A marketing CEO was mocked this week after posting a tearful selfie to LinkedIn in an effort to show that not all CEOs are “cold-hearted.”
Bradon Wallake, CEO of marketing agency Hypersocial, posted the sad selfie to LinkedIn on Wednesday. In under 24 hours, the post received around 7,000 comments.
In his post, Mr. Wallake described laying off his employees as one of the hardest things he has ever had to do.
“I made a decision in February and stuck with that decision for far too long. Now, I know my team will say that ‘we made that decision together,’ but I lead us into it. And because of those failings, I had to do today, the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
His post does not detail the decision in question, but Mr. Wallake assured commenters that he would explain more in a later post.
Comments under the post were ruthless in their criticism.
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“How about using your network to help those employees find new jobs by tagging them and putting them in the spotlight, as opposed to whining about making difficult decisions as a leader and posting a crying selfie? One of the most out of touch posts I’ve seen in a long time,” one commenter replied.
Some did come to his defense, however, including one of his employees that he fired.
“To those who would look to hire me, I’m only interested in working for people like Braden Wallake who has a positive outlook on life. I’m not interested in working for you if you think working more hours ONLY to make more money is the most valuable way to spend your time” former Hypersocial employee Noah Smith said in a LinkedIn post.
The CEO apparently took on some sacrifices in an attempt to keep the two employees that were let go, including reducing his own pay to $0.
Mr. Wallake himself has commented on the selfie but hopes that the reaction will be a learning process for him and help his former employees find new jobs.
“I’ve laughed at people on other social media platforms who have posted pictures of themselves crying. And then I did it. I have no doubt that this post can be a useful tool to either keep those employees or help them find better positions.”
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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