Twitter’s former product manager, Esther Crawford, became viral for sleeping on the office floor and later being fired by then-CEO Elon Musk. Crawford says that Musk lives inside an “echo chamber” and she is surprised “by his willingness to burn so much down” in her lengthy post on Twitter, now known as X, about the work culture at Twitter before the acquisition and working closely with Musk. She also shared a 14-minute video talking about her experience.
She explained that being on the top makes one surrounded by several yes people when they need to hear hard truths. She said that she was never a “silent wallflower” and always shared her opinions openly and pushed back often.
She revealed that Musk is a “charming” and “funny” guy but his personality and demeanour “can turn on a dime going from excited to angry”. Hence, it was difficult for employees to read his mood. They became afraid of him whenever they were called for a meeting or had to break negative news to him.
Talking about his decision-making technique, Crawford revealed that he likes to go with his gut rather than relying on data or expertise. She wrote, “That was particularly frustrating for me since I believed I had useful institutional knowledge that could help him make better decisions. Instead, he'd poll Twitter, ask a friend, or even ask his biographer for product advice.”
The former Twitter Blue head also said that Musk seemed quite alone because “his time and energy was so purely devoted to work”. She added, “Money and fame can create psychological prisons which may worsen mental health conditions.”
Talking about her viral picture of sleeping on the conference room floor, Crawford stated, “I was given a nearly impossible deadline for his first project and as the product lead I would never ask anyone to do anything I wasn’t willing to do myself. So I worked round the clock alongside an amazing team spanning many time zones, and we delivered it on schedule — truly against the odds. It was intense but also fun.”
Crawford talked about Musk rebranding the platform. She wrote, “Perhaps X becomes a resounding success or it fails epically. Either way, I expect it will continue to be a very entertaining ride."
Also Read:
Apple iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro prices leaked online ahead of launch