This was a tough post to read, and I am glad the author was able to recover and land on his feet again. But, I can't help but think that this was an awful work

This was a tough post to read, and I am glad the author was able to recover and land on his feet again. But, I can't help but think that this was an awful work environment. First of all, no one should feel blindsided and fired like that! It sounds like the only feedback he ever got was some received was some vague 'get your mojo back'. Also, having to force yourself into meetings is just a sign of toxic politics to me. It certainly doesn't need to be a formal top down structure, but when people start getting exclusionary and territorial that is a bad sign. I understand this is a startup, but there were 100 people! If the company is counting on everyone to impulsively take initiative that sounds like total chaos. Even when I worked at a company with 10 people I would think through proposals, then discuss them with my manager or the CEO before actually executing. The last thing is that having swagger shouldn't replace authenticity. People have a good ability to sniff out a phony, so be yourself. If you end up in some wild chaotic environment where you have to fight to survive, the best option may be to leave!