I read the letter that accompanied the resignation of Greg Smith from Goldman Sachs last night with a great deal of pleasure. He had been the "executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa." He highlights the changes that have occurred in the dozen years he has spent at the firm since he joined them straight out of college. It is a message that I think rings true with the general public, especially in light of the Occupy movements. I'm not convinced it will accomplish much, other than let him feel like he aired his reasons and left with his moral compass in tact. I think it would be interesting to see what his next career move is. And to see if Goldman Sachs offers a public reply.
Then this morning stoppable sent me an email with this response from Jim Geraghty included. It takes the feeling of some that it is a little late to say that the culture and direction of the org aren't what you thought they were and puts them into the words of Darth Vader, if he had been resigning from the Empire:
Then this morning stoppable sent me an email with this response from Jim Geraghty included. It takes the feeling of some that it is a little late to say that the culture and direction of the org aren't what you thought they were and puts them into the words of Darth Vader, if he had been resigning from the Empire:
Today is my last day at the Empire.
After almost twenty years, first as a summer intern, then as the Emperor's spy on the Jedi Council, then as his apprentice and Dark Lord of the Sith, I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of the Empire's culture, its people (both cloned and non-cloned) and its role in bringing order to the galaxy. I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it, and I don't mean destructive in its traditional, positive connotation.
This used to be an institution based upon facing one's foes eye-to-eye, like a room full of younglings. Or betraying longtime brothers-in-arms in the middle of battle, when they least expect it. But instead, management meetings are dominated by the boasting and taunting of Imperial officers whose lack of faith is disturbing, all too proud of the technological terrors they've constructed. They fail to see that the power to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
I have attempted to reach out and make a gripping argument to those who disagree, but the old, all-too-complacent top management insists these whippersnappers be released and that this assessment is dismissed as "pointless bickering." Time and again, middle management proves itself as clumsy as it is stupid. Outside consultants are dismissed with a sneer, "we don't need their kind." Managers expect us to ignore delays in construction projects by sniveling that our presence is an "unexpected pleasure" and how honored they are by our presence. We can dispense with the pleasantries.
People who care only about making the same super-weapon, again and again, with more or less the exact same weakness and design flaw, will not sustain this Empire -- or the fear of its people -- for very much longer.
