like article about using the sandwich). If someone else finds these sources or debunks them I would be greatly appreciated :)

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#326

Post by apetresc »

jsprogrammer wrote: post #306
vecinu wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is like being escorted out of the office. You no longer have access to company resources. Why does this seem so foreign? Why would repo access still be needed?

Who said it seemed foreign? Why would repo access be terminated without prior notification? The only topic here is how this behavior deviates from how Twitter claimed it would handle itself.

What is disrespectful about removing repo access? What, did he need to fix those last-minute bugs for his former employer?

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#327

Post by loco5niner »

metamet wrote: post #286
rudolf0 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're jargon as well as buzzwords. They mean things, but they're unnecessary. "Roadmap" -> plan, strategy "Structural change" -> internal reorganizing, lay-offs "Nimbler" -> fewer employees, which we hope will make us become more agile "Streamlined" -> ambiguous and essentially meaningless by itself "Impactful" -> revenue- and/or growth-generating, maybe "important"

Isn't "agile" more buzzwordy than "nimbler"?

Only if referring to "Agile" methodologies. I believe here the usage is "able to move quickly and easily".

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#328

Post by loco5niner »

adevine wrote: post #232
rudolf0 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're jargon as well as buzzwords. They mean things, but they're unnecessary. "Roadmap" -> plan, strategy "Structural change" -> internal reorganizing, lay-offs "Nimbler" -> fewer employees, which we hope will make us become more agile "Streamlined" -> ambiguous and essentially meaningless by itself "Impactful" -> revenue- and/or growth-generating, maybe "important"

But I'd argue that the "jargon" version is more precise in most cases. I mean, to me, roadmap means a very specific thing about lining up high-level features with milestones, while plan and strategy mean something more generic. Same with "nimbler" - seems like just an easier way to say more agile. I'll give you "structural change" though, which I think is just a euphemism for layoffs.

> But I'd argue that the "jargon" version is more precise in most cases

Legalese is also more precise, but also violates the "give it to you straight" principle.

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#329

Post by JibberMeTimbers »

ninv wrote: post #298
hitekker wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone should take note of this person's excellent structure: he put the decision first. If you are writing a decisive message that can greatly impact many people's lives: write the decision first. Don't "sandwich" the truth. Sandwiching only makes sense when the decision or the mistake is not of huge significance. Beating around the bush in matters of great import will always harm the sincerity of your words. Afte…

To me, this is the worst email i have ever read about layoff announcement. It did not assure me that there will be no more cuts in the near future. It will put fear in all twitter employees and they will be looking for work elsewhere. "and other departments will be cut in parallel" what other departments? layoff announcement should be complete. This is an incomplete email about an incomplete decision. "336" wtf, this…

He was speaking more about the STRUCTURE and not the CONTENT, as you are pointing out.

Re: Twitter announces layoffs

#330

Post by loco5niner »

quarterto wrote: post #107
foobarbecue wrote: post #81

fewer

The purpose of language is communication. Did you understand what melvinmt meant? Yes, of course you did. What's the big deal? What are you gaining by "correcting" a pointless[1] semantic distinction, other than your own smug satisfaction? [1]: Yes, it's pointless. Why is there no such distinction for "more"?

> Why is there no such distinction for "more"

Because English is weird. I still want two use it correctly.

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