 |
| Daniel Ek |
Is your company laying people off? Yes, it is that kind of time again, and whether you are giving the heave-ho to five people or 5,000, for heaven’s sake don’t do what Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek did this week.
In a company-wide memo announcing the layoff of 6 percent of the Spotify workforce, Mr. Ek said that for his part, “these changes will allow me to get back to the part where I do my best work—spending more time working on the future of Spotify—and I can’t wait to share more about all the things we have coming.”
In other words, “I can work better without all you mopes around, so adios and happy trails.”
It takes Ek until the ninth paragraph to say, “I take full accountability for the moves that got us here today.”
I guess part of the problem here could be attributed to the fact that English is not Daniel Ek’s native language, but are tone-deafness and insensitivity specific to certain languages?
To Spotify’s credit, they are giving the departed five months’ severance, plus healthcare and full pay for all unused vacation and leave time. That seems unusually generous, and maybe things will pick up in tech sooner than anyone thinks.
Naturally, Ek ends on a positive note, talking about how these tough decisions position the company better for the future and how there will be a steady stream of innovations “unlike anything we have introduced in the past several years.”
The overall effect, said Business Insider, was a kind of “toxic positivity.” Right—unlike anything we have ever seen.
Should a CEO ever send you a draft of a memo like this, RUN, don’t walk to his or her office, blow past the secretary, and stick your face right in his or hers. Say, “I’m making an appointment for you with my psychiatrist. I want you to cancel everything and see him this afternoon. Then, we can talk about this memo.”
Next, round up some allies, swear them to secrecy, and tell them to prepare themselves to answer lots of questions from the media and employees who survive the layoff.
Finally, go home, have a couple of stiff ones, and watch CNBC to see if the memo has leaked. If it has, go right back to the office and start making calls.
BTW, if you are the PR person who wrote the memo, I can make a Zoom appointment with my psychiatrist for you.
Donald Trump is 100 percent correct that he has lousy PR but that's only because his policies stink and are hurting Americans... Will billionaires or civil society groups shape the future of AI regulations?... "Evidence in an Age of Doubt" is the timely theme of this year's investigative film festival put on by the 100Reporters group. 
WPP CEO Cindy Rose works to manage shareholder expectations ahead of the Oct. 29 release of financials. Don't expect a miracle turnaround... Kudos to Skydance chief David Ellison for keeping CNN CEO Mark Thompson on the job. Now he has to expend Thompson's contract... Vast majority of Americans want federal government to regulate AI. They obviously don't trust the "super intelligence" president to oversee AI.
Don’t believe what your eyes see and ears hear is the mantra of Donald Trump who claims his propaganda advertising designed to boost his fragile ego are “clearly not campaign ads”... Democratic National Committee steps up outreach to Jewish Americans as antisemitism rises and traditional support for Israel tanks. 
The Trump administration's crackerjack team designed America.gov, which puts all services offered by US agencies under a single AI roof. What could possibly go wrong?... ESG pioneer Starbucks jumps off the sustainability train in favor of corporate cost-cutting... Perception of press freedom plummets to all-time low, according to Gallup survey.
China's president Xi Jinping won the PR battle over Donald Trump as the American groveled before his guest of honor on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews. Trump’s kowtowing to Xi is a sign of both his personal weakness and of America’s decline on the global stage.
