Google avoids breakup
Google avoided a breakup but must share clickstream data with competitors to help train other search and AI tools. The Justice Department originally wanted Google to sell Chrome and Android, but the judge determined this was unwarranted given how the search market has changed with OpenAI, ChatGPT, and Perplexity emerging as competitors.
Alphabet added $234 billion in market cap following the decision. Apple added $130 billion because the $20 billion annual payment from Google to be the default iPhone search engine remains legal. The hosts noted another pending lawsuit about whether Google holds a monopoly with online advertising technology.
The delayering trend
The Wall Street Journal reported that bosses no longer have time to talk to employees. Gartner found the ratio of employees to managers went from 5 to 1 in 2017 to 15 to 1 in 2023. Google cut 35% of its managers of small teams. Intel eliminated 50% of its management layers. Estee Lauder and Match Group each cut 20%.
Your boss does not have time to talk to you. The ratio has gone from five employees per manager to fifteen. That is three times as many people to manage.
Brian Beck, Master B2B
CEOs celebrate reductions
CH Robinson CFO Damon Leaf told investors that processes are now human light. The company reported 35% increased productivity despite nearly 8% drop in revenue. The hosts questioned whether forced productivity, where remaining workers must do more with less, represents genuine improvement or simply pushes accountability to individuals.
Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff stated that 50% of customer service interactions previously requiring 9,000 human CSRs are now handled by AI agents. The hosts noted this could be partially a PR stunt to reinforce their AI technology positioning, but some truth exists in the claim.
Practitioners say too many
A Master B2B LinkedIn poll found 89% believe 15 direct reports is too many for effective management. Zero percent said it is the right number. Brian noted that managing more than five or six people is difficult because managers end up reacting to events rather than thoughtfully developing employees.
The hosts identified confusion, burnout, and incomplete decision-making as key risks. The situation may become self-fulfilling: managers cannot manage 15 people, fail, get replaced by someone managing 30, who also fails.
There is going to be a survivalist dimension to this. People are going to get voted off the island. Whoever is left is probably going to be a lot more productive but also a lot more stressed.
Andy Hoar, Master B2B
Is AI the answer?
The hosts acknowledged that AI may eventually address some management gaps. ChatGPT could write performance reviews. Software could track performance. The Salesforce model of 50% humans and 50% AI agents working together may accidentally be correct.
However, oversight remains necessary whether managing AI agents or humans. The hosts suggested that mentorship may shift from internal managers to peer networks and external communities. This resembles the offline to online transition where skeptics said you could not productize product knowledge, but people found ways to make it work.
The experiment continues
The hosts concluded that companies are pulling chairs away and watching who gets a seat. Some will figure out more effective ways of working. Some will not. This is Darwinian. Winners will be more productive but more stressed, using technology to compensate for missing human support.