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I can nod to probably 90% of this just in my own experience working for a large corporation. We get a lot of mid-corporate turnover and it every time one takes

I can nod to probably 90% of this just in my own experience working for a large corporation. We get a lot of mid-corporate turnover and it every time one takes over it seems that we quickly find things being changed for no reason, only for it to happen again in 6-24 months when the next passing of the baton occurs. IIRC we're on our fifth or sixth vice president in the 15 years I've been there and the tiers immediately below that have turned over similarly with people promoting in and out from other opcos, or even from competing companies. It has never made sense to me. One would think you'd want consistency for long-term plans, only replacing someone if they retire/are horribly ineffective.

flukus 6y ago
> only for it to happen again in 6-24 months when the next passing of the baton occurs. And each one comes up with a revolutionary plan that has to be completed in that period and you end up with 6 layers of half finished 3 year plans. Each half finished plan makes the next plan harder to accomplish. Occasionally the plans are even good, just not achievable in the time frame required.
underwater 6y ago
I saw one terrible VP be replaced by a smart and humble VP who made gradual change. The second guy came in, worked to understand the problems, made a considered plan, sold it to the team, and gradually started rolling it out. And he was totally defeated by red tape, bureaucracy and process. The first guy who'd come in and broken everything in one fell swoop had to convince his bosses that radical change was necessary just that one time, when he was new and there was no history. He got the green light easily. The winning strategy for the VPs in that company was to put all their eggs in that one basket. If it worked, they came out smelling of roses. If it doesn't they go find a new gig. But playing the long game didn't work.
- codeisawesome 6y ago
  How do you observe these things at such detail?
ciceryadam 6y ago
The "a new broom sweeps clean" saying goes back some time. All new leaders want to be visible, and what is a more visible action than a change of guards? Sometimes I was hoping that this change will come sooner than later. Most notably after a change from a capable CIO to a person who replaced the goal of the company from devops to 1970s application silos.

flukus 6y ago

> only for it to happen again in 6-24 months when the next passing of the baton occurs. And each one comes up with a revolutionary plan that has to be completed in that period and you end up with 6 layers of half finished 3 year plans. Each half finished plan makes the next plan harder to accomplish. Occasionally the plans are even good, just not achievable in the time frame required.

underwater 6y ago

I saw one terrible VP be replaced by a smart and humble VP who made gradual change. The second guy came in, worked to understand the problems, made a considered plan, sold it to the team, and gradually started rolling it out. And he was totally defeated by red tape, bureaucracy and process. The first guy who'd come in and broken everything in one fell swoop had to convince his bosses that radical change was necessary just that one time, when he was new and there was no history. He got the green light easily. The winning strategy for the VPs in that company was to put all their eggs in that one basket. If it worked, they came out smelling of roses. If it doesn't they go find a new gig. But playing the long game didn't work.

codeisawesome 6y ago
How do you observe these things at such detail?

ciceryadam 6y ago

The "a new broom sweeps clean" saying goes back some time. All new leaders want to be visible, and what is a more visible action than a change of guards? Sometimes I was hoping that this change will come sooner than later. Most notably after a change from a capable CIO to a person who replaced the goal of the company from devops to 1970s application silos.