Welcome to Edition #88 of Gorick's newsletter, where Harvard career advisor and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Gorick Ng shares what they don't teach you in school about how to succeed in your career.
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→ Read time: 9 min
STORY
Why OpenAI (the makers of ChatGPT) keeps losing people
Imagine this: You helped build ChatGPT, the generative AI tool that even Bill Gates called “revolutionary.”
Or, imagine that you joined ChatGPT’s team to help roll it out to its now 300 million weekly users.
Either way, it means you’d be working for an organization named OpenAI that has been praised as “the tech company to end all tech companies.”
Pretty sweet, right? So… What would make you quit? This question is not rhetorical for many of OpenAI’s team members. The organization is having a very real employee retention crisis right now.
But why?
Simply put, the OpenAI that people believed in and helped build is no longer the OpenAI that exists today.
When ChatGPT launched in November of 2022, there were 4 key members on OpenAI’s leadership team: Mira Murati (chief technology officer) Sam Altman (chief executive), Greg Brockman (president), and Ilya Sutskever (chief scientist).
There were also 6 core values as listed on their website:
- “Audacious”
- “Thoughtful”
- “Unpretentious”
- “Impact-driven”
- “Collaborative”
- “Growth-oriented”
Fast forward 1 year after launch, and those same core values were “quietly revised.”
The new values?
- “AGI focus”*
- “Intense and scrappy”
- “Scale”
- “Make something people love”
- “Team spirit”*
“AGI” stands for “artificial general intelligence”—and is even followed by the sentence: “Anything that doesn’t help with that is out of scope.”
As OpenAI’s corporate values changed, so did its leadership team.
Both Sutskever and Murati left the organization less than 2 years after ChatGPT’s launch. Brockman temporarily took a sabbatical but returned this past month.
Meanwhile, discontent among employees—specifically non-executive members—also grew.
Take former OpenAI group organizer, researcher, and philosopher Daniel Kokotajlo. He left because “he lost confidence that OpenAI would behave responsibly.”
Then there’s Suchir Balaji, the 25-year-old researcher who left OpenAI after 4 years because he “came to the conclusion that OpenAI’s use of copyrighted data violated the law.”
Ethical controversy aside, OpenAI has another key mismatch between where it used to be and where it is today: The organization’s “more commercial focus” has led to a culture where “people who like to do research are being forced to do product.”
Hiring trends at OpenAI support these frustrations. In 2021, 23% of new hires were researchers. In 2024? The percentage of researchers dropped to 4%.
Meanwhile, OpenAI’s “talent exodus” has given competitors an opening to fill the void.
For example:
- Microsoft stepped in and offered any OpenAI employees “a role at Microsoft that matches your compensation and advances our collective mission”
- Salesforce stepped in and offered to “match any OpenAI researcher who has tendered their resignation full cash & equity OTE" (OTE stands for ‘on target earnings,’ which means you can make more money if you reach certain goals)
- Anthropic (who created Claude, a competitor to ChatGPT), stepped in and offered a “return to hands-on technical work” and a chance to “continue the superalignment mission”*
*Superalignment is the terminology used by OpenAI and other AI organizations for “humans' ability to supervise AI.”
Will OpenAI really become “the tech company to end all tech companies”?
Maybe. Or not—and someone else will.
Or, like many industries, there will be a duopoly (like Pepsi and Coke) or an oligopoly (like the airline industry with Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines controlling 78% of the U.S. airline market).
But not even ChatGPT can predict the future with 100% certainty. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.
UNSPOKEN RULE
Find the root cause of your problem
On page 207 of my book, The Unspoken Rules, in the chapter titled “Resolve Conflicts,” I share one of my favorite frameworks whenever anyone asks me the question, “Should I quit my job?”
Here’s my framework: If you ever find yourself feeling anxious, overwhelmed, bored, unmotivated—or really any negative emotion at work—it’s important to ask yourself:
“What’s the root cause?”
According to my framework, there are 3 possible root causes: The people, the position, and the place.
When I read the news that OpenAI is losing employees left and right, I immediately flipped back to this framework—and realized that OpenAI employees who are quitting are citing every single problem I listed.
Here’s the run-down:
Life is too short to be unhappy at work. After all, work is where we spend at least one third of our lives. And, those who enjoy their work more actually tend to live happier lives. This all means one thing: find work you like!
So… what can you do if you’re not happy at work?
Don’t quit your job… yet! First, ask yourself:
Do I have (A) a people problem, (B) a position problem, or (C) a place problem?
(A) If you have a people problem, see if it’s possible to switch teams.
- How: Contact someone you know and like somewhere else in the organization and ask, “I love what you’re working on with _______ and would love to work with you more closely given how well _______. Do you know of any open roles on the team?”
- To note: Moving laterally isn’t easy, especially if your current manager wants to keep you. To move, you’ll need someone to pull you in.
(B) If you have a position problem, see what else you might enjoy doing instead.
- How: Contact someone you know who has a career that intrigues you and ask, “Might you have 30 minutes over the coming days to catch up? I’m frankly questioning whether _______ is the right path for me long-term and wanted to get your take on what it’s like to work in _______.”
- To note: Bonus points if this person used to hold the job you hold right now, since they can then also shed light on how you can transition like they did.
(C) If you have a place problem, start making a list of where you could work instead.
- How: Make a list of people you know who work at places you’re interested in. Then, ask them: “Might you have 30 minutes over the coming days to share your experience at _______? I’m exploring the possibility of _______ and would love to follow in your footsteps—but would first love your honest take on what it’s like.”
- To note: If you don’t know anyone at a place you want to work for, that’s OK! Look for people who could introduce you to people who work at these places. In other words, look for LinkedIn second-degree connections!
Solving your problem begins with diagnosing your problem. So, as much as you may want a quick fix, pause—and think!
PS: Do you hire people or lead a team? If so, there’s another lesson for you: Filling an open position is only your short-term task. Your long-term goal? To match people to roles and projects that align with their goals, interests, and strengths. Not sure why each member of your team is here? Ask them!
What’s an “unspoken rule”? They’re the things that separate those who get ahead from those who stumble—and don’t know why. You can learn more about these rules in the workplace in my Wall Street Journal bestselling book called—you guessed it—The Unspoken Rules.
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Enjoying my newsletter?
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ASK GORICK ANYTHING
How to get to know my skip manager?
Q: “How can I build relationships with my manager's manager without stepping on my manager's toes?”
—H
Gorick:
Hi H!
Thanks for submitting a question.
It’s hard to give a nuanced answer without knowing your specific circumstances (and your relationship with your own manager), but here’s my general framework:
(1) Ask yourself, To what extent is my manager (a) not threatened by me, (b) secure about the status and trajectory of their own career, and (c) supportive of me?
- The more they feel threatened or insecure (and the less they like you, frankly), the more they’ll stand in your way, and the harder your job will be. If this is you, tread carefully—and consider asking someone who’s worked with this manager before for tips on how to deal with this manager.
(2) Ask to attend meetings where your manager’s manager will also be in the room
- That way, you’re subtly asking your manager to enable this interaction (and testing their willingness to do so). Here’s a phrase from The Core Deck of my “How to Say It” flashcards series that you can try:
- “Do you mind if I join you at the upcoming _______? I’d love to [learn more about / help] with _______.” I realize [it's not common to have guests / _______], but even being a fly on the wall would help me [better understand / do a better job of] _______. [For whatever it's worth / If it'd be helpful], I'm happy to _______.”
(3) Make your manager look good when your manager’s manager is in the room
- Shouting out your manager in front of your manager’s manager with a phrase like, “Thanks to _______ for _______” or “With the help of _______…” can help your manager feel more secure—and hopefully see more pros than cons in having you in the room.
(4) Speak up when you’re in the meeting room (if the hierarchy permits)
- It’s easier to continue a conversation with your manager’s manager than to start a one-on-one from scratch. So, plant the seeds for the follow-up conversation by asking them a question, raising a comment, or maybe even leading the meeting at some point.
(5) Approach them afterwards with a follow-up comment and question
- Your success at this step onwards depends a great deal on how well you’ve taken the first 4 steps. If you’ve been successful at steps 1-4, this should be easy. If not, proceed with caution.
- When in doubt, try using phrases like, “I had a follow-up question about _______”, or simply “Just wanted to say thank you for _______ earlier.” Bonus points if you can spark a topic that warrants a longer one-on-one conversation later.
(6) Send them a thank you email after the meeting
- This is essential after any professional encounter, but especially here. As I discuss in my online course under “How to Navigate a Hybrid Workplace,” you want to turn the relationship from an in-person one to a virtual one (and then the other way around later).
- So, if you sparked a conversation that naturally leads to a follow-up conversation, add it to the email and ask for some time. Again: it’s hard to be successful with this step without taking the prior steps first, so don’t just start with this step and skip everything else.
Last but not least, know this: Half the battle of building a relationship with your manager's manager comes down to your ability to read your own manager. The better you understand your own manager’s motives and insecurities, the more successful you’ll be.
Good luck!
—Gorick
4 things from me that you might find useful:
1. Keynote Speaking: My 2025 calendar is filling up! If your organization is looking for speakers for graduation season, manager training, new hire / early career orientation, AAPI Heritage Month, ERG summits, or something else, let’s chat!
2. HOW TO SAY IT: Flashcards that teach you to know what to say in every high-stakes professional setting. Get 260 fill-in-the-blank scripts and self-guided video tutorials. Free shipping on all orders over $40.
3. The Early Career Success Masterclass: My online course that takes you from day 1 in a new role through to a promotion with 28 modules and 28 cheatsheets (3.5 hours of content).
4. The Unspoken Rules: My Wall Street Journal Bestseller that Arianna Huffington calls “a blueprint for anyone starting their career, entering a new role, or wanting to get unstuck.” Used by top companies and MBA programs.
You may also like:
> What American Express can teach us about changing directions
> What the Nintendo Switch can teach us about competing effectively
> What Coca-Cola’s biggest failure can teach us about focusing on what’s working
Sources:
- “revolutionary.”
- 300 million weekly users.
- “the tech company to end all tech companies.”
- From L to R: Mira Murati (chief technology officer) Sam Altman (chief executive), Greg Brockman (president), and Ilya Sutskever (chief scientist)
- 4 key members
- “quietly revised.”
- The new values?
- “Anything that doesn’t help with that is out of scope.”
- “he lost confidence that OpenAI would behave responsibly.”
- “came to the conclusion that OpenAI’s use of copyrighted data violated the law.”
- “more commercial focus”
- “people who like to do research are being forced to do product.”
- Hiring trends at OpenAI support these frustrations.
- “talent exodus”
- “a role at Microsoft that matches your compensation and advances our collective mission”
- “match any OpenAI researcher who has tendered their resignation full cash & equity OTE”
- “return to hands-on technical work”
- “humans' ability to supervise AI.”
- 78% of the U.S. airline market
- “Psychological abuse”
- “A toxic culture of lying”
- “military and warfare”
- “Exhausting”
- “Like… building the Titanic”
- “Low[er] pay” and “capped equity”
- “Shift to [becoming a] for-profit company”
- “Failed experiment in governance”
- “But over the past years, safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products.”
- those who enjoy their work more actually tend to live happier lives
