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Buffer Layoffs

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Re: Buffer Layoffs

#381

Post by lexap »

sulam wrote: post #357

Two things jumped out at me. 1) They planned to spend 1/3 of their remaining cash on flying people around the world to meet f2f. Whoah! They need a CFO with some real power, because that is absurd. 2) Speaking of needing a CFO, one of the first things a CFO will probably point out to them is that their cash target is off by 100%. They're targeting hitting 50% of today's ARR sometime next year, yet they plan to grow A…

This was my first reaction as well. Where was the CFO perspective when they put together this hiring plan?

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#382

Post by kbenson »

cyberpanther wrote: post #148
jc4p wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so 100% on point. I think the Netflix NYT article from yesterday had a more realistic tone regarding the "family" aspect: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/magazine/can-netflix-survi... > The key concept is summed up in the 23rd slide. “We’re a team, not a family,” it reads. “Netflix leaders hire, develop and cut smartly, so we have stars in every position.” Your last sentence here is really important. If tha…

I agree the whole family thing is ridiculous. However, the performance focus of Netflix is probably too far on the other end and ridiculous too. People are not machines and performance will not always remain high. And also measurements of performance of people are often silly and useless. Performance will fluctuate and change with time. So a level a loyalty in the face of bad performance is still very advantageous ev…

This part of the Netflix story jumped out at me:

Five years later, McCord, her mentor, left. When I asked her why, she visibly flinched. She wouldn’t explain, but I learned later that Hastings had let her go.

McCord being the manager who instituted the aggressive cutting of employees that weren't good current fits for a position, which makes this somewhat ironic. Having an employee flinch when a prior employee's name is brought up seems like a major red flag to me. One of the negatives of aggressively removing people from positions like they do might be that many existing employees stress about their employment, possibly to an unhealthy degree. It sounds like sometimes there is little or no feedback as to performance before these removals.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#383

Post by phamilton »

pc86 wrote: post #364
phamilton wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually comparable to league minimum in Major League baseball, roughly $500k. And I can guarantee that the average minor league player out there makes far less than your average software engineer.

Is your point that because an average software engineer makes 5-10x what a minor league baseball player makes, that a "major league" software engineer should also make 5-10x what an MLB player makes?

Nope.

The original claim is that Netflix runs more like a professional sports team in terms of demanding performance. The argument against was that they don't pay like one.

My argument is that they pay somewhere between a minor and major league team, both of which have a "perform or get out" mentality.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#384

Post by 1123581321 »

rhizome wrote: post #212
beachy wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such a great book. I've seen his tactics play our over and over again during my working lifetime.

From what I've experienced, I'd like to see both "The Prince" and "The Art of War" banished from the world of business.

I want to be sure I understand your central objection to these books. I take it that your objection isn't that trying to succeed is bad. You also probably wouldn't say that the particular advice in these books is bad, though that's an interesting discussion if you do. I'm also guessing you don't have an objection to old books in general, or to business advice in general. Is your objection that these books give advice for preventing and resolving competitive situations, and you believe it's better to not compete in business than to compete and win? This is an opinion I've encountered in places like Metafilter. (Seen you there!)

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#385

Post by pm24601 »

DrScump wrote: post #141
hopsoft wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Don't confuse your job with your family. Reminds me of this terrific article from David Brady. https://heartmindcode.com/2013/08/16/loyalty-and-layoffs/

But as it turns out, that was two weeks of severance plus the bonus he had already earned implemented as four weeks of extra severance. Ridiculous, indeed.

Even more ridiculous: The final pay check, in full, is required to be paid on the day of severance. (at least in california)

This include earned vacation.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#386

Post by nibs »

jimbokun wrote: post #377

On deciding to not raise funds from venture capitalists: "This has some implications on the true growth rate we can expect, yet it has significant benefits we feel in terms of the freedom we have to experiment not only with innovation in products but also in the way we work." I think this reflects an important, often over looked point. Many people want to start a business because they prefer to not have a boss, and b…

I think the goal is to replace one boss (whether it is VCs, a customer, an employer, etc.) with one hundred bosses (ie. tons of customers, powerless investors, several different freelance employers) so you can tell whatever one is causing you significant stress to FO. Redundancy and autonomy is, or should be, the goal, as opposed to business size or power.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#387

Post by nibs »

rhizome wrote: post #212
beachy wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such a great book. I've seen his tactics play our over and over again during my working lifetime.

From what I've experienced, I'd like to see both "The Prince" and "The Art of War" banished from the world of business.

Art of War is only useful in a short list of highly competitive scenarios. Most business is surprisingly not that zero-sum. And The Price is mostly useful dealing with the father/son business dynamic. Not that relevant otherwise.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#389

Post by RussianCow »

s_kilk wrote: post #361
bambax wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, Buffer is entirely remote. I bet many people are willing to take a big pay cut if they don't have to commute to an office building every day (and of course, other people like office life -- but remote positions are rare, so it's normal that they're more "expensive" for employees who really want them).

Also, if you're working remotely from a more affordable location you may not need as much salary in order to live a very comfortable life. I think our expectations are skewed by the crippling cost of living in SF, New York, London, etc.

Buffer actually adjusts the salary based on location, so this is (at least partially) taken into account.
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