On: How Quora died

[frabjoused]

I really fail to understand how a company can consciously guide itself to degrade so badly. Like these were actual decisions of meetings and the results of a ton of work of teams to implement. And it destroyed the site.

Product of too much VC, probably.

[AlbertCory → frabjoused]

Product of middle managers, the cause of nearly all corporate problems.

[lupire → AlbertCory]

Middle managers pursue the CEO's vision. They aren't steering the ship.

[AlbertCory → lupire]

That's your theory, anyway.

[motoxpro → AlbertCory]

Either the CEO sees what’s going on and is fine with it mean it is their vision, they are putting their feet up and don’t care, or they are not fine with it and have no control over the company.

Seems bad any way you look at it.

[AlbertCory → motoxpro]

> they are not fine with it and have no control over the company

something something "all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way"

In some places, the "vision" is sufficiently vague that all sorts of dumb decisions can be justified by it.

Or the CEO is so stupid that he only listens to his direct reports, who all tell him everything is under control. And when they tell him not to "micromanage" he listens and backs off.

You can't make any universal statements about this.

[motoxpro → AlbertCory]

i.e. "bad" CEO. I don't really think the reason matter.

[frabjoused → AlbertCory]

Can't see a something like "show answers to related questions directly under a single answer to the intended question" being a middle-manager decision.

[AlbertCory → frabjoused]

You can't? How do you think it happens in a fairly large company, then?

[StressedDev → frabjoused]

More likely, it's a product of not making money and of trying to find a way to make money and not go out of business.