How idiotic must Ken Graffeo feel now....

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

Curse Insiders who PM me juicy info that I cannot share without breaking their confidence! Trust me when I say that there is a reason a couple of our Insiders here on Blu-Ray.com have been quick to defend Mr. Graffeo in the past.

I have seen no such "quick" defense of Graffeo from those in the Blu camp... just more people saying, "he's only doing his job," which is a circular argument.

If someone believes that Kenny has a secret Blu-ray tattoo and that he's not the loyalist red ant he proudly makes himself out to be, well, I've got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

People who say, "Oh, he's just doing what Universal tells him," obviously have no idea how the corporate structure works. His job is to tell THEM what Universal needs to do regarding HDM. That's the whole reason why companies hire executives--to lead those particular aspects of the company with their wisdom and experience. They're not there to follow policy--they're there to MAKE IT. And so far he's done a lousy job at it, because he drank the HD DVD kool aid and never for once considered the harm it would do to not at least be neutral.

That said, he's been very quiet since CES, so hopefully he's doing some soul-searching. The most spectacular thing he could do would be to resign from the HD DVD PG...

[The Don]

Originally Posted by ikcizokm

I have seen no such "quick" defense of Graffeo from those in the Blu camp... just more people saying, "he's only doing his job," which is a circular argument.

If someone believes that Kenny has a secret Blu-ray tattoo and that he's not the loyalist red ant he proudly makes himself out to be, well, I've got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

People who say, "Oh, he's just doing what Universal tells him," obviously have no idea how the corporate structure works. His job is to tell THEM what Universal needs to do regarding HDM. That's the whole reason why companies hire executives--to lead those particular aspects of the company with their wisdom and experience. They're not there to follow policy--they're there to MAKE IT. And so far he's done a lousy job at it, because he drank the HD DVD kool aid and never for once considered the harm it would do to not at least be neutral.

That said, he's been very quiet since CES, so hopefully he's doing some soul-searching. The most spectacular thing he could do would be to resign from the HD DVD PG...

Penton-Man for one has defended him...

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by The Don

Penton-Man for one has defended him...

Yup and I seem to recall him suggesting that we should be a bit more diplomatic as Ken might either be lurking as a guest or may have registered on blu-ray.com to lurk.

[Uxi]

Maybe it was just his job, but Graffeo spouted way too much BS about HDDUD for me to feel any sympathy for the egg on his face.

[Slec]

Why is it so hard to understand that when you are under contract to do a job, you do it to the best of your ability. You do not undermine it, you do not act in direlection of duty. I have no problem with the heads of Uni/Paramount. They wanted this over as much as the next guy and did what they thought was appropriate. They were wrong. It happens. Doesn't mean anyone here (I'm sure few of us are executives with decision wielding power or responsibility like Graffeo) has the right to belittle someone for the crime of being wrong. Even if you disagree with how he promoted HD DVD, or his role at HDPRG, that was his job... You notice when the shit hit the fan, Toshiba corporate stepped in, Graffeo wasn't about to defend HD DVD as a better format with absolutely no market support.

Would you make these comments to him in person? I think not. We can hide behind out Avatar's and handles, he cannot. Such is the anonymity of the internet.

[EvolutionCherry]

Originally Posted by Slec

Would you make these comments to him in person?

Yes I would actually.

[MrBogey]

Ken Graffeo was doing what his job required him. It's the guys like Amir and his band of toadies that really were going well beyond their job. It's one thing to be an evangelical. It's another to be a crusader. You can't fault a guy for being on the wrong side. Only the actions he takes while on the wrong side that goes beyond mere evangelicalism or opposition.

[BStecke]

Originally Posted by Slec

Why is it so hard to understand that when you are under contract to do a job, you do it to the best of your ability. You do not undermine it, you do not act in direlection of duty. I have no problem with the heads of Uni/Paramount. They wanted this over as much as the next guy and did what they thought was appropriate. They were wrong. It happens. Doesn't mean anyone here (I'm sure few of us are executives with decision wielding power or responsibility like Graffeo) has the right to belittle someone for the crime of being wrong. Even if you disagree with how he promoted HD DVD, or his role at HDPRG, that was his job... You notice when the shit hit the fan, Toshiba corporate stepped in, Graffeo wasn't about to defend HD DVD as a better format with absolutely no market support.

Would you make these comments to him in person? I think not. We can hide behind out Avatar's and handles, he cannot. Such is the anonymity of the internet.

I agree. A lot of us work in companies and perform duties that we don't like or don't believe in. Graffeo stood by what his duties demanded of him, and if he does the same for Blu-ray, I'm all for it. Yes, he made some stupid comments along the way, but he really didn't have many positives for HD DVD to talk about. There are a LOT more people behind HD DVD than Ken Graffeo. I was actually more irritated by Robert Zohn and Michael Greeson's comments at EMA than anything Graffeo said. Kevin Collins' smugness always pissed me off too. My biggest gripe with Graffeo mostly hangs on the fact that he didn't seem to do a lot of homework about Blu-ray before making comments.

I'd be more inclined to blame people who actually bought HD DVD players and movies for prolonging the war, knowing that HD DVD was an inferior format, but that would be just as stupid.

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by Slec

Would you make these comments to him in person?

Yup. My mouth doesn't write checks my body can't cash.

[sj001]

We of course don't know him personally, but here is Penton's comments.. please lay off of him.

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

P.S.
Again, please everybody be kind to Ken G., as I said repeatedly in the past - he's a good guy and he was just doing his job.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by ikcizokm

Yup. My mouth doesn't write checks my body can't cash.

Understandable that you would, I haven't seen you calling him an Ass-clown, idiot, moron, hack, incompetent or any number of other things I've seen (not just on this site, to be fair). [/end response to ikcizokm specifically]

One does not get to his position in a company by being those things, no matter how fervent a fanboy says to the contrary.

Anyone who wants to rub it in that he made the wrong choice in this war, I guess you can do that, but what does it amount to?

What do you think about the BS being thrown about Penton and Bill on other sites?

[w_tanoto]

why the announcement is being made by kornblau instead of graffeo? I wonder if something really happened to him

[Maximus]

I've defended Ken before and I'll defend him now.

He is a very reasonable guy, and having met him, he doesn't drink red koolaid. He along with his boss have played their part in the recent downfall of HD DVD at Toshiba and subsequent actions by the press.

Just don't be too quick to judge, like Winn pointed out, if you guys were on half the money he is you'd all be screaming out about HD VMD if that is what it entailed...

[badboi]

Start with a clean slate with this guy and see what his actions are after Toshiba throws in the towel officially. I'm all for not passing any judgement until then. Hopefully he's not as big a douchebag as we all think.

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by badboi

Start with a clean slate with this guy and see what his actions are after Toshiba throws in the towel officially. I'm all for not passing any judgement until then. Hopefully he's not as big a douchebag as we all think.

Well said. Personally I'm not exactly keen on giving him a clean slate after Toshiba's announcement (which, if my clock is right, is about to happen in about 3 minutes). However, I am capable, after reading through the various replies, to cut the guy some slack. Perhaps... just MAYBE... he might be a "blind buy"--WickyWoo knows I've been wrong before, and can man up and admit it. But I reserve the right to say "I told you so," and will be watching...

[JohnGalt]

Originally Posted by ikcizokm

His job is to tell THEM what Universal needs to do regarding HDM. That's the whole reason why companies hire executives--to lead those particular aspects of the company with their wisdom and experience. They're not there to follow policy--they're there to MAKE IT.

In theory yes. In the real world however that's not always the case, particularly where small divisions aren't allowed to set policy that might imperil strategic alliances that run to many divisions. Been there, seen that.

[Marquoz]

With as much money as he made, I doubt he cared who won or lost, he still got to cash some pretty fat paychecks. I'm sure he was getting paid every time he got up and said something good as spokesman for HD DVD.