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I was listening to a podcast with Jim Rutt and he said that he encouraged people to give "bad news" and to not shoot the messenger. He was also against office p

I was listening to a podcast with Jim Rutt and he said that he encouraged people to give "bad news" and to not shoot the messenger. He was also against office politics and fired people for it. I wish more companies had this culture.

golergka 3y ago
Do you honestly think the line between giving bad news or reporting bad behaviour and office politics is so clear cut?
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  Indeed. The line between an earnest report of bad news/behavior and a less than earnest political play can be extremely unclear.
- wesapien 3y ago
  Depends on the leadership style. Trad, Molochian behavior is unconstrained. Jim Rutt, Molochian behavior is scrutinized.
deleted 3y ago
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isilofi 3y ago
I don't know about Jim Rutt, but my overall impression is that most, if not all, companies are supposedly encouraging this culture of giving "bad news" and non-retaliation. Also reinforced by the usual compliance voodoo about supposedly anonymous reporting opportunities. I've never gained the impression that that was anything more than lip-service. The two people I know of who dared to say something were shown the door. Quietly, discreetly, done in a way so they wouldn't dare to sue. Therefore, imho, if you do report anything, make sure it cannot be traced back to you. Or just don't, it usually isn't worth it.
- brvsft 3y ago
  > The two people I know of who dared to say something were shown the door. Quietly, discreetly, done in a way so they wouldn't dare to sue. How does this work? If I'm in this position, you'd have to either give me a lot of money or threaten to kill my family. I'd be surprised if a business tried the latter.
  - isilofi 3y ago
    I don't know. I just know that they left the company, to everyone's surprise, shortly after something was reported, to work on something completely different two towns over.
- hotnfresh 3y ago
  Whatever else folks may think of them, what I’ve seen of strong unions makes them look very effective at, specifically, making people feel safe speaking up about breaches of policy (including things like discrimination or hostile workplaces) or safety violations.
- wesapien 3y ago
  Not surprised at all. The behavior of the shitheads is downstream of the assholes at the top.
wesapien 3y ago
For reference, this is the Future Fossils podcast 181. The leadership thing is in the first minute.

golergka 3y ago

Do you honestly think the line between giving bad news or reporting bad behaviour and office politics is so clear cut?

mcpackieh 3y ago
Indeed. The line between an earnest report of bad news/behavior and a less than earnest political play can be extremely unclear.
wesapien 3y ago
Depends on the leadership style. Trad, Molochian behavior is unconstrained. Jim Rutt, Molochian behavior is scrutinized.

deleted 3y ago

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isilofi 3y ago

I don't know about Jim Rutt, but my overall impression is that most, if not all, companies are supposedly encouraging this culture of giving "bad news" and non-retaliation. Also reinforced by the usual compliance voodoo about supposedly anonymous reporting opportunities. I've never gained the impression that that was anything more than lip-service. The two people I know of who dared to say something were shown the door. Quietly, discreetly, done in a way so they wouldn't dare to sue. Therefore, imho, if you do report anything, make sure it cannot be traced back to you. Or just don't, it usually isn't worth it.

brvsft 3y ago
> The two people I know of who dared to say something were shown the door. Quietly, discreetly, done in a way so they wouldn't dare to sue. How does this work? If I'm in this position, you'd have to either give me a lot of money or threaten to kill my family. I'd be surprised if a business tried the latter.
- isilofi 3y ago
  I don't know. I just know that they left the company, to everyone's surprise, shortly after something was reported, to work on something completely different two towns over.
hotnfresh 3y ago
Whatever else folks may think of them, what I’ve seen of strong unions makes them look very effective at, specifically, making people feel safe speaking up about breaches of policy (including things like discrimination or hostile workplaces) or safety violations.
wesapien 3y ago
Not surprised at all. The behavior of the shitheads is downstream of the assholes at the top.

wesapien 3y ago

For reference, this is the Future Fossils podcast 181. The leadership thing is in the first minute.