It's amazing how the "macro environment" is responsible for all the layoffs, but never responsible for any of the growth.
Even companies aren't immune to fundamental attribution error.
Even companies aren't immune to fundamental attribution error.
Does anyone really question that growth over the past 10 years, particularly in the 2020-2021 COVID money printing era, wasn't due to the macro environment?
Given how cheap/free money was for so long, it made total sense to hire and focus on growth and cornering markets without being concerned about margins or long-term profitability. Now that money isn't cheap, companies are concerned about those things and are making changes to their businesses. This is all intentional.
You're right. People pretty much know that external circumstances are responsible for a large part of the growth of companies.
I think the parent commenter was highlighting that execs routinely claim responsibility for growth(and collect outsized rewards) while attributing a majority of problems to external factors out of their control(also while escaping consequences by redirecting them to rank and file). It's a sweet gig if you can get it!
How many people have increased their salaries significantly over that time? Do you think they put it down to their own achievement or do you think they believed that they were merely riding an economic wave?