“Sign this resignation letter, or we end your empl…

The new COO was Levi Coleman, thirty-seven, who had been a vice president at Dominion Corporate for exactly eighteen months and believed he understood everything about software companies because he had once managed one for eight months before it failed dramatically. They scheduled a mandatory companywide meeting for March 3 at 10:00 a.m. Cameron stood in our main conference room, a space I had personally designed when we relocated to the building in 2013, selecting every piece of furniture, negotiating every equipment contract, even choosing the specific shade of gray paint for the walls.

Then he delivered the standard corporate acquisition speech I had heard nearly word for word from three other companies. “We’re incredibly excited about this partnership,” he announced with rehearsed enthusiasm that fooled absolutely nobody with real corporate experience. “Nothing fundamental is going to change.

We deeply value your contributions. Your positions are completely secure. Together, we’ll achieve unprecedented success.

Dominion acquired Ascent specifically because of the exceptional talent here, and we’re committed to preserving that culture and expertise.”readmore below