Arrowhead anxiety: Turnover off the field causes concern

[Dr. Gigglepants]

Secrecy, intimidation, fear and a watchful eye have become hallmarks of working for the Chiefs, say some current and former employees.

BY KENT BABB THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Todd Haley walked into the public relations office at Chiefs headquarters on a Thursday in early December. Four days before he was fired as the team’s coach, he wanted to talk about what life was like inside this organization. But he didn’t know who else might be listening.

continued...

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14...nover-off.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------
This article goes into a lot of detail on the changes that came into effect with the Pioli regime. Sounds like a shitty ass place to work now.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by DRU

He interviewed just as many that said this was nothing. He just chose not to focus on those guys.

Some of you may follow UFC. Whether you do or not, there's an interesting thing going on there right now that is on the same subject here.

To keep it short, ESPN wrote an article trashing the UFC for underpaying their fighters. They did an interview with the 1 fighter they could find that wanted to trash the UFC, and they also did an interview with Lorenzo Fertitta, one of the owners of the UFC, and they're using that interview, edited to their own liking, to prove some of their points.

Dana White, the president of the UFC, is pissed about it, and has stated that he's going to use the same exact interview footage (since they had their cameras there, too) to create an edited version of the same video to make it look like the UFC is doing everything great and fighters couldn't be happier. Then he's going to show the entire, unedited interview, to show just exactly how easy it is to spin details and create stories.

I think it's going to be interesting.

Another example...I worked for a small business a few years ago that got raided by the FBI because they thought the company was selling counterfeit product. News crews were there and it was the first time I experienced a first hand experience with the media. They interviewed me and other employees.

Then I watched the news that night and they completely spun everything we had said in a direction that could not have been more incorrect. EVERYTHING they said on the news about the situation was completely wrong. It was shocking to me how badly they presented the information.

If you don't trust Pioli, fine. I don't like Cassel either. But to trust the media and base your own thoughts and decisions on them is just...well...let's say you'll be leading a very blissful life.

This wasn't an expose. I've worked with PR departments very closely before and have seen them before. In those situations, we had our PR group reach out to the media guy and they refused to talk to us. This, on the other hand, was a thoughtful piece and Mark Donovan had a ton of air time and a chance to address almost every allegation. And Babb also included former employees (that he was actually allowed to interview) and even people from departments like HR. Don't paint this as some kind of one-sided puff piece.

The reason why the story is weighted more heavily toward the negative is because Scott Pioli chose not to speak to Babb. Anyone who's been in PR knows that "no comment" is about the worst thing you can do if you're trying to save face. The problem is, I think Pioli is way too egotistical to understand PR. He's under the mentality that I have one way of doing things and if you don't like it, **** you.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Rexx

Regardless of how much of this article is true, it still paints a bad picture of Pioli and the organization as a whole.

There is way too much negative press around Pioli and this regime since he was hired. First it was Whitlock, then last year we had the whole blowup with the Weis/Haley divorce (and Pioli had a huge hand in that, because he forced Weis on Haley), and now Babb drops this bomb.

You can say "hey, it's because the media is so mad!!!" but they trashed the hell out of Carl Peterson and there was tons of access during his twilight years. They gave Athan practically unfettered access to Herm Edwards.

Too much negativity for my tastes. The franchise has major issues that appear to present a terrible working environment.

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by chief52

I do not know the law, but I know my conversations on the work phone are recorded and I have never signed anything. We all just know it is recorded I guess, but there has never been paper work or an explanation of it. We can hear a beep periodically when we talk. Yes, the conversations have been pulled back up.

That's why I said 99%. Most companies require you to sign an acknowledgement to protect themselves legally so an employee can't come back and claim they were never informed.

[Messier]

The accusations that the organization doesn't care about winning, only making money have been floated for years. They don't make sense. They were wrong when people were saying it about Peterson, and they're wrong now. If you believe Pioli has a huge ego, then you'd have to believe he wants to win more than anything else. Nothing would feed his ego more than winning a super bowl and rubbing it Belichicks face that he can do it on his own.

The reason is screwed up, but the desire is just as strong as wanting it for the fans, or anything else.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Omega

Pioli had a huge hand in that, because he forced Weis on Haley)

link?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Laz

link?

What, you think Haley hired Weis?

[DRU]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

This wasn't an expose. I've worked with PR departments very closely before and have seen them before. In those situations, we had our PR group reach out to the media guy and they refused to talk to us. This, on the other hand, was a thoughtful piece and Mark Donovan had a ton of air time and a chance to address almost every allegation. And Babb also included former employees (that he was actually allowed to interview) and even people from departments like HR. Don't paint this as some kind of one-sided puff piece.

The reason why the story is weighted more heavily toward the negative is because Scott Pioli chose not to speak to Babb. Anyone who's been in PR knows that "no comment" is about the worst thing you can do if you're trying to save face. The problem is, I think Pioli is way too egotistical to understand PR. He's under the mentality that I have one way of doing things and if you don't like it, **** you.

I guarantee you somebody in the media could have taken all of the exact same information and turned it into a story about how great Pioli is and how we good of a job he's done turning this organization around if they wanted to.

They go to school for it, and they learn a lot more about how to do it once they've got a job in the field. They're very good at spinning details one way or another. It happens every day on any media outlet you ever watch, read, or listen to.

Babb is just stirring up shit because he doesn't like Pioli (probably because he won't do interviews with him), and he's done a great job of it.

[Messier]

Originally Posted by DRU

He interviewed just as many that said this was nothing. He just chose not to focus on those guys.

Some of you may follow UFC. Whether you do or not, there's an interesting thing going on there right now that is on the same subject here.

To keep it short, ESPN wrote an article trashing the UFC for underpaying their fighters. They did an interview with the 1 fighter they could find that wanted to trash the UFC, and they also did an interview with Lorenzo Fertitta, one of the owners of the UFC, and they're using that interview, edited to their own liking, to prove some of their points.

Dana White, the president of the UFC, is pissed about it, and has stated that he's going to use the same exact interview footage (since they had their cameras there, too) to create an edited version of the same video to make it look like the UFC is doing everything great and fighters couldn't be happier. Then he's going to show the entire, unedited interview, to show just exactly how easy it is to spin details and create stories.

I think it's going to be interesting.

Another example...I worked for a small business a few years ago that got raided by the FBI because they thought the company was selling counterfeit product. News crews were there and it was the first time I'd had a first hand experience with the media. They interviewed me and other employees, but we didn't have much to give them because there really wasn't much of a story.

Then I watched the news that night and they completely spun everything we had said in a direction that could not have been more incorrect. EVERYTHING they said on the news about the situation was completely wrong. It was shocking to me how badly they presented the information.

If you don't trust Pioli, fine. I don't like Cassel either. But to trust the media and base your own thoughts and decisions on them is just...well...let's say you'll be leading a very blissful life.

This!

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by Rexx

Regardless of how much of this article is true, it still paints a bad picture of Pioli and the organization as a whole. When you are trying to recruit coaches, this is not something you want out there. Pioli is slowing painting himself into a corner, one that he likely won't get out of. The best thing he could do to slow the mounting pressure from fans and media is get another QB! Otherwise, I dont see this ending well for him unless Clark is blind to the obvious...which is definitely a possibility.

Agreed. Dismissing the the complaints from previous employees, it's still obvious that Pioli is a serious micro-manager. This is great when you have staff that need to be directed in everything they do, but most competent folks who are good in their fields don't like to work for people like this.

Then again, this may be mostly on the operations side and he may treat the football side completely differently.

[OnTheWarpath15]

So while our GM is worried about candy wrappers and the price of coffee, this franchise has won 21 games in 3 years. Blinds closed, phones tapped - how about focusing on things that impact what happens between the white lines on Sundays? And we thought Peterson had a huge ego...

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Omega

What, you think Haley hired Weis?

just wanting to know where the proof is that Pioli forced anyone on Haley.

If Pioli was forcing Haley then why did he let Haley do something stupid like fire Gailey 2 weeks before the season started? If he didn't force Haley not to do that stupid shit then why would he force a OC on Haley at all?

If Pioli was forcing Haley then how in the hell did Muir end up as OC? That sure as hell wasn't a Pioli idea.

Bunch of made-up bullshit floating around here when in reality we have no idea what's true.

Haley isn't a victim ... he screwed up his own bed and had to sleep in it.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by memyselfI

The absolute best thing that could happen for this franchise would be for the Hunt family to sell to a group of local business people who live in the city and care not only about WINNING football but the community.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

REP FOR YOU PAL!!!!

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Laz

Nobody he talked to had ANY proof at all.

This article might as well have been called 'Arrowhead Watercooler talk'

only the electronic surveillance rumor means anything at all and it's completely unproven.

IF ... Haley really thought his cellphone had been tapped it would of been pretty easy to go somewhere and have it checked. I imagine even a tech at a local phone shop could open it up and check it to see if a component had been added to the inside. Hell, he could just keep the sim chip and exchange the phone to a different model if he was that concerned.

If Haley thought it was actually his phone # line was really tapped then i'm sure the FBI would just love to know about a company making illegal wire taps on their own.

You honestly think the chiefs are going to risk going to federal prison just to hear what that moron Todd Haley has to say to his wife?

Wow, so we should throw out any case where there is strong eyewitness testimony? You know... because we're relying on people's word. Again, you don't look at these as facts. You look at them as patterns. And there is a lot of both in this article and everything we already know.

I don't think anyone really believes Haley's cell phone was tampered with. The problem was that the organization drove him to that level of paranoia. I imagine that paranoia stemmed from him wondering how private information became discovered. What's the pattern? We know that the Chiefs were so invasive of his private life that they were calling in radio shows leaking out that Haley was going to a Lil Wayne concert and having pizza with his family. We saw multiple sources claiming that office phone, e-mail, and internet records were not just monitored, but heavily monitored. We heard a story about Denny Thum having months of phone records scrutinized. We know that Pioli has invaded people's privacy in the past. The pattern suggests that this paranoia is very real, that their communications within Arrowhead are not only heavily monitored, but acted upon. And by the way, he's the one who built the culture around Spygate--you don't think that is a pretty damning piece of evidence that this organization might go beyond the lengths of what is ethical to invade associates' privacy? Again, there is a lot of legal area for companies to invade your privacy by monitoring communications. But this is the first I've heard of a company building a system around stretching every boundary they can.

What patterns do we see of a systematic problem? We heard a story that lots of people are denied access to certain floors (I doubt that's made up). We've heard a heavy pattern of stories in this article and multiple others that seem to show that Pioli most definitely has a big ego (the courier van, the temperature of his office, calling him by his first name--that's not details, that's just pettiness). The claim that the Chiefs all draw their shades down is very real... you can have an opinion, if you choose, as to whether that's good or bad. Same with the gum wrapper--that was very real. The fact that co-workers from different departments have to go to great lengths to hide the fact that they're going to lunch together... that appears to be true too.

And, again... I can guarantee that the age discrimination is only going to make this whole thing worse.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by notorious

Some employees bitch, some adapt.


The employees that bitch usually blow things out of proportion.


But, for the life of me, I can not figure out that if Pioli has such an eye for detail, how can he be blind when it comes to Cassel?

Simple, he's on trash detail in the stairwells. Perhaps his blinds are closed too. More likely, he just stupid too. Unlike NE, he doesn't have BB to run the players... He may have been an ass there too, but he had a coach who was better at his job than Pioli was at being an ass, so he just let him be.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by DRU

I guarantee you somebody in the media could have taken all of the exact same information and turned it into a story about how great Pioli is and how we good of a job he's done turning this organization around if they wanted to.

They go to school for it, and they learn a lot more about how to do it once they've got a job in the field. They're very good at spinning details one way or another. It happens every day on any media outlet you ever watch, read, or listen to.

Babb is just stirring up shit because he doesn't like Pioli (probably because he won't do interviews with him), and he's done a great job of it.

Oh, give me a break. On most accusations there is a counter-quote from a current Associate who defends the practice. And in most cases, the Associate basically confirms that the story is true, and then spins it in a positive light. Of course the piece is skewed toward the negative, but to suggest that this is a biased piece of journalism is a huge discredit to the piece. That is absolute baloney to say he's "stirring up shit." This is a very well, mostly balanced piece. Give it more credit than that.

Most media outlets try to sensationalize pieces by offering one story, misrepresenting quotes, or by offering a ton about the cons and less about the pros. Babb did none of that. He has direct quotes. He pulled from supposedly 2 dozen "disgruntled" sources, 8 current associates (that appears to be Pioli's doing and, by the way, Pioli was given a fair chance to respond). There are no baseless accusations--every accusation appeared to have been posed to Donovan and the HR person, etc... and addressed. And the pros vs. cons is somewhere around 60%/40%, which is pretty well balanced for a journalist piece.

I think the fact that you're trying to discredit the piece goes to show your bias toward the organization, more than anything.