Exit gracefully: Andrew Mason’s parting words

Over my working years, I saw plenty of executives come and go.

Often the going – where the going was involuntary -  was accompanied by a mealy-mouthed memo announcing that the oust-ee was leaving to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. In fact, I worked for one company that used pretty much the same form memo whenever a Mr. Big left the stage. And it, did in fact use those very words “pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.”

There was also the obligatory ‘a grateful nation thanks you’ bit – when we all recognized that the subtext was ‘thanks for nothing, you bum; thanks for not listening to anyone but toadies and ass-kissers; thanks for paying yourself a lot and us a little; thanks for promoting politicos only; thanks for bringing us to the brink of the abyss with your hare-brained ideas; and, by the way, apologies to hares’.

But I actually can’t remember if anyone being tossed on his ear ever sent out a memo to the rank and file.

In any case, I can’t imagine that these would have been candid, straightforward, and heartfelt. I’m sure they would have been every bit as mealy-mouthed as the official company memo, with a thick layer of self-justification/self-pity layered on. Maybe a soupcon of bitterness. (Okay, I’m being a bit harsh here. I’m sure there would have been a couple of folks who would have exited gracefully.)

In any case, I must say that I enjoyed Andrew Mason’s letter to his peeps, sent out after he got the heave-ho. You can see the whole thing by clicking on the above link, but I’ve kept some of the better bits:

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention.

Props for the joke about spending time with his family, and for his willingness to use the other “f word”: I was fired. None of this “we mutually agreed” nonsense. Nope. Just three little words.

From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

Although it seems like something that should be fairly common, give how ‘duh’ obvious it is, it’s amazing how rarely we ever hear anyone actually say that the buck – or the coupon – stops here.

For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be – I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey…

Okay, there’s a wee dram of ego into that concern about those who are concerned about him. Sure, there are folks at Groupon who liked and maybe even loved him, but, let’s face it, most employee concern is going to be concern about themselves and their prospects. And whether they’ll be able to pay the mortgage, car payments, and tuition. In truth, it’s hard to be all that concerned with someone who, crappy stock price and all, is still a multi-multi-millionaire. Still, money can’t buy you happiness.

As for the admission that he failed, I could live without the ‘this part of the journey’, ‘journey’ being one of those words (another one’s ‘passion’) that has inserted itself a tad too frequently into work-speak.

I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

Hey, Andrew, if you find that fat camp, let me know. I’d like to dump my freelance 10. And I hope you find something that’s (even) more productive than Groupon.

…This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don’t waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,

Andrew

Nice memo Andrew: honest, assured, assuring, warm. And you’re only 32. Trust me when I tell you that, if you want to, there’ll be another company out there for you to fall in love with.