7 ms·

The ‘Pity City’ CEO Is Sorry Now

46 points by donutshop 4y ago

hodgesrm 4y ago
This story seems like weak beer indeed. It's not like she was firing hundreds of people over Zoom, reneging on paying severance, or any of the other examples of recent CEO misbehavior.
- ulfw 4y ago
  That happens mostly in our wonderfully super ethical industry of Tech.
bluehex 4y ago
What a classic non-apology that was. > I feel terrible that my rallying cry seemed insensitive. What I’d hoped would energize the team to meet a challenge we’ve met many times before landed in a way that I did not intend and for that I am sorry. In other words, I'm sorry that you all took it the wrong way.
- jenadine 4y ago
  How could one do a "real" apology? How would it be different?
  - mcphage 4y ago
    1. You apologize for your actions, not for the way they were taken. "I'm sorry for what I did", instead of "I'm sorry for how you interpreted what I said". 2. You don't belittle the feelings of others using words like "I'm sorry my rallying cry seemed insensitive" instead of "I'm sorry that my rallying cry was insensitive". 3. You attempt to make amends.
  - cocacola1 4y ago
    “I’m sorry for seeming like an asshole. I seemed like an asshole because I was, in fact, being an asshole, without caveat. You’ve every right to call me out on it. As a show of sincerity, and to show these aren’t just empty words, I’ll return this $3.9 million bonus I received.”
    - sonofhans 4y ago
      It’s funny and sad that this sort of _blazingly obvious_ and simple response is a difficult-to-imagine outlier.
    - seanhunter 4y ago
      Right exactly. This can be generalised easily into a template for a genuine apology: I'm sorry for doing X - I was wrong. I'll try to do Y better in future. Note: - It acknowleges fault, takes personal responsibility and doesn't blame others - It doesn't make excuses - It makes a commitment to improvement with concrete action Everyone makes mistakes. If you think you don't make mistakes or always shift blame onto others you have a problem. As a fun parlour game, look at this list and think how many of these attributes CEOs you have worked with share https://www.choosingtherapy.com/signs-of-a-psychopath/ https://www.choosingtherapy.com/signs-of-a-psychopath/
quadrifoliate 4y ago
The weak non-apology aside, I can guarantee that this person does not feel a shred of sorrow. This is how the vast majority of CEOs think. You can see her sheer frustration at 0:55 in the video, she's so genuinely affronted that her employees would dare to ask about bonuses that her speech speeds up considerably. This is to be expected. Typical power structures, especially those in corporate America favor the promotion of liars, backstabbers, cheats, and controlling people to leadership positions at a far higher rate than calm, friendly, nice ones. This goes doubly so now that workers have a bit more power -- remember that outside tech, the job market is still pretty tight for employers, similar to 2021. Honestly, following Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, anyone who is capable of getting themselves into a leadership position should on no account be allowed to do the job. If you want to change this, there are few options -- but a good one is to stop rewarding these assholes with your money. I am going to avoid Herman Miller as much as I can in the future for personal or professional furniture.
- slater 4y ago
  They're only ever sorry they were caught.
  - drewcoo 4y ago
    She's also sorry you're still paying attention. Can we just get on with it now? ;-)
- maxbond 4y ago
  I think something people in this community should consider is incorporating their ventures in more equitable and democratic ways (as B corps, as worker's cooperatives, etc). It won't be possible for everyone (particularly people relying on angel funding, who will presumably be met with great skepticism) but I think it may be possible to create some new expectations about how a company runs, and that small worker's coops may have an advantage in tech. Tech requires lots of cross-disciplinary cooperation, so I think small, flat co-ops may come to better decisions faster and have an advantage over other firms.
- monero-xmr 4y ago
dummydata 4y ago
Sorry still doesn't explain why none of the bonuses were given while she keeps hers..
- rqtwteye 4y ago
  It's not her fault that these pitiful underlings missed their bonus targets.
  - onion2k 4y ago
    I can't think of a situation where the CEO could hit her targets well enough to get a bonus but no one else could. Everyone's targets should be implicitly linked to the CEO's targets. Also, a good CEO who supported the company and the team would turn down their bonus in this situation. To lead you need to be seen to be in the same boat as everyone else, or no one will follow you.
    - nirav72 4y ago
      Dont think she needs to hit any target. If the board fires her tomorrow, its almost certain she’ll still walk away with a hefty amount of money.
- barbazoo 4y ago
  Do we know that that's actually true? > Bonuses for the 2023 fiscal year have yet to be decided, according to the company.
latchkey 4y ago
A long time ago, I bought an Aeron chair for my home office. Emailed the company to tell them how much I enjoyed the fact that the seat let 'air' pass through it, especially when I sat naked in it. They deadpan responded with an email that since the chair has moving parts, I should be careful to not get anything stuck in it. Seems like a much different company these days.
- antonvs 4y ago
  I assume that’s why they call you Latchkey One-Ball McGee
seanhunter 4y ago
Setting aside the bonus/entitlement/tirade/apology part of this story, the basic issue in this business is not hard to see for anyone on the outside. People are going into the office less and businesses are cutting staff. That means less need for office furniture. That's the structural backdrop this business is in. As CEO it's your job to figure out a business strategy against this backdrop. If people are not selling product it could be (a) The sales peoples' fault for sucking at their job/not having enough morale so they need your "rallying cry" or (probably) (b) your fault for keeping the business making only things that people don't really need right now. I mean there still are people making and selling buggy whips but it's a heck of a lot more niche of an industry than it was 200 years ago and if you were CEO of a buggy whip manufacturer, ripping into your sales people and saying "Stop living in pity city and get out there and sell more goddamn buggy whips!" isn't going to solve your business problems.
- jfengel 4y ago
  I could only find one manufacturer actually making whips specifically for horse buggies. https://uswhip.com/our-products/buggy-whip/ https://uswhip.com/our-products/buggy-whip/ You don't actually need a whip to drive a buggy. You use the reins, and some voice commands. If you use a whip, you're probably bad at it. This whip is specific for racing, where you do need to communicate with more than just the reins. But if you're Amish, or driving tourists around Central Park, you almost certainly do not want a whip. There are still many other whips for equine sports, and for herding. But buggy whips are perhaps an even narrower niche than you might expect. They were always rare, even when buggies were a practical way to get around.
- jameshart 4y ago
  People are not going in to offices but they are still sitting at desks. My company might have bought less office furniture in the last couple of years but my household office furniture purchases are WAY up.
  - perryizgr8 4y ago
    True but there's a difference. When I used to go to office my desk had a top of the line ₹50,000 chair. I'd never pay more than ₹10,000 for a chair at home.
fourseventy 4y ago
People are snowflakes.
anotherhue 4y ago
Have we all just given up on the notion of strong stable leadership? It seems the mask slipped during the pandemic and no one's bothering to even pretend anymore.
sublinear 4y ago
The chairs were always overhyped anyway
- drewcoo 4y ago
  This! For home office, maybe seek out someone local who makes or refurbs antique chairs. Lots of options. And the local artisans actually care about cultivating a clientele, as opposed to huge furniture execs who are focused on justifying their bonuses by blaming the rest of their company.
barrysteve 4y ago
This global 'lust for money' appears the most abrasive on CEOs and upper class twits that cannot be (or act) humbled. When money can't buy the middle class houses, educations and cars, it will lose or will have lost it's value. Stronger relationships (and collecting capital) are way more important to me than money. Who would suffer for the exiled upper classes?
- engineer_22 4y ago
  Barrysteve you've got a refreshing take on a lot of topics. What do you mean by collecting capital if not gathering money?
nirav72 4y ago
Herman Miller made good chairs in the 2000s. Now I’m not sure if there is anything unique about them.
neilv 4y ago
This is an established company. Calling for people to focus on the mission is fine, so long as the company is taking care of them reasonably. But if the situation is that the company doesn't know whether it can take care of people, but CEO still wants people to focus on the mission... One gesture would be for the CEO to have the kind of skin in the game that the employees do -- which isn't a huge equity and bonus package, and golden parachute clauses -- but to drop CEO total comp. down to the level of the workers, until the company is sure it can cover responsibilities to its people. That said, I'm skeptical of clickbait-type calls to pitchforks/canceling. Don't apologize because content consumers are angry in general, and itching to act out like a mob, and other people are itching to incite and monetize that mob. Instead, please rethink the dynamic with employees, and whether you're keeping up your end of the bargain, and fix that if necessary. If employees believe in you -- even if times are rough, but you're in it with them, and have their backs -- the employees should stand up and tell the random Internet mob to get lost. (Connection of MillerKnoll to "tech" industry, for anyone who doesn't remember the start of dotcoms: when money started being thrown around wildly... the Herman-Miller Aeron chair was an icon of dotcoms. A dotcom startup would get investment, acquire office space and likely Aeron chairs, write some code, throw a launch party, and hope for an IPO.)
webworker 4y ago
I guess everyone has insane compulsion to air any and all business out online these days
colinb 4y ago
Didn't they recently buy Fully, purveyors of domestically acceptable standing desks? Is this a way for them to chase those delicious WFH $/€/₹?
- doublerebel 4y ago
  Wow thanks, no kidding, just bought from Fully last year and totally missed that. Although, I am somewhat of a Miller/Knoll fan having bought multiple of their chairs second hand, they do have all the features and generally last forever. Can Fully still exist as a B-corp longterm? I hope so. My Fully standing desk supports are excellent, working great with an oversized 8’ desktop I grabbed from Home Depot. My office mate and I bought a matching pair for our private office aka post-covid coworking space. Would buy again. https://officerepublic.news/en/2019/09/knoll-acquires-fully/ https://officerepublic.news/en/2019/09/knoll-acquires-fully/

46 points by donutshop 4y ago

This story seems like weak beer indeed. It's not like she was firing hundreds of people over Zoom, reneging on paying severance, or any of the other examples of recent CEO misbehavior.

ulfw 4y ago
That happens mostly in our wonderfully super ethical industry of Tech.

bluehex 4y ago

What a classic non-apology that was. > I feel terrible that my rallying cry seemed insensitive. What I’d hoped would energize the team to meet a challenge we’ve met many times before landed in a way that I did not intend and for that I am sorry. In other words, I'm sorry that you all took it the wrong way.

jenadine 4y ago
How could one do a "real" apology? How would it be different?
- mcphage 4y ago
  1. You apologize for your actions, not for the way they were taken. "I'm sorry for what I did", instead of "I'm sorry for how you interpreted what I said". 2. You don't belittle the feelings of others using words like "I'm sorry my rallying cry seemed insensitive" instead of "I'm sorry that my rallying cry was insensitive". 3. You attempt to make amends.
- cocacola1 4y ago
  “I’m sorry for seeming like an asshole. I seemed like an asshole because I was, in fact, being an asshole, without caveat. You’ve every right to call me out on it. As a show of sincerity, and to show these aren’t just empty words, I’ll return this $3.9 million bonus I received.”
  - sonofhans 4y ago
    It’s funny and sad that this sort of _blazingly obvious_ and simple response is a difficult-to-imagine outlier.
  - seanhunter 4y ago
    Right exactly. This can be generalised easily into a template for a genuine apology: I'm sorry for doing X - I was wrong. I'll try to do Y better in future. Note: - It acknowleges fault, takes personal responsibility and doesn't blame others - It doesn't make excuses - It makes a commitment to improvement with concrete action Everyone makes mistakes. If you think you don't make mistakes or always shift blame onto others you have a problem. As a fun parlour game, look at this list and think how many of these attributes CEOs you have worked with share https://www.choosingtherapy.com/signs-of-a-psychopath/ https://www.choosingtherapy.com/signs-of-a-psychopath/

quadrifoliate 4y ago

The weak non-apology aside, I can guarantee that this person does not feel a shred of sorrow. This is how the vast majority of CEOs think. You can see her sheer frustration at 0:55 in the video, she's so genuinely affronted that her employees would dare to ask about bonuses that her speech speeds up considerably. This is to be expected. Typical power structures, especially those in corporate America favor the promotion of liars, backstabbers, cheats, and controlling people to leadership positions at a far higher rate than calm, friendly, nice ones. This goes doubly so now that workers have a bit more power -- remember that outside tech, the job market is still pretty tight for employers, similar to 2021. Honestly, following Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, anyone who is capable of getting themselves into a leadership position should on no account be allowed to do the job. If you want to change this, there are few options -- but a good one is to stop rewarding these assholes with your money. I am going to avoid Herman Miller as much as I can in the future for personal or professional furniture.

slater 4y ago
They're only ever sorry they were caught.
- drewcoo 4y ago
  She's also sorry you're still paying attention. Can we just get on with it now? ;-)
maxbond 4y ago
I think something people in this community should consider is incorporating their ventures in more equitable and democratic ways (as B corps, as worker's cooperatives, etc). It won't be possible for everyone (particularly people relying on angel funding, who will presumably be met with great skepticism) but I think it may be possible to create some new expectations about how a company runs, and that small worker's coops may have an advantage in tech. Tech requires lots of cross-disciplinary cooperation, so I think small, flat co-ops may come to better decisions faster and have an advantage over other firms.
monero-xmr 4y ago

dummydata 4y ago

Sorry still doesn't explain why none of the bonuses were given while she keeps hers..

rqtwteye 4y ago
It's not her fault that these pitiful underlings missed their bonus targets.
- onion2k 4y ago
  I can't think of a situation where the CEO could hit her targets well enough to get a bonus but no one else could. Everyone's targets should be implicitly linked to the CEO's targets. Also, a good CEO who supported the company and the team would turn down their bonus in this situation. To lead you need to be seen to be in the same boat as everyone else, or no one will follow you.
  - nirav72 4y ago
    Dont think she needs to hit any target. If the board fires her tomorrow, its almost certain she’ll still walk away with a hefty amount of money.
barbazoo 4y ago
Do we know that that's actually true? > Bonuses for the 2023 fiscal year have yet to be decided, according to the company.

latchkey 4y ago

A long time ago, I bought an Aeron chair for my home office. Emailed the company to tell them how much I enjoyed the fact that the seat let 'air' pass through it, especially when I sat naked in it. They deadpan responded with an email that since the chair has moving parts, I should be careful to not get anything stuck in it. Seems like a much different company these days.

antonvs 4y ago
I assume that’s why they call you Latchkey One-Ball McGee

seanhunter 4y ago

Setting aside the bonus/entitlement/tirade/apology part of this story, the basic issue in this business is not hard to see for anyone on the outside. People are going into the office less and businesses are cutting staff. That means less need for office furniture. That's the structural backdrop this business is in. As CEO it's your job to figure out a business strategy against this backdrop. If people are not selling product it could be (a) The sales peoples' fault for sucking at their job/not having enough morale so they need your "rallying cry" or (probably) (b) your fault for keeping the business making only things that people don't really need right now. I mean there still are people making and selling buggy whips but it's a heck of a lot more niche of an industry than it was 200 years ago and if you were CEO of a buggy whip manufacturer, ripping into your sales people and saying "Stop living in pity city and get out there and sell more goddamn buggy whips!" isn't going to solve your business problems.

jfengel 4y ago
I could only find one manufacturer actually making whips specifically for horse buggies. https://uswhip.com/our-products/buggy-whip/ https://uswhip.com/our-products/buggy-whip/ You don't actually need a whip to drive a buggy. You use the reins, and some voice commands. If you use a whip, you're probably bad at it. This whip is specific for racing, where you do need to communicate with more than just the reins. But if you're Amish, or driving tourists around Central Park, you almost certainly do not want a whip. There are still many other whips for equine sports, and for herding. But buggy whips are perhaps an even narrower niche than you might expect. They were always rare, even when buggies were a practical way to get around.
jameshart 4y ago
People are not going in to offices but they are still sitting at desks. My company might have bought less office furniture in the last couple of years but my household office furniture purchases are WAY up.
- perryizgr8 4y ago
  True but there's a difference. When I used to go to office my desk had a top of the line ₹50,000 chair. I'd never pay more than ₹10,000 for a chair at home.

fourseventy 4y ago

People are snowflakes.

anotherhue 4y ago

Have we all just given up on the notion of strong stable leadership? It seems the mask slipped during the pandemic and no one's bothering to even pretend anymore.

sublinear 4y ago

The chairs were always overhyped anyway

drewcoo 4y ago
This! For home office, maybe seek out someone local who makes or refurbs antique chairs. Lots of options. And the local artisans actually care about cultivating a clientele, as opposed to huge furniture execs who are focused on justifying their bonuses by blaming the rest of their company.

barrysteve 4y ago

This global 'lust for money' appears the most abrasive on CEOs and upper class twits that cannot be (or act) humbled. When money can't buy the middle class houses, educations and cars, it will lose or will have lost it's value. Stronger relationships (and collecting capital) are way more important to me than money. Who would suffer for the exiled upper classes?

engineer_22 4y ago
Barrysteve you've got a refreshing take on a lot of topics. What do you mean by collecting capital if not gathering money?

nirav72 4y ago

Herman Miller made good chairs in the 2000s. Now I’m not sure if there is anything unique about them.

neilv 4y ago

This is an established company. Calling for people to focus on the mission is fine, so long as the company is taking care of them reasonably. But if the situation is that the company doesn't know whether it can take care of people, but CEO still wants people to focus on the mission... One gesture would be for the CEO to have the kind of skin in the game that the employees do -- which isn't a huge equity and bonus package, and golden parachute clauses -- but to drop CEO total comp. down to the level of the workers, until the company is sure it can cover responsibilities to its people. That said, I'm skeptical of clickbait-type calls to pitchforks/canceling. Don't apologize because content consumers are angry in general, and itching to act out like a mob, and other people are itching to incite and monetize that mob. Instead, please rethink the dynamic with employees, and whether you're keeping up your end of the bargain, and fix that if necessary. If employees believe in you -- even if times are rough, but you're in it with them, and have their backs -- the employees should stand up and tell the random Internet mob to get lost. (Connection of MillerKnoll to "tech" industry, for anyone who doesn't remember the start of dotcoms: when money started being thrown around wildly... the Herman-Miller Aeron chair was an icon of dotcoms. A dotcom startup would get investment, acquire office space and likely Aeron chairs, write some code, throw a launch party, and hope for an IPO.)

webworker 4y ago

I guess everyone has insane compulsion to air any and all business out online these days

colinb 4y ago

Didn't they recently buy Fully, purveyors of domestically acceptable standing desks? Is this a way for them to chase those delicious WFH $/€/₹?

doublerebel 4y ago
Wow thanks, no kidding, just bought from Fully last year and totally missed that. Although, I am somewhat of a Miller/Knoll fan having bought multiple of their chairs second hand, they do have all the features and generally last forever. Can Fully still exist as a B-corp longterm? I hope so. My Fully standing desk supports are excellent, working great with an oversized 8’ desktop I grabbed from Home Depot. My office mate and I bought a matching pair for our private office aka post-covid coworking space. Would buy again. https://officerepublic.news/en/2019/09/knoll-acquires-fully/ https://officerepublic.news/en/2019/09/knoll-acquires-fully/