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In retrospect, it is interesting to see that a reflective blog post from an engineer ended up in the casualties of CEO, most of the senior leadership and a few

In retrospect, it is interesting to see that a reflective blog post from an engineer ended up in the casualties of CEO, most of the senior leadership and a few board members. Maybe the cracks were already there but nevertheless it has been surreal seeing this unfold in the space of 5 months. It is almost like watching the butterfly effect in action.

potatolicious 9y ago
I'm reminded of the Hemingway quote: "How did you go bankrupt?" "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly." Without diminishing the impact of Susan Fowler's blog post, Uber has already been "going bankrupt" slowly for years before this point. I has been surreal watching this unfold, but I'd hesitate to compare it to the butterfly effect - unless we're talking about many, many butterflies over a long period of time ;) I do hope that these events have inspired companies to pay more attention to their workplace and culture - festering problems like these are easy to ignore, but reveal their consequences suddenly and severely.
- ethbro 9y ago
  Isn't part of the butterfly effect narrative that a number of things were already balanced at such a delicate point that they could be tipped?
  - adharmad 9y ago
    Maybe the butterfly effect analogy was a bit facetious, but I don't see David Bonderman resigning and Amit Singhal being forced out in an alternate universe where Susan Fowler does not write the blog.
  - btilly 9y ago
    No, or at least not as originally propounded. The point of the butterfly effect is that every small input magnifies so much in a chaotic system over time that you won't be able to predict it correctly if you miss any detail, even one so insignificant as a single flap of a single butterfly's wings. The moral being that a chaotic system is fundamentally unpredictable in detail, and can only be predictable in averages and aggregates. (So we can predict climate, but not weather.)
kriscuits 9y ago
If a company is already morally bankrupt there is little recourse left. I am, in a way, pleased to see this happen from a personal standpoint. As an admin at a previous organization I had reported harassment, abuse, and bullying directly to HR multiple times from several of the top sales executives. Calls and emails were logged, documented and sent. Not long after, I was terminated.

potatolicious 9y ago

I'm reminded of the Hemingway quote: "How did you go bankrupt?" "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly." Without diminishing the impact of Susan Fowler's blog post, Uber has already been "going bankrupt" slowly for years before this point. I has been surreal watching this unfold, but I'd hesitate to compare it to the butterfly effect - unless we're talking about many, many butterflies over a long period of time ;) I do hope that these events have inspired companies to pay more attention to their workplace and culture - festering problems like these are easy to ignore, but reveal their consequences suddenly and severely.

ethbro 9y ago
Isn't part of the butterfly effect narrative that a number of things were already balanced at such a delicate point that they could be tipped?
- adharmad 9y ago
  Maybe the butterfly effect analogy was a bit facetious, but I don't see David Bonderman resigning and Amit Singhal being forced out in an alternate universe where Susan Fowler does not write the blog.
- btilly 9y ago
  No, or at least not as originally propounded. The point of the butterfly effect is that every small input magnifies so much in a chaotic system over time that you won't be able to predict it correctly if you miss any detail, even one so insignificant as a single flap of a single butterfly's wings. The moral being that a chaotic system is fundamentally unpredictable in detail, and can only be predictable in averages and aggregates. (So we can predict climate, but not weather.)

kriscuits 9y ago

If a company is already morally bankrupt there is little recourse left. I am, in a way, pleased to see this happen from a personal standpoint. As an admin at a previous organization I had reported harassment, abuse, and bullying directly to HR multiple times from several of the top sales executives. Calls and emails were logged, documented and sent. Not long after, I was terminated.