8-1 Discussion: Staying Out of Your Inbox
please response to main post and two students one citied sources for each.
Some of the most effective leaders are those who are never at their desk, but in the trenches with their employees. While they believe email can be an effective tool, they feel that face-to-face communication with their employees is the most effective way to lead.
For this discussion, begin by reading “4 Former Amazon Employees on What It’s Like Working for Jeff Bezos” and “‘Take It or Leave It’: Zuckerberg’s Approach to Advising Instagram After Acquisition” from the module resources. Ask yourself, would you want to work for these bosses? Why or why not?
In your responses to your classmates, share whether you agree or disagree with their evaluations and why.
To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric PDF document.
Student #1—–Nevaeh ————
Can you be an effective communicator and leader if you are constantly hitting refresh in your email inbox? Some of the most effective leaders are those who are never at their desk, but in the trenches with their employees. While they believe email can be an effective tool, they feel that face-to-face communication with their employees is the most effective way to lead.
For this discussion, begin by reading “4 Former Amazon Employees on What It’s Like Working for Jeff Bezos” and “‘Take It or Leave It’: Zuckerberg’s Approach to Advising Instagram After Acquisition” from the module resources. Ask yourself, would you want to work for these bosses? Why or why not?
First lets discuss Amazon-Bezos: Preeti Upadhyay states in her 2013 article: “The panelists all agreed that Bezos’ demanding attitude and “maniacal focus on the right answer” have helped the company grow to a $150 billion business whose stock continues to surge despite posting losses in several quarters. But there’s no denying it — the man is hardly the dream boss. Dave Sellinger, now CEO of Rich Relevance, a San Francisco-based big data startup, recalled many nights of drinking with his roommates (also Amazon employees) after a terrible day at work.“I would go home and throw stuff. One of my roommates was on a team where 20 people were doing the work of 300 engineers. We were all always on pager duty, Selinger said. All the panelists reminisced about the moment they each received their first “escalation e-mail”, in which Bezos would forward a customer complaint or question with simply a question mark — no message.
“It absolutely is a deliberately adversarial culture because when everybody’s arguing and fighting and not afraid to talk, the end decision will be the best one. In the Amazon culture, you get to a point where there’s always a better way to do it,” said Cotter. If you’re looking for an ‘atta boy’, you’re not going to get it. You’re not going to get a high five.”Bezos proliferated data as the absolute decision maker, Selinger said. We’re applying that to create bottoms up innovation through data. It’s hard to argue with results (Upadhyay, 2013).”
I honestly am not sure I could work here due to the amount of stress given to all employees. I know businesses have a certain way they want their employees to be and how their work is to be done but, honestly after reading this I am not sure anyone’s mental health could handle this place.
Now let’s talk about Zuckerberg: In 2013 Alan Carr states: “It was a funny review,” says Instagram product manager Gregor Hochmuth. We presented it; Mark liked what we did; and then he goes, ‘Well, usually I would tell a team what to do now’–like make some changes he wanted to see–‘but I really want to stick to my word and have you guys be in charge. So I’m going to give you my advice and you can take it or leave it. Zuckerberg’s hands-off approach is by design. Since acquiring Instagram for $1 billion, Zuckerberg has been dogged by questions over the startup’s future: whether Instagram would lose its magic; get riddled with ads; or be folded into Facebook, as so many purchased startups had before it (Gowalla, Beluga, Drop.oi) Getting the teams to think like collaborators and not competitors is part of the end game. Systrom says Zuckerberg didn’t acquire Instagram to force an arbitrary rivalry between the groups to boost productivity–there are far too many examples of internal competition causing more harm than good, namely Microsoft. [Mark’s] theory has always been there’s overlap in everything we do. Like I’m sure there’s some overlap between Instagram and Facebook Photos, but figuring out how to make them work together is often the better thing to do, Systrom explains.The team is also cognizant of potential downsides to working on different tracks. An anti-pattern would be that in two or three years, people find it really frustrating that we both have almost the same features but can’t collaborate or connect these things together, Krieger says. He adds, We’re all the same company. It’s all about finding the right balance together–understanding what makes Instagram Instagram, but also understanding how Instagram is part of Facebook(Carr, 2013).”
Honestly, I think I would do better with Zuckerberg better than Bezos. Less stress, not walking on egg shells but, also though Zuckerberg is more hands off he is still willing to help when needed.
References:
Carr, Alan (2013) “Take It or Leave It”: Zuckerberg’s Approach to Advising Instagram After Acquisition Fast Company https://www.fastcompany.com/3013447/take-it-or-leave-it-zuckerbergs-approach-to-advising-instagram-after-acquisition
Upadhyay, Preeti (2013) 4 former Amazon employees on what it’s like working for Jeff Bezos Silicon Valley Business Journal https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/10/25/4-former-amazon-employees-on-what-its.html
Student #2—–Laura———–
Hello everyone,
Well who would want to work at a place that they felt uncomfortable at? The people who worked at Amazon felt that along with hostility in the workplace. It seems Bezos was focused on improving and being the best but he puts his employees through the ringer it seems. “I would go home and throw stuff. One of my roommates was on a team where 20 people were doing the work of 300 engineers. We were all always on pager duty, Selinger said” (Upadhyaya, 2013). Selinger knew that his work was important and valuable to the company but it doesn’t seem that it made it all OK. Another previous employee felt that they learned so much from Amazon and Bezos though and maybe the way he was helped mold them into the CEO’s they all are today. I am not sure I would be thrilled working for someone like this.
Working for Zuckerberg seemed to be much different. He was much nicer it seems but he was more relaxed and supportive of others ideas it seemed. He was willing to give his input but allow his team to decide for themselves what they thought they should do. This encouraged his team and allowed them to feel supported. Zuckerberg encouraged the Facebook staff and the Instagram staff to collaborate in order to be successful. He seems to be a more go-with-the-flow kind of boss. I would like working with someone who provides feedback but also encourages and supports my own ideas.
Thank you,
Upadhyaya , P. (2013, October 26). 4 former Amazon employees on what it’s like working for Jeff Bezos. bizjournals.com. Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/10/25/4-former-amazon-employees-on-what-its.html.
