There’s a reason why IBM cratered relative to companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and the other Silicon Valley type firms, and a very big part of it was culture. IBM had a number of business-related problems, but it also had a reputation for a corporate culture that was completely at odds with what was happening in California.

I think that a lot of the pressure is being felt because of the massive post-covid layoffs and hiring freezes. People are feeling a bit less mobile these days, and it changes the equation as to whether or not you think where you are is good enough for now, at least through the next vesting period.

I do suspect that the big tech company who moves first in terms of opening things back up is going to be able to scoop up a lot of top talent by poaching them from their butts-in-seats-no-matter-what companies.