If they were deemed useless, they wouldn’t become a target. The useless phrasing is more that their direction for the purpose of the company is useless overall. Line goes up isn’t always a reflection of how well the company is doing for itself and its customers. You are right that CEOs usually set how the company runs, as my work a few years ago transitioned to a new CEO after decades of the first, and it’s showing. What’s frustrating is when they continue to play off that they are the same company and policy to keep morale up, but it’s obvious things are different.