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I'll call him out, right now. Even though I previously criticized[1] talia jane's original missive (not for being ideologically incorrect, or otherwise "out of bounds"; but for being depressingly defeatist and self-negating) -- this was definitely a moment that called for restraint and magnanimity on the CEO's part. But as it went down, his instinctive response (to smash the lowly, disenchanted employee) was incredibly petty-minded and vindictive. And for Yelp's own interests, also depressingly counter-productive and self-defeating. And on top of that, the assertion that he was somehow out of the loop as to her firing (or that it "wasn't his call") simply lacks credibility. Even if, technically speaking, the decision was left to someone in middle management -- it's the CEO who sets the culture and tone for the environment in which these decisions are made. And when faced with embarrassing public missteps of this sort, strong, principled CEOs always step forward and take responsibility for decisions executed by subordinates acting on their behalf -- rather than point fingers downward and say, "sorry, that wasn't my call." Being as he certainly must have been aware of the decision, at the time it was being made, and could have easily given his input to it, or chosen to override it, had he wished to. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11154553 |
I believe the CEO said he was not involved in the firing (and perhaps only heard of it after Talia's termination?).