better.com fiasco

 Layoffs are a part and parcel of corporate America. Not many companies are immune to them. It's a great way for employers to save costs and improve their balance sheet without improving anything fundamentally. It's also a tacit admission by an employer that they were not diligent at hiring, operations, management - but of course the cost for these failures are often paid by the employees and not the management itself. Atleast not directly - in most cases.

Can a company avoid layoffs? Most definitely - it requires you to plan your operations rigorously, have a clear roadmap for your employees, have good line managers who are able to estimate resources based on customer needs, product roadmap, company finances. Sounds hard? Yes - it certainly is. 

What is the easy way around this hard work? Hire on a whim, then when the work is done or projects dry up, blame the employees for not being productive and fire them.

What if you hired contractors for the duration of the project instead?

What if you gave employees advance warning and proper opportunities to prove their worth?

What if you developed some empathy and see how you would like to be treated as an employee?


I'm not saying that we should keep underperforming employees. If someone repeatedly fails to meet expectations despite clear communication, by all means, get rid of them. 

However, if you as a CEO find suddenly that 900 of your employees have been underperforming for months, and you have just pocketed a 25 million bonus for leading your company spectacularly - then you are clearly the one to blame.

Let's see - you go on a hiring frenzy when the pandemic fueled real estate boom happens. The real estate market cools down. You are suddenly left with hundreds of employees who have no clear mandate. You cover your ass by placing the blame squarely on the employees you have hired. 

Just a few other points about the worst CEO in Silicon Valley - Vishal Garg. 



From: 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/business/better-com-layoff-nightcap/index.html

This is how he addressed his employees in a company email : "You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS... YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME."

The petulance, arrogance and complete immaturity in this email is beyond me. 

I have worked for some bad leaders in my time. However not even the worst of the worst have ever used such language in an official communication channel.

Garg reportedly accusing them of "stealing" from their colleagues and customers by being unproductive and only working two hours a day.

He also reportedly told a former business partner (who was the best man at his wedding) that he will "burn him alive,"

So clearly - this guy has issues.

This guy is a shining example of every attribute you don't want in a leader and is a portmanteau of all the comic book villains (minus the charisma).

He is an egomaniac, arrogant, has anger issues, immature, lacks empathy, is a poor planner, deflects blame and never accepts responsibility, is fake and pretentious .... the list could go on. 

Somehow as a CEO the collective failure of his company is the responsibility of 15% of his work force and not his leadership (or lack of it).

Vishal Garg ---- I don't believe in hell, I don't believe every evil person gets his just desserts and I only partially believe in Karma. But that doesn't stop me from hoping that bad people get punished.

You have taken corporate villainy to a new depth. Firing people on a zoom call, just before holidays and then disgracing them with such language is something reserved for the vilest of vile. You are the bottom of the barrel, the depths of the dumpster as far leaders go.

I sincerely hope better.com fails and the remaining employees dump you the same way you dumped others. I hope you end up as a washed up founder who manages to bankrupt himself. I hope the board sees you for what you truly are and I hope your company's IPO is a disaster.

Your company and you should be held up as a case study of failure in leadership. Silicon Valley should put a cautionary tape around your organization and prospective employees should boycott anything to do with better.com. 

Sadly - I know that money and power ultimately wins for most of the time. But seeing cases like Jeffrey Epstein gives me some hope that your sins will eventually catch up. 

Until then, I shall eagerly follow and cheer your demise.

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