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reddit employee here. there were no signs to justify your speculative argument.

by ryanmerket 12y ago

raulinus 12y ago
You are mixing the point here, the speculation is true.
- sillysaurus3 12y ago
  Actually, maybe we should listen to someone with an inside perspective, rather than speculate?
- anonbanker 12y ago
  and you created an account to say this?
shostack 12y ago
Just playing devil's advocate here, and please know I mean this with all due respect, but you are a Product Manager who has been there 4 months according to LinkedIn. I do not claim to know the inner workings of Reddit, but can you really be 100% certain that you were privy to all of the meetings, etc. where such signs may have been observed? Again--zero disrespect intended here, but it strikes me as uncommon that a recent PM hire would be involved in all of the board meetings, hallway conversations, etc. where some of this power struggle may have occurred.
- ryanmerket 12y ago
  The culture at reddit is one of openness. We're also a super small team (about 30 in SF), so any kind of issues/arguments are easily recognized. Through the relocation announcement, the ex-employee issue on reddit, handling of the #celebgate, all employees and the board were supportive of Yishan for the most part. If there was any animosity, it certainly wasn't enough to call for his resignation. What Sam is saying is truth. Yishan wanted the new HQ closer to the peninsula because he believed it was the best thing for the company (cost savings, south bay commuters, etc), and probably less so, for his family. The board disagreed, and there were a number of employees who disagreed. Yishan may have felt that he wasn't given enough trust and reins he needed to execute the company the way he thought it should be if he was CEO. This was the sole reason for Yishan's resignation, as I know it.
  - teacup50 12y ago
    This is a hopelessly naive position to hold, and it's also a one likely to be dangerous to your career — believing in openness so blindly is how you're going to be blind-sided. An "open" culture is open unless the folks who actually are in charge have a good reason for it not to be. As someone who has been behind the closed doors, I guarantee that you have no idea what occurred behind them.
    - ryanmerket 12y ago
      Openness isn't the only reason. I'm also pretty close with Yishan (pre-reddit) and Ellen is my direct supervisor and sits across from me. Sure there might have been other small issues, but office location was a large point of contention internally. So this being the underlying part of Yishan's resignation makes sense.
      - teacup50 12y ago
        Nobody (sane) resigns solely over office location planning. They would, however, resign over the politics that drove their proposal being dismissed.
  - waterlesscloud 12y ago
    Reading what Sam wrote, the board didn't tell Yishan no. They just wanted him to add up the effects it would have. Which isn't just reasonable, it's a requirement if you're any kind of responsible corporate steward. You don't move on a whim, you have the pluses and minuses all figured out. And no offense, but I find it hard to believe anyone other than Yishan and the board (and maybe some other investors) is privy to all the conversations they had. It wouldn't be at all surprising if board members are 'nicer' to a ceo in front of employees than they are in private. It'd be kind of surprising if they weren't.
    - ryanmerket 12y ago
      I never said I was privy to the board conversations. My reasonings had to do with the PR events that some believe may have contributed to the board's feelings for Yishan as a competent CEO.

reddit employee here. there were no signs to justify your speculative argument.

raulinus 12y ago

You are mixing the point here, the speculation is true.

sillysaurus3 12y ago
Actually, maybe we should listen to someone with an inside perspective, rather than speculate?
anonbanker 12y ago
and you created an account to say this?

shostack 12y ago

Just playing devil's advocate here, and please know I mean this with all due respect, but you are a Product Manager who has been there 4 months according to LinkedIn. I do not claim to know the inner workings of Reddit, but can you really be 100% certain that you were privy to all of the meetings, etc. where such signs may have been observed? Again--zero disrespect intended here, but it strikes me as uncommon that a recent PM hire would be involved in all of the board meetings, hallway conversations, etc. where some of this power struggle may have occurred.

ryanmerket 12y ago
The culture at reddit is one of openness. We're also a super small team (about 30 in SF), so any kind of issues/arguments are easily recognized. Through the relocation announcement, the ex-employee issue on reddit, handling of the #celebgate, all employees and the board were supportive of Yishan for the most part. If there was any animosity, it certainly wasn't enough to call for his resignation. What Sam is saying is truth. Yishan wanted the new HQ closer to the peninsula because he believed it was the best thing for the company (cost savings, south bay commuters, etc), and probably less so, for his family. The board disagreed, and there were a number of employees who disagreed. Yishan may have felt that he wasn't given enough trust and reins he needed to execute the company the way he thought it should be if he was CEO. This was the sole reason for Yishan's resignation, as I know it.
- teacup50 12y ago
  This is a hopelessly naive position to hold, and it's also a one likely to be dangerous to your career — believing in openness so blindly is how you're going to be blind-sided. An "open" culture is open unless the folks who actually are in charge have a good reason for it not to be. As someone who has been behind the closed doors, I guarantee that you have no idea what occurred behind them.
  - ryanmerket 12y ago
    Openness isn't the only reason. I'm also pretty close with Yishan (pre-reddit) and Ellen is my direct supervisor and sits across from me. Sure there might have been other small issues, but office location was a large point of contention internally. So this being the underlying part of Yishan's resignation makes sense.
    - teacup50 12y ago
      Nobody (sane) resigns solely over office location planning. They would, however, resign over the politics that drove their proposal being dismissed.
- waterlesscloud 12y ago
  Reading what Sam wrote, the board didn't tell Yishan no. They just wanted him to add up the effects it would have. Which isn't just reasonable, it's a requirement if you're any kind of responsible corporate steward. You don't move on a whim, you have the pluses and minuses all figured out. And no offense, but I find it hard to believe anyone other than Yishan and the board (and maybe some other investors) is privy to all the conversations they had. It wouldn't be at all surprising if board members are 'nicer' to a ceo in front of employees than they are in private. It'd be kind of surprising if they weren't.
  - ryanmerket 12y ago
    I never said I was privy to the board conversations. My reasonings had to do with the PR events that some believe may have contributed to the board's feelings for Yishan as a competent CEO.