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In a startling follow-up to his post about firing the editor of TechCrunch UK, publisher Mike Arrington accuses his ex-employee of several ethical lapses, including theft of a sizable amount of money.
To back up his claims, he publishes excerpts from private communications between a boss (Arrington) and an employee (Sam Sethi).
The kicker is his description of firing Sethi by e-mail while conducting a group interview with Microsoft honcho Bill Gates.
Forget the legal implications of these public attempts to damage the reputation of a former employee (and now competitor). Forget the plummeting credibility brought on by his disclosure of his young company’s dirty laundry.
What’s crucial here is the picture of the social media maven trying to micromanage a business from another continent, and leaving a crucial communication like termination of employment to e-mail.
If you’re ever in this position, pick up the phone and treat your employees like real human beings.
Text is a cold medium. The receiver of an e-mail or instant message has no cues, other than a few emoticons, to determine the intent behind the message. So it’s up to the reader to determine whether “You realize you just fired yourself” is a gentle rebuke from an understanding boss, or a summary dismissal by an uncaring prick.
Listen to Arrington’s podcasts and you hear a likeable human being with a big ego. Read his blog posts, and all you get is the ego.
Arrington writes that the situation didn’t have to deteriorate from there, that Sethi could have patched up the boss-employee relationship. But what motivation did the editor have to repair the relationship?
Bosses who are under the impression they’re doing their employees a favour by agreeing to hire them don’t understand the dynamic between creative, self-motivated employees and their bosses. The editor-publisher relationship is even more delicate.
In another post, Arrington announces the departure of another employee, explaining that she can’t handle the negative comments from readers. Whoa! Another disclosure of private communications with an employee. Not good.
Do you see a trend developing? Treat some employees badly, and other employees jump ship.
Note to Arrington: SHUT UP, and if an ex-employee discloses a private conversation, take the high road.
Update: Just to clarify, there has been no published proof that any financial impropriety occured, Arrington has since altered his online claim, and Sam Sethi explains the money was never invoiced, and hasn’t been paid to TechCrunch UK, so is not missing in any way. What a mess.
Previous post: Open Discussion of ‘Terminations’ – Is this a new trend?
Tags: ceos, communications, employees, mike arrington, relationships, reputation, techcrunch
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Sam Sethi’s comment above certainly is different under today’s new light isn’t it? Reputation? Credibility? Integrity?
The closest Sam will ever get to those is when he’s standing in the accused’s box in front of a judge.
Oliver Starr
http://owstarr.com
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Please read my response on http://www.vecosys.com and also on CrunchNotes. This is a very serious allegation and has NO merit. I will be taking action against Arrington unless I get a public apology.
To be VERY clear. I have not taken any monies and this is now a very personal issue regarding my reputation and credibility.