So this is my first post. A little about me, I’m one of the many businessmen you see walking into WaMu Center each morning. I more or less enjoy my job, still have a fair amount of my youthful idealism left and still believe WaMu can be a great company although it is in dire need of change. I can pretty much guarantee you’ve seen me in the building and you may even know me, let’s just hope you don’t recognize my writing style.
I decided to start this website today after a particularly brutal week at work. We all know WaMu is hurting right now and needs changes. We also all know that Project Restart is a joke in how limited its scope was. Impacts were somewhat noticeable in Treasury, on 15th floor and in parts of Home Loans, but come on … other than the Stockton move I’ve heard less than 15 people in Retail segment were let go? Are you kidding me? I came home and googled around for some additional WaMu discussions online and found a pretty sorry lot of messages here and here. However in the later postings on this website I found what I was looking for. Intelligent and informed conversation about WaMu, what’s working, what’s not.
My hope is this blog can be a place where lively, intelligent, informed opinions and insights about WaMu with a very healthy dose of cynicism and sarcasm (both strongly encouraged) can mix and entertain. But believe it or not the ultimate goal is to better WaMu through fleshing out ideas, ways to improve, and exposing the flaws of our favorite company, all while staying civil and intelligent. Sounds Pollyanish, but as long as there’s a little youthful optimism left in me, I’ll hope for the best.
Feel free to email me at flash@insidewamu.com - no information/opinion is too trivial. I’ll try and post regularly for a few weeks and see what happens. If it takes off, great. If not then I guess there’s just not that big of a market in WaMu talk. I’ll consider the blog a success if some of the discussions on here are implemented and WaMu becomes a better bank.
So here’s a couple topics to get started:
- WaMu needs to reduce employees dramatically. It’s simply too big and bloated - particularly in the headquarters positions. A smallish project Restart is not good enough. Imagine if overnight every headquarters employee with a UID ending in an odd number was let go this weekend (or even number, whatever). How would the bank function differently on Monday? Think specifically about the team you’re on. If you were down to 4 instead of 8, would the critical items required of your team to make the bank a success still get done? Yes. Would the BS projects, multiple Starbucks trips and “make busy” meetings with no purpose/action items and other non-value adding functions go away? Yes. Would it materially affect revenues? No. Would it materially affect expenses and resulting profits? Absolutely. In fact the remaining employees would probably be able to get sizable raises since company would no longer need to subsidize non-value adding employees ala Soviet Union in the 80’s.
- Related to above: What % of people that you deal with on a day-to-day basis add no value to the bank? If you were in HR how would you devise a system to identify these people and get rid of them? I have a couple ideas I’ll share over next few days because it’s clear that simple performance reviews don’t work when you have employees noses up their managers asses and other managers blindly obsessed with building FTE empires regardless of how their team performs.
- If you were Kerry for just one day what would be your #1 priority?
- Onto the lighter stuff: Do you believe Steve Rotella is a “sleeper agent” from Chase sent here to help lower the bid Chase will eventually need to buy us? (I don’t buy this one, but love some of the conspiracy theories I’ve heard at work)
- And just how much $ does the Starbucks in the lobby make each day? Is it the most profitable Starbucks store in the world?
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8 responses so far ↓
1 EnjoyedWamu // Jul 20, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Hey Dude whoever you are. Can you locate on line the information (and post it) about Kerry’s exit package and Steve’s? I found it a long time ago but can’t find it now. Their exit packages were modified at the end of 2007 and recorded. The main change was that their exit benefit now includes a parachute in case Wamu is acquired.
2 Villa Dweller // Jul 22, 2008 at 10:19 pm
EnjoyedWamu - I get the sense Flash knows the following, but I thought I would post anyway. The 2007 Proxy Statement filed on 03/14/08 has a section beginning on page 52 entitled “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control.” The section, with included tables, outlines the various payment scenarios and termination package values (including accelerated stock vesting) for each of the Named Executive Officers. The largest valued packages are typically those that include termination after a “change in control” of the company. The revised employment agreements that you reference are also available on the site in the form of an 8-K filing dated 01/07/08.
You will find these documents on the public WaMu.com web site under the “About WaMu” link at the top, then under “Financial Results and News,” then click on “SEC Filings.”
Since I am html illiterate, I will have to just paste the url: http://investors.wamu.com/irweblinkx/docs.aspx?iid=102028
Happy reading.
3 Flash // Jul 23, 2008 at 6:30 am
Thanks Villa. My impression at the time was that this wasn’t really something that should get people’s panties in a bunch, it was just standard corporate change-in-control language albeit unfortunately timed for release.
I plan on writing in the next week or so on this comparing our inner-circle CIC clauses vs Wells, Wachovia, BofA’s to confirm though. If there’s anything our recent string of quarterly #s show, it’s that a WaMulian’s first instinct really should be verified by data first.
4 What the hell is a Wamullian // Jul 23, 2008 at 8:30 pm
& What % of people that you deal with on a day-to-day basis add no value to the bank? If you were in HR how would you devise a system to identify these people and get rid of them?
Here’s an idea.
Take a look at peoples Outlook calendars, anyone below a level 7 that spends 50% of their time, or more, in meetings is a drain. Never in my life have I seen so many people try to justify their existence and mask their lack of contribution.
& If you were Kerry for just one day what would be your #1 priority?
Retire and move away from Seattle before the shareholders lynch me!
5 Flash // Jul 23, 2008 at 8:49 pm
what the hell is a wamulian - I love your Outlook idea. I’ve also thought of having everyone in the bank name the three people (or whatever number) they most depend on to do their job. Then you aggregate every submission and pretty quickly find the people who a) no one depends on, add-no value and you can fire them. (There would be serious overlap amongst this list and your Outlook idea).
But also this would let you find b) the analysts and managers that really make the bank tick, that everyone depends on.
I’d fire all the a’s and take at least 50% of their salary to give the b’s a serious raise.
It would be great if you or I had the power to implement these ideas … we might be able to save this poor bank and keep an institution in Seattle where it belongs.
6 What the hell is a Wamullian // Jul 23, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Thanks Flash. Here is another thought.
Let’s have HR ask people what their job is and how they contribute. Fire everyone who cannot answer the question, gives a BS canned answer or answers with “Well, I oversee”
We can start with Kerry - It would go like this;
HR: “Hi Kerry, what is your job?”
KK: Well I operate a Fair, Caring, Human, Driven and Dynamic multi-billion dollar corporation and my job is to ensure that we are profitable and protect our shareholders investments.”
HR: “Umm.. How’s that going for you?”
KK: “Do I have enough time to grab my Lil’Bush DVD collection and “I hate Cramer” t-shirt before I’m escorted off the property?”
I firmly believe his days are numbered. This guy has an ego the size of Mt. Rainier and a Napolianic complex to match. If something doesn’t change Wall Street will be the next Waterloo.
7 uXXXXXX // Jul 24, 2008 at 12:37 pm
“What % of people that you deal with on a day-to-day basis add no value to the bank? If you were in HR how would you devise a system to identify these people and get rid of them? I have a couple ideas I’ll share over next few days because it’s clear that simple performance reviews don’t work when you have employees noses up their managers asses and other managers blindly obsessed with building FTE empires regardless of how their team performs.” - Wow, its like your in my head. Amen, Amen, Amen….
8 ghostofcorcoran // Jul 25, 2008 at 12:32 am
A lot of that is Corporate America 101. You are always going to have your brown-nosers, meeting-attenders, etc. Why do you think Dilbert was such a hit?
The tragedy at WaMu is the number of people still in Home Loans who are directly responsible for the trouble the company is in today. If I were an employee of another part of the company, maybe with some 401k money invested in WM stock, I would be seriously p*ssed off at Killinger and Rotella for not getting rid of most of them.
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