I read a lot of GlassDoor.com reviews. I do it for work. It’s a great way to get a feel for a client’s culture.
I’m smart enough to discount reviews from people who were recently fired from the company. I don’t ignore those reviews, but I discount the negative stuff. There’s a good chance that the disgruntled former employee is just venting. They feel wronged, even if they were terrible employees.
But I pay close attention to anything positive from these people. I figure, if someone just got fired, any positive reviews of their former employer are credible.
In case you’re not familiar with Glass Door, it’s a site that lets employees and contractors review the company they work for. Employees rate the company on a few aspects, then get to write open text reviews on three areas:
** Pros ** Cons ** Advice to Management
Today, James Comey, former FBI director, reviewed the boss that fired him. Instead of using GlassDoor.com, Comey vented his spleen to the United States Senate.
Comey’s testimony might as well have been a Glass Door review of President Trump, the guy who fired him.
Comey doesn’t seem to like the guy who fired him. That’s not unusual. Comey called Trump a liar. A lot of people who get fired call their bosses liars. Maybe the bosses are liars. Maybe not. Doesn’t really matter. People assume that the recently fired have a self-serving view of their own performance. And they probably have a worse opinion of their bosses than those bosses deserve.
I’ve been fired, just like James Comey. For weeks after, I painted the guy who fired me in the worst possible light. Doing so made me feel better for a moment.
But even while I was badmouthing my old boss to friends, I knew I shared the blame. Even though everything I had said about that boss was true (to some degree), I was conveniently leaving out the things I did to make his job of firing me easier. I painted myself in the best possible light.
So, let’s look at the positive things Comey said about Trump. Or the opportunities to implicate Trump that Comey dismissed.
James Comey admitted there’s no evidence of collusion with the Russians. In fact, he admitted that Trump was never even under investigation for wrongdoing.
Previously under oath, Comey swore that he never felt any pressured to end the Russian investigation or any other investigation.
And, even though Comey now thinks he can read Trump’s mind, Comey admits Trump never asked him or directed him to end the Flynn investigation. Everyone who knows the rules on obstruction of justice knows Trump did nothing wrong. Comey exonerated Trump today.
Most telling is this. Asked if he believes the guy who fired him did anything that constitutes obstruction of justice, Comey said he doesn’t know. No one would have blamed Comey if he’d said, “why, yes. Lordy, lordy, I think the obstructed justice.” It probably took a lot of strength for Comey to pass up that opportunity.
It’s pretty clear that Comey requested to testify to the Senate so he could make himself feel better by badmouthing the guy who fired him. On television. On the record. Yet, Comey wouldn’t go so far as to say the President did anything that might be illegal.
Look, if I got fired and then had a chance to stick it to the guy who fired me, I’d probably take it. So I can’t fault Comey for trying to paint Trump in the world possible light. Nor can I blame him for trying to make himself look blameless.
But I tend to discount negative reports from recently fired employees. And I assume anything they say that’s positive is an understatement. Given that methodology, Comey overstated Trump’s negatives and understated Trump’s innocence.
In a few months, Comey will be telling people that Trump merely hoped he’d be fair to General Flynn, and hope isn’t a crime. It’ll give him closure.