- Complete Breakdown of Culture & Leadership: The culture dramatically shifted from supportive and strategic to reactive and hostile. Success and job security were dependent on who didn’t question the CEO, Tarek, and who was willing to follow directives blindly. When leadership has no business acumen, there can be no growth, success, or retention of quality employees. Psychological safety does not exist.
- No Training, No Enablement, No Real Support: There was no formal or informal training. Expectations were built entirely on tribal knowledge, yet we were reprimanded for not magically knowing who held that knowledge or how the systems worked, even though those systems were poorly implemented to begin with.
- Whiplash Priorities: Leadership frequently changed course on strategy based on impulse or the “idea of the week.” Messaging, case studies, ICPs, and buyer personas were never finished before being discarded. There was no willingness to let a strategy mature long enough to measure real results. Everything was expected to turn on a dime.
- Layoffs With No Plan or Accountability: Layoffs became increasingly common, including the baffling decision to eliminate the entire CS team, a red flag in industries where customer relationships are the foundation of success. No transition plans, no training, no reassignment of responsibilities. Employees were expected to absorb new roles only after customers began questioning the sudden drop in communication. Every round of cuts left critical work unassigned, fueling burnout, confusion, and deeper instability within an already fragile organization.