Groupon CEO Farewell Post to Employees: 'I Got Fired Today'

I don't root for failure and don't believe that dancing on graves is ever the way to go. It's an especially appropriate personal creed when a good guy who I think overplayed his hand decides to retreat throwing rose petals instead of grenades.

Andrew Mason is out as Groupon's CEO, the end of a relatively brief ride as the marquee pre-Facebook IPO which never lived up to expectations. At the time Groupon went public I argued that the expectations were absurdly high: Sure, daily deals may be a big business, but was it so big that one company could value itself at $16 billion in an industry shared by Amazon and Google and to which the barrier to entry wasn't all that high anyway?

Within a month of its November 2011 IPO Groupon was slipping, and then sinking, and through it all the Groupon board stuck with Mason and he didn't blame anyone for anything.

Now in what appears to be a farewell memo, Mason goes out in style:

(This is for Groupon employees, but I'm posting it publicly since it will leak anyway)

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. If you're wondering why... you haven't been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I'm getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we've shared over the last few months, and I've never seen you working together more effectively as a global company - it's time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.

For those who are concerned about me, please don't be - I love Groupon, and I'm terribly proud of what we've created. I'm OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I'll now take some time to decompress (FYI I'm looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I'll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

If there's one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what's best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness - don't waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,

Andrew

I'm no expert, but that kind of style is in short supply. And it may be one of the common characteristics of the current crop of risk-takers who thrive as members of teams and don't manage the old-fashioned way -- by cutting down anyone who might be a threat.

We don't know what Mason is really thinking, but we sure know how he's acting. What do you think? Is Mason the kind of boss you'd be sorry to see go? When you've been laid off, did you make it point to burn no bridges -- or is "take this job and shove it" sometimes the way to go?