OpenAI, Sam Altman, and the Disposable Employee Mindset

Sam Altman was deemed a “disposable employee” until he was fired.

And all hell was let loose at OpenAI, the company best known for gifting the world, ChatGPT, the revolutionary conversational AI technology.

While many business leaders tout the “employees-are-our-greatest-asset” mantra, the unwritten convention is that every worker is dispensable.

The fact that OpenAI fired Sam Altman, a highly talented individual, shows that the “disposable employee mindset” is still prevalent in many organizations.

This article x-rays how the disposable employee mindset nearly doomed Open AI and proposes applying the VRIN strategic framework to help talent managers in such situations.

The unwanted consequences of Sam Altman’s firing

To be clear, Altman was not fired for not making the numbers. Rather, he was deemed dispensable for running faster than the Board. Altman’s accelerated approach to AI deployment was too risky, perhaps even dangerous, as reported by VentureBeat.

Initially, Altman’s firing made sense. With strong apprehensions in some quarters about the dangers of unrestricted Artificial General Intelligence (aka, AI for humanity), why should any single leader’s ambitions supersede precaution and ethics?

But the swift fallout said it all - investors, developers, and especially OpenAI's staff fiercely protested, with some threatening departure. To them, Altman epitomized the trailblazing technical ingenuity, vision, and funding capability that defined the company.

The Danger of the Disposable Employee Mindset

The disposable employee mindset - the belief that workers are replaceable as long as operations run smoothly - is more pronounced where unemployment is high. Managers are quick to act as if staff replacements are just a call away. On the other hand, employees seeing themselves as dispensable are happy to put in minimum effort and engagement drive.

However, in this era where digitalization - and now, artificial intelligence - drives everything, it may be time for business leaders to interrogate the “disposable employee mindset” if they want to sustain innovation and competitiveness.

Shelley Smith, best-selling author, in a Forbes article, calls it a slash-and-burn tactic. The unintended consequences - disengaged staff, soaring turnover, and poor quality control - render this approach untenable. It may improve book values in the short term but does hamper competitiveness and innovation in the long run.

But what happens when an employee is deemed disposable - but found indispensable? This was the embarrassment that OpenAI found itself in the sacking - and immediate re-hiring - of an individual called Sam Altman, who is arguably its most valuable resource.

Talk of a near miss!

Altman’s high-profile case proves that top talents now possess the truly unique vision and competence needed to steer businesses through the turbulence of this digital era.

A wrong firing decision doesn’t just go away with the recall of the employee. The gun was pulled once. How can I sleep again with both eyes closed? If they can fire Sam, who am I? Apprehensive attitudes like that do not help employee productivity and team performance.

But not all employees are rainmakers like Sam Altman. The ones who are not know that if it happens to them, Tech Nation will not stand still as it did for Altman. Such fellas will expectedly be doing their gigs with a mind that is already disengaged.

How the VRIN Framework Helps Talent Managers Moderate the Disposable Employee Mindset

There is no debating the fact that we are no longer in the era of life-long employment. Employees may have to be let go when the business informs such actions.

But how can talent managers avoid the Sam Altman fiasco?

For those who work with the popular Resource Based View (RBV) of strategy, Sam Altman as a resource at OpenAI ticks all the boxes for Valuable, Rare, Imitable, and Non-substitutable (VRIN). Within days of his celebrated firing, the board had reversed course and reinstated Altman in what seemed like a race against time, to prevent a strategic meltdown at OpenAi.

VRIN is a tool for assessing the strategic value of key organizational resources. It helps to guide the allocation of resources when applied.

Just as hiring managers take measures to avoid what they call Previously Unidentified Recruitment Error (PURE), VRIN can help managers make better firing decisions when they have to.

But it is not limited to employee disengagement only.

Talent managers can apply the VRIN framework beyond firing decisions, integrating it throughout the employee lifecycle.

VRIN gives talent managers an evidence-based means of assessing who their truly strategic human assets are.

Final Words

Business leaders who want their organizations to remain competitive in today’s digital age will do well to be extra mindful of the disposable employee mindset.

Sam Altman may be back, but not a few feathers were ruffled. Altman may be back, but morale, trust, and team spirit are not revived just by an email to employees announcing the return of Sam Altman.

PS/ To further explore how to apply VRIN for assessing your strategic talent resources, you may drop a message and let's talk.

Share your experience: Have you encountered the disposable employee mentality at work? Talent Managers - have you applied VRIN to talent management before? Share your experience.