Lessons from OpenAI saga, coming soon to an IIM near you
OpenAI and his triumphant return in five days could make it to business school curricula, offering valuable lessons on leadership, loyalty and valuations. The OpenAI whirlwind started on Friday with the abrupt dismissal of co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Altman, who enjoys a cult-like status in the technology world. President Greg Brockman quit as well, prompting hundreds of employees to threaten resignation, and triggering an outcry to bring Altman back.
After briefly joining Microsoft, and much public back-and-forth over social media, Altman was back at OpenAI on Wednesday. “The conclusion of this boardroom battle will be interesting. One can teach how two stakeholders—OpenAI and Microsoft—had their differences played out; how corporates and leaders create an image and position themselves on social media; and how boardroom opinions are managed and perceptions created, which show employee loyalty," said Nishant Uppal, a professor of organizational behaviour and human resource management at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow.
The dismissal was led by OpenAI’s chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who later went on to express his regret on X, formerly Twitter. Meanwhile, the company board, which went through two interim CEOs during the chaos, reached out to Altman. “The OpenAI case offers rich insights for business schools, emphasizing the critical aspect of balancing innovation with stability in boardroom dynamics.
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