Jason really has his moments and this was certainly one of them. I thought this email was a perfect educated response to the recent events and hopefully it will silence or at least tone down his @anonymous critics here in Mahalo Answers. I was getting bored of vanishing abusive "Jason is a {Whatever}" questions.

I am a big Red Auerbach fan so I appreciate the basketball coaching reference and feel Red would say the same of Jason that he did of the Zen master Phil Jackson "Phil is obviously a good coach. You don't win that many games without being a damn good coach, ... Remember one thing: He's been very fortunate. He picks his spots. That's all I can say.”

This was a well picked spot.

My dad would have liked this guy Jason as my dad said something similar to me as Jason says in this email. Jason says, "Work 3 years for me and by default you are awesome" and my father said to me on my first day of employment after I asked him what his secret to success was "Listen kid, I hire brilliant people, demand they work just a bit harder than they would liked and then get the F out of their way" I think these two would have been friends. The loyalty discussion would have made these two drinking buddies both are eloquent in wording their discussions of the importance of loyalty in business. I also had a loyalty discussion with my father and when I asked his "I see that loyalty is important in business and makes business sense but what about real life?" and he responded "Buddawiggi, business is real life, do NOT forget that, the friends you make as a result of loyalty in business will be amongst the best friends you will ever make".

My fathers company sold faucets for 35 years and although he was a retired US Marine he remained a Marine throughout his life, was prone to be abrasive in his commentary on employment, even fired me in public, his employees remained and were were incredibly loyal. Out of the nearly 500 employees his company had over 450 of them worked for the company from the beginning to the end. Every day loyalty. A ton of people retired working for my father because once they got the job they kept it, seeing a leader who was a bit difficult but himself fiercely loyal to his employees.

The sections of this email that discuss the script in regards to "How To Resign Form A Job" are great examples of what I like to call "Prescribed Response" (using positive and assertive word choice to direct possible responses) in a conversation and are certainly some damn fine examples of just how to either leave a job with a GREAT reference or stay at a job and GET the compensation one is looking for. I chuckled as I read these scripts not because they were funny but because I felt they were that good in getting that "Prescribed Response" and would have directed this conversation to the employees benefit perfectly.

The questions at the bottom of the email briefly.
1. Red Auerbach, Bill Belichick, and my dad. rip
2. Pros? Everything Cons? Hindsight is 20/20
3. I do not know enough to aptly respond.
4. We both know it doesn't matter what I think you should write about next. You just keep being you.
5. No different than Jason, Trust + Time. Loyalty is a next level trust.
6. Yes I got the email last night.
7. Gen Y? Generalizations are always a bad thing. I'm Gen X and one lazy mf.

Overall a superb display of Jason's understanding of a specific situation that shows a deep knowledge and passion for loyalty, communication, and understanding the connection between business and personal life loyalty. I never have a problem speaking truth to power and anyone that knows me knows this is not a kissing up opinion of a Jason email, it simple a really good email and deserves to be recognized as such.

1. Jason should know that no-one likes to read endless rants. Just looking at this email made me reluctant to read it entirely. Jason (and Mahalo) seem to think that quantity (of words) equals quality, but I tend to disagree. Keep it short, and to the point. Getting the point across in less words is difficult, but more effective.

2. On his "Phil Jackson" meeting : Food for him. Nice to know he gets to meet important people, like a Lakers coach.

3. On his Gen X vs Gen Y rant: His arguments don't stick, and actually make little sense at all. He generalizes, trying to prove he's right, and the rest of the world is not. Problem is, he's actually part of 'Gen Y', the same group he tries to put down.

4. On the resignation: From what I see from a (very far) distance, Jason can be a tough boss. He demands 150% loyalty, expects his employees to put in endless hours (which they apparently happily do), and jump with excitement on each of his plans, whether they are brilliant, or absurd (Literally: "I want Tiggers, not Eeyores"). Jason is an entrepreneur, who will grab every opportunity when it passes by. He can be ruthless, cutting off people entirely without remorse, when he thinks they no longer contribute to his plans. Whether this entire assessment is true, I don't know, but it's what I see from said long distance.

Strangely, Jason seems to be genuinely surprised if one of his employees shows the same entrepreneurship: a real opportunity arises, and the person grabs it. He informs his boss by email (not too classy, but hey, would you want to tell something like this to Jason's face? Not me), who immediately reacts by throwing him out the door, denying him access to the company, and having his email account deleted. Not classy indeed.
Whether it's after three years, twenty years, or six months, these things happen. People will join a company, and leave. I've spent over 10 years at the company I currently work now, that's just what makes me happy. for others, that time might be much shorter, and you NEVER know when an 'offer you can't refuse' passes by. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Don't get me wrong here, I think Jason is doing remarkable things here at Mahalo and on his other projects like "This week in..' and his open angel forums. Sometimes his harsh reactions just seem irrational (and I think he knows they are irrational too). Maybe it's because I live in Europe, not in the Unites States. Dunno...

I would be able to fill many more lines of text with comments, but that would make me fall for the same trap: More words is not always better. I guess my point is clear, and I'll leave it at that.

Dear Jason,

Please stop talking. My Dad was drafted and sent to Cambodia; where he had friends die. He should feel exactly about your generation that you feel about Gen Y.

He doesn't.

Why? Because his father lived through the Depression and risked getting torpedoed by nazi u-boats. Only a generation before that my ancestors lived without electricity. Anyone with a sense of history can see these cycles. The older generation always hates the new music, hates the new gen's work ethic, hates their forms of art and entertainment.

Stop being a lame curmudgeon, you're better than that.

The post is well written.
The problems of the issues are:
1. The process is not done properly by the staff and with some anger, it’s not done properly by the boss too.
It’s then further worsen by “publication” of the conversations.

2. Perception of staff on boss, boss on staff and their own self-perceptions.
There isn’t so much of right or wrong on perception.

Boss may think he is a great boss, his vision is the best, staffs should follow his instructions, great rewards will shower upon staffs for staffs’ loyalty.

Staff may think he has better growth outside, boss is not good, greater rewards outside.

It’s not that straight forward and it’s a matter of choice.

I think the generalization to the whole Generation Y and the “loyalty” thing are just not needed.
Before industrialization, most peoples are in a way business owners, entrepreneurs.
The word is not “loyalty”, but “trust”.
There isn’t so much of “loyalty” to the company or boss.
Only after industrialization, when most peoples are workers, the boss, company then advocated “loyalty”.

Look at “historical case study” below.
(Not so much of “rebuttal”, just an alternative view)

Year: 1957
Boss:
just got his Nobel prize on 1956, on technology important to the upcoming industry;
one of the leaders, if not THE leader, of the industry.

Staff:
Joined in 1956, then perceived the company had poor, authoritarian management style;
he has his own ideas, visions.
He left in 1957.
Not only he left, he left with 7 others and he started up another company;
he seems to be the “leader” of the 8 peoples who left.

This is even worse, not only he left in 1 year, he left with 7 others !

Should he or shouldn’t he be loyal ?

More info:
Boss: William Shockley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shockley
One of the inventors of transistor, Nobel Prize winner in Physics: 1956

Company: Shockley Semiconductor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shockley_Semiconductor_Laboratory

Staff: Robert Noyce
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Noyce

The eight staffs who left is called Traitorous Eight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitorous_Eight

New company:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Semiconductor

I guess William Shockley will ask questions similar to Jason’s.
Where is the loyalty ? Left only after one year ?
You must be mad, I’m the “leader” of the industry, I won Nobel prize etc…
Generation “X” attitude problem, our Generation “W” is not like that ?!!
(not sure what generations are called before Y. I just use W and X)

Look at the result:
http://www.computerhistory.org/press/fairchild-semiconductor-50th-anniversary.html

Fairchild that Robert Noyce and the rest started, reshaped Silicon Valley, spawned the semiconductor industry, VC industry, revolutionize management-style (the so-called Californian management style) etc..

Excerpt:
“Fairchild Semiconductor pioneered its new products and technologies with an entrepreneurial style, and its manufacturing and marketing techniques reshaped Silicon Valley and the worldwide high-tech industry. The company also introduced management-style innovations such as ultimately rewarding employees with stock options and decentralizing semiconductor device manufacturing facilities to locations around the world.

In addition, its volume manufacturing and electronic design automation (EDA) efforts fueled the growth and development of these semiconductor market segments, and spawned hundreds of new companies in all aspects of the high-tech industry - including Intel, AMD, National, LSI Logic, VLSI Technology, Intersil, Altera and Xilinx, to name a few. Several venture capital firms also were formed by Fairchild executives, including Sequoia Capital; and Kleiner Perkins, Caulfield & Byers which, in turn, helped finance new semiconductor spinoff companies and high-tech as we know it today.”

Question:
1. Should Robert Noyce stay loyal to William Shockley or Shockley Semiconductor and not leave within a year ?

2. Will there be semiconductor, IT industry, Si Valley and….Intel, Microsoft, Google if Robert Noyce didn’t leave but stay "loyal" ?
Weblog, Mahalo ?

Unfortunately, I agree that there is truth in Jason's statement "We live in a decaying empire." America seems outdated, old, and flat out run-down compared to many other countries. Better than 90% of the world? Yes! Top dog? Not anymore!

However, why is he taking the blame off of politicians who have allowed our public education system to fall off the charts compared to other first (and sometimes third) world countries? I do think we live in a society were many people want to live a glamorous lifestyle without putting in hard work, but to blame it entirely on that is simply inaccurate.