Thanksgiving week is upon us, and that means it’s time to dish out the annual Jive Turkeys awards, highlighting the industry missteps, unethical behavior, and sudden drastic changes that have labeled certain companies and individuals as our Jive Turkeys of 2023. This year’s feast is particularly flavorful, featuring a range of blunders from social media mishaps to leadership upheavals. Let’s dive into the juicy details of who made the list this year, and maybe even ponder, in the midst of corporate chaos, Kid Rock Elon Musk Do You Want To Know Jesus?
Twitter’s Jive Turkey Hiring Platform Under Elon Musk
First on the chopping block is Twitter’s hiring platform. After Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for a staggering $44 billion, now valued at a mere $19 billion, the solution to recoup losses apparently lies in launching a job board. Following the acquisition of Laskie, a job matching engine, the anticipation was high. How would Twitter, lacking professional career data like LinkedIn, effectively match people to jobs? The grand reveal: job cards mirroring years-old Twitter job postings in feeds and a basic 1990s-style job search. Despite Musk’s bold claims of a cooler, new LinkedIn, the reality is a far cry from innovation in 2023. For this underwhelming and frankly, jive turkey effort, Twitter’s hiring platform earns its place on our list.
Kid Rock’s Brand Inconsistency: From Bud Light Backlash to Bud Light Backing?
Brand integrity is crucial, and Kid Rock provided a masterclass in how not to maintain it in 2023. When Dylan Mulvaney’s Bud Light promotion sparked right-wing outrage, Kid Rock took to Twitter, brandishing a large gun and declaring war on Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch. A true brand warrior, or so it seemed. Fast forward to August, and our tough-talking rocker was spotted enjoying a Bud Light in a Nashville bar. Treason cries erupted online, highlighting his hypocrisy. Then, in a Hannity interview, Kid Rock claimed he never called for a boycott and felt bad for those who lost jobs due to the backlash – a stunt which, ironically, barely impacted Bud Light’s stock in the long run. For the flip-flopping, the performative outrage, and the sheer jive turkey behavior, Kid Rock earns his spot. Is this the kind of behavior that makes one question, kid rock elon musk do you want to know jesus? Perhaps a moment of reflection is needed amidst the brand chaos.
Grindr and Xing’s Questionable Career Pivots
This next jive turkey is a shared dining experience, served up by Grindr and Xing, courtesy of LinkedIn. Grindr, the hookup app, decided to target LinkedIn by proposing its location-based matching for hiring. The logic? Lost on most. The idea of a hookup app becoming a hiring platform raises serious eyebrows about workplace culture. Meanwhile, Xing, a German LinkedIn-style platform, is pivoting to become a job board, diminishing its broader platform and, arguably, its valuation. This combo platter of questionable career moves from Grindr and Xing earns them a shared jive turkey award for strategic misdirection.
Joonko’s Unethical Practices and Collapse
Joonko, founded in 2016 with a noble mission to help underrepresented candidates get hired, takes a dark turn into jive turkey territory. After a promising $25 million funding round in September 2022, the company, led by CEO Ilit Raz, faced collapse by June 2023 due to investor deception allegations. An internal investigation revealed unethical practices, including inflated company size claims, fake partnerships, and fabricated financial documents – fake invoices, wire transfers, and bank accounts. Raz resigned amidst these findings, leaving Joonko’s website defunct and employees in the lurch. The audacity of the alleged fraud and the subsequent downfall firmly place Joonko and its founder as a jive turkey of 2023, raising questions about accountability and the darker side of startup culture.
OpenAI’s Leadership Chaos: Altman, Brockman, and a Boardroom Jive Turkey
The biggest jive turkey of the year award goes to OpenAI, or more specifically, its boardroom antics. Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, who propelled OpenAI and ChatGPT to overnight success by democratizing access to generative AI, found themselves ousted by their own board. Despite a $13 billion investment from Microsoft, and the integration of OpenAI tech across Microsoft products, the board sacked Altman, leading to Brockman’s solidarity resignation. Microsoft, blindsided, swiftly hired Altman and Brockman to head a new AI venture, leaving OpenAI in turmoil. A mass employee revolt followed, with over 550 out of 700 employees demanding the board’s resignation. This leadership implosion, fueled by apparent boardroom drama and miscommunication, solidifies OpenAI’s place as the ultimate jive turkey of 2023. In the face of such corporate drama, one might legitimately ask, kid rock elon musk do you want to know jesus? as a potential path to clarity amidst chaos.
iCIMS’ CEO Brian Provost’s Abrupt Resignation
It pains us to include iCIMS, a long-time industry player, but their CEO situation earns them a jive turkey nod. Announced as CEO in Fall 2022, Brian Provost abruptly resigned by Fall 2023, citing “personal reasons.” While thoughts and prayers were initially offered, the lack of a transition plan or interim CEO suggests a less personal and more abrupt departure. Speculation abounds regarding the reasons, from a potential failed IPO vision to a mismatch in expectations. Regardless, iCIMS remains CEO-less, and Provost has moved on to board positions at Zenwork and Border Foods. Provost’s sudden exit and the ensuing uncertainty at iCIMS earn him a jive turkey award for leaving the company in leadership limbo.
SilkRoad Rebrands to Rival-HR: Lipstick on a Pig?
Finally, we have SilkRoad, a company founded in 2003, rebranding itself as Rival and changing its domain from the strong silkroad.com to the less impressive rival-hr.com. After 20 years as a talent platform, this change raises questions. Following HighBar Partners’ acquisition of SilkRoad in 2021, and the subsequent acquisition and CEO elevation from Entelo, further leadership changes culminated in the Rival-HR rebrand. This feels like a desperate attempt to revitalize a company that may have lost its way. HighBar Partners’ efforts to polish SilkRoad with a new name and domain earn them the “Little Piggy” award, a hammy addition to our jive turkey feast.
Conclusion: A Feast of Industry Fails
This Thanksgiving’s Jive Turkey awards showcase a year of significant missteps, from brand blunders to leadership meltdowns and questionable strategic pivots. From Elon Musk’s Twitter job board flop to Kid Rock’s brand hypocrisy, and the ethical failures at Joonko to the boardroom drama at OpenAI, 2023 served up a rich menu of industry jive turkeys. As we digest these tales of turkeys, we might ponder the bigger questions, perhaps even echoing, kid rock elon musk do you want to know jesus? in the face of such corporate absurdity. Happy Thanksgiving, and may your own endeavors be less turkey-like in the coming year.
