6 ms·

Seems to me like the guy was a nob. Tried to be funny with the new boss. Got sacked. Blog posts about it because, you know... people need to know.

lm28469 4y ago
B-bu-but Musk is a free speech absolutist, he should absolutely love this guy's take
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
hortense 4y ago
I would say he's trying to control the narrative so that his future prospective employers believe that he was not laid off because of his performance.
- dekhn 4y ago
  If I had headcount for his particular role, I'd hire him in a second and let him know it's OK to continue making his cartoons (which are very on-point and useful to execs who want to learn more about their orgs than what their middle managers are telling them) but he should of course be aware that my abilities to protect him if an SVP gets annoyed are going to be limited.
- tschwimmer 4y ago
  He will be effective in doing so because the email screenshot he included indicates exactly that: he was fired for non-performance related reasons. "Your recent behavior has violated multiple policies" is pretty unambiguous to me.
  - prepend 4y ago
    There’s likely a policy about having good performance. Lots of people got laid off, I don’t think it will be a problem to find a new job unless this turns into something crazy.
  - karaterobot 4y ago
    That's unambiguous to you? It's equivalent to "you were fired for reasons".
    - za3faran 4y ago
      Do you think that will sit well with a potential future employer regardless?
      - Firmwarrior 4y ago
        I dunno man, if I had a spare $300-$600k/year lying around I'd love to have this guy work for me even if he is a whiny smart aleck
      - cmrdporcupine 4y ago
        Said person could go back to working at Google anytime, likely. I don't think he needs to worry about covering for his reputation on this matter.
    - tschwimmer 4y ago
      I think the operant phrase is “policy violations.” I’ve never heard that associated with anything but breaking a corporate rule: talking to the media unauthorized, leaking, harassment, etc.
- tayo42 4y ago
  What narrative is there to control? It's not like Twitter was about to put a big post out saying we fired him. He put all of this out their on his own. He wouldn't even need to bring up being fired in interviews, just say he left
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
cmrdporcupine 4y ago
He's a rather famous "nob" who worked at Google for years making much beloved cartoons and then went to Twitter. So a well-known (and apparently quite pleasant and smart) person in the industry. That Musk couldn't interpret this right, and acted in his usual rash and vindictive way says more about him than it does about Manu. Also consistent with the way he lashed back at Gary Kasparov, clearly unaware who he was speaking to ("what have you ever done" indeed). Any person truly laying claim to the crown of king of nerds would be respectful to both of these people and it says a lot about Musk that he wasn't. Taking over a Silicon Valley company without recognizing its culture and then firing someone who helped build it -- because they made jokes -- is beyond crass, it shows complete obliviousness to what he just bought. FWIW Google used to have his cartoons mounted on walls around campus. Including ones that were (gently) critical of leadership and culture. How come Larry&Sergey&Eric could handle his gentle critique, but Musk cannot? Leaders don't behave this way.
- andreilys 4y ago
  I highly doubt Musk was personally involved with the firing of an individual contributor, sounds like typical HR risk minimization
  - jojobas 4y ago
    More like a boarding party from Musk firing at shadows.
  - CamperBob2 4y ago
    You don't know much about Musk, I take it. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/03/elon-musk-blogger-tesla-motors-model-x https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/03/elon-musk...
- mc32 4y ago
  Jobs was pettier than Musk and by most measures and opinions he was also very successful in leading his companies --and so is Musk. Successful leaders aren't usually nice. Some have been and some are, but that's more atypical. Often leaders in order to lead to best competitors at times have to be harsh.
vintermann 4y ago
Reactions like these baffle me. Is it jealousy, resentment of people who are privileged enough to be above the norms of corporate feudalism? Manu Cornet worked for Google for a decade, making these comics and getting famous for both them and (by all accounts) being a very good engineer. One of the comics leaked and was read by Satya Nadella, who cited it as an inspiration to turn Microsoft's corporate culture around. So there's at least some people even in Big Tech who can tolerate a bit of very gentle chiding. Seriously, Cornet is very tame in his comedy. If he didn't actually work in Big Tech, most of his comics wouldn't be considered all that clever or funny - but they get that little boost from nervous laughter of his colleagues. It's transgressive by corporate standards, but barely. Who wants to work in a hellhole where even that isn't tolerated?

lm28469 4y ago

B-bu-but Musk is a free speech absolutist, he should absolutely love this guy's take

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

hortense 4y ago

I would say he's trying to control the narrative so that his future prospective employers believe that he was not laid off because of his performance.

dekhn 4y ago
If I had headcount for his particular role, I'd hire him in a second and let him know it's OK to continue making his cartoons (which are very on-point and useful to execs who want to learn more about their orgs than what their middle managers are telling them) but he should of course be aware that my abilities to protect him if an SVP gets annoyed are going to be limited.
tschwimmer 4y ago
He will be effective in doing so because the email screenshot he included indicates exactly that: he was fired for non-performance related reasons. "Your recent behavior has violated multiple policies" is pretty unambiguous to me.
- prepend 4y ago
  There’s likely a policy about having good performance. Lots of people got laid off, I don’t think it will be a problem to find a new job unless this turns into something crazy.
- karaterobot 4y ago
  That's unambiguous to you? It's equivalent to "you were fired for reasons".
  - za3faran 4y ago
    Do you think that will sit well with a potential future employer regardless?
    - Firmwarrior 4y ago
      I dunno man, if I had a spare $300-$600k/year lying around I'd love to have this guy work for me even if he is a whiny smart aleck
    - cmrdporcupine 4y ago
      Said person could go back to working at Google anytime, likely. I don't think he needs to worry about covering for his reputation on this matter.
  - tschwimmer 4y ago
    I think the operant phrase is “policy violations.” I’ve never heard that associated with anything but breaking a corporate rule: talking to the media unauthorized, leaking, harassment, etc.
tayo42 4y ago
What narrative is there to control? It's not like Twitter was about to put a big post out saying we fired him. He put all of this out their on his own. He wouldn't even need to bring up being fired in interviews, just say he left

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

cmrdporcupine 4y ago

He's a rather famous "nob" who worked at Google for years making much beloved cartoons and then went to Twitter. So a well-known (and apparently quite pleasant and smart) person in the industry. That Musk couldn't interpret this right, and acted in his usual rash and vindictive way says more about him than it does about Manu. Also consistent with the way he lashed back at Gary Kasparov, clearly unaware who he was speaking to ("what have you ever done" indeed). Any person truly laying claim to the crown of king of nerds would be respectful to both of these people and it says a lot about Musk that he wasn't. Taking over a Silicon Valley company without recognizing its culture and then firing someone who helped build it -- because they made jokes -- is beyond crass, it shows complete obliviousness to what he just bought. FWIW Google used to have his cartoons mounted on walls around campus. Including ones that were (gently) critical of leadership and culture. How come Larry&Sergey&Eric could handle his gentle critique, but Musk cannot? Leaders don't behave this way.

andreilys 4y ago
I highly doubt Musk was personally involved with the firing of an individual contributor, sounds like typical HR risk minimization
- jojobas 4y ago
  More like a boarding party from Musk firing at shadows.
- CamperBob2 4y ago
  You don't know much about Musk, I take it. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/03/elon-musk-blogger-tesla-motors-model-x https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/03/elon-musk...
mc32 4y ago
Jobs was pettier than Musk and by most measures and opinions he was also very successful in leading his companies --and so is Musk. Successful leaders aren't usually nice. Some have been and some are, but that's more atypical. Often leaders in order to lead to best competitors at times have to be harsh.

vintermann 4y ago

Reactions like these baffle me. Is it jealousy, resentment of people who are privileged enough to be above the norms of corporate feudalism? Manu Cornet worked for Google for a decade, making these comics and getting famous for both them and (by all accounts) being a very good engineer. One of the comics leaked and was read by Satya Nadella, who cited it as an inspiration to turn Microsoft's corporate culture around. So there's at least some people even in Big Tech who can tolerate a bit of very gentle chiding. Seriously, Cornet is very tame in his comedy. If he didn't actually work in Big Tech, most of his comics wouldn't be considered all that clever or funny - but they get that little boost from nervous laughter of his colleagues. It's transgressive by corporate standards, but barely. Who wants to work in a hellhole where even that isn't tolerated?