Sam Altman hints at his chaotic ousting and return as OpenAI CEO in a new blog post

• Sam Altman has written a blog post sharing advice from what he wished he'd known before.
• Several tips bring to mind the chaotic weeks at OpenAI that saw him fired and re-hired as CEO.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman published a blog post on Thursday in which he shared a list of things he wished someone had told him.

After a year of huge growth following the launch of ChatGTP, Altman was fired as CEO in a shock move by OpenAI's board — only to be reinstated within a week.

Reading his new post, which he shared in a post on X, formerly Twitter, it seems like Altman may be throwing some hints as to his feelings about that time.

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hope this is useful for people who spend the holidays thinking about what to go work on in 2024; always one of my favorite times of year

— Sam Altman (@sama) December 21, 2023

Although he doesn't explicitly mention OpenAI in the blog post, some of the tips seem particularly pointed.

"Fight bullshit and bureaucracy every time you see it and get other people to fight it too. Do not let the org chart get in the way of people working productively together," one of his learnings reads, which may hint at his response to the news of his dismissal.

Altman's ousting prompted a struggle between OpenAI's board and the company's investors and employees, who both rallied around him, eventually leading to his return.

Altman's tip to "communicate clearly and concisely" also brings to mind the the board's initial accusations that claimed Altman had not been "consistently candid in his communications."

It could also be Altman's way of hinting that the board should have been clearer about their reasoning for getting rid of him.

His penultimate piece of advice to "get back up and keep going," whether intended or not, can certainly be applied to his dramatic return to the company.

"For my part, it is incredibly important to learn from this experience and apply those learnings as we move forward as a company," Altman wrote in a tweet following the news he was returning to lead the firm.