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Re:Google fires 31 massage therapists as part of layoffs by ajross on Sunday January 29, 2023 @11:07AM (#34569329)
I don't see how one gets the Stadia shutdown as a failure of management? As software, it worked really (frankly shockingly) well. You might argue that it was a failure of product targetting, maybe of business relationship management, maybe that the pricing didn't match the cost of service, etc...

But the employees tasked by Google to produce a cloud-based streaming gaming service, successfully shipped a cloud-based streaming gaming service. That's good management, not bad.

Edit: ooph, I can see where this is going but people have replied so I should leave it up. FWIW: the term "management" in this context is generally interpreted strictly, and not just a shorthand for "every decision made by an executive". The complaints people have with Stadia are better termed "marketing" (building the wrong product or canceling it too soon) or "sales" (failing to get enough games on the product). "Management" (the application of corporate resources to achieve results) did their job.

And in particular, in the context of layoffs ("management" by definition) it seems like the usage above was ambiguous enough to demand a correction. Stadia being mismarketed simply isn't relevant to the employment status of massage therapists.

Re:Google fires 31 massage therapists as part of layoffs by hiddencost on Sunday January 29, 2023 @11:12AM (#34569391)
I think you're affirming what the parent said?

Engineering did their job, well. Leadership and product did not.

This has been the trend at Google during Sundar and Ruth's tenure: a company led by engineers became a company led by product management and finance.

And it shows. Google's made a crushing number of business decisions that flew in the face of good engineering principles, and undermined the company's excellence.

Re:Google fires 31 massage therapists as part of layoffs by CardenB on Sunday January 29, 2023 @11:14AM (#34569411)
It’s been since google plus, long before sundar.
Re:Google fires 31 massage therapists as part of layoffs by sitkack on Sunday January 29, 2023 @11:14AM (#34569417)
As typical here, you both aren’t taking about the same things.

One is talking about market strategy and perseverance. The other is talking about technical leadership.

You could have made the same insightful (inciteful) post by just commenting on how good technical leadership was.

I was shocked the other day when a solid respectable chip designer said Alpha was a failure because DEC went out of business.