> It's not the conversations that are getting them into trouble.

I find these surreal cult-like conversations a lot more off-putting than Facebook's data practices. Those I can understand, these conversations (and the words of these well meaning employees more than those of big bad Boz) make me feel like I need to take a shower. To me, this shows the very worst of intellectually dishonest to the point of delusion, modern day North American culture, and it disgusts me.

I was with you until you specifically criticized North American culture. What makes you think that German or Chinese companies don't also push their employees to place the company's success above ethical considerations?

Of course it could have been written in the style of a press release or perhaps reduced to a politician-style soundbite. But although pablum is harmless when leaked, it doesn't have the nuance needed to give real direction to smart and powerful knowledge workers. It is also bland and may be regarded by thoughtful workers as insincere.

This didn't have nuance. If the guy isn't lying, he was throwing a bomb to get people to react; if he is lying, he was floating the worst let-us-do-evil-that-good-may-come company line I've personally ever seen. In neither case was this a nuanced statement!

It was much more nuanced than the headlines such as the one used by BuzzFeed in their original story [https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanmac/growth-at-any-cost-top-face...]. He was trying to start a meaningful conversation, which is basically impossible to do under the constraint that you avoid giving adversaries any way to take your remarks out of context and spin them to manufacture outrage.

Well said. If I received internal memos which have gone through an external PR filter, the message would probably read like any other generic press release, and engender gossiping and finding hidden meanings in the memo.

Perhaps it could have been worded differently (better?), but I did appreciate the solid direction that was given by the memo. All too often, leadership is unable to give clear guidance because they are too wishy-washy about what the goals actually are, perhaps not even knowing what the goals should be besides making money.