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It's embarrassing when a company puts out a giant suggestion box to figure out how to be efficient. It means the company has no clue how it operates. You should

It's embarrassing when a company puts out a giant suggestion box to figure out how to be efficient. It means the company has no clue how it operates. You shouldn't have to ask random employees what the problems are. You should already know, because identifying and eliminating inefficiency (in order to improve quality) should be part of your standard practice. Putting out a giant suggestion box is the laziest and least useful way imaginable. You have no idea which 'suggestion' is a bigger problem, you have no metrics, no context. It's just 7,000 people complaining about 7,000 random things. Don't get me wrong - the low-level people always know what is wrong and know how to fix it. But nobody in upper management gives a shit. Which is why your company is inefficient. Soliciting advice from random ICs now will result in the same dont-give-a-shit syndrome by management. And management continues to do whatever bullshit helps themselves rather than the company or ICs.

azemetre 4y ago
Never really thought about it until you laid it out, and yeah it is troubling. At my company there have been meetings on how to be “innovative.” The suggestions are straight out of Dilbert. Someone said we needed more meetings and everyone agreed. Another said that everything we do is innovative and everyone agreed. I have no idea how a modern corporation is suppose to work I guess. Maybe the dream is be innovative me become large then watch the next few generations of leadership slowly tear the company down into irrelevancy. I forgot where I read this but there’s an idea of a “manager” class that refuses to innovative or change anything because rocking the boat potentially means losing out on bonuses or stocks or promotions, so you do everything in your power to maintain the status quo until you go to the next gig basically playing a game of hot potato until you retire. The “manager” class has taken over the corporate world for decades. I think this was Econ talk but I’m unsure.
bushbaba 4y ago
Google is not well run. People need to get that through their heads. They were so profit and cash flush that many bad behaviors were left unchecked. Well run is Amazon or Apple. Not perfect but the best run large companies out their today
scarface74 4y ago
A company that releases three messaging apps during their yearly conference and leaves city roads in ruins because they are no longer interested in one of their projects, is not “well run”. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/google-fiber-exits-louisville-after-shoddy-installs-left-exposed-wires-in-roads/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/googl...
vharuck 4y ago
Sometimes, a suggestions box is a hunt for a scape goat. Do you plan to make an unpopular change but don't want any of the blame? Gather a bunch of suggestions, then choose one close to your original plan. Now nobody can say your choices show your disconnect from regular employees.

azemetre 4y ago

Never really thought about it until you laid it out, and yeah it is troubling. At my company there have been meetings on how to be “innovative.” The suggestions are straight out of Dilbert. Someone said we needed more meetings and everyone agreed. Another said that everything we do is innovative and everyone agreed. I have no idea how a modern corporation is suppose to work I guess. Maybe the dream is be innovative me become large then watch the next few generations of leadership slowly tear the company down into irrelevancy. I forgot where I read this but there’s an idea of a “manager” class that refuses to innovative or change anything because rocking the boat potentially means losing out on bonuses or stocks or promotions, so you do everything in your power to maintain the status quo until you go to the next gig basically playing a game of hot potato until you retire. The “manager” class has taken over the corporate world for decades. I think this was Econ talk but I’m unsure.

bushbaba 4y ago

Google is not well run. People need to get that through their heads. They were so profit and cash flush that many bad behaviors were left unchecked. Well run is Amazon or Apple. Not perfect but the best run large companies out their today

scarface74 4y ago

A company that releases three messaging apps during their yearly conference and leaves city roads in ruins because they are no longer interested in one of their projects, is not “well run”. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/google-fiber-exits-louisville-after-shoddy-installs-left-exposed-wires-in-roads/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/googl...

vharuck 4y ago

Sometimes, a suggestions box is a hunt for a scape goat. Do you plan to make an unpopular change but don't want any of the blame? Gather a bunch of suggestions, then choose one close to your original plan. Now nobody can say your choices show your disconnect from regular employees.