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I think you’ll be sorely disappointed in looking for reason, if reason means long-term strategically sound decisions, from any of these publicly traded companie

I think you’ll be sorely disappointed in looking for reason, if reason means long-term strategically sound decisions, from any of these publicly traded companies. The incentives are almost always short-term. Executives are normally completely disconnected with how the company really functions. The power structures separate the decision makers from reality since most are too afraid for their own careers to question the leadership. Slash and burn tactics win over internal training. Almost all managers I’ve seen in these companies bend over backwards to implement whatever is being decided without questioning anything, even if they have better data on hand to prove the decisions are poorly thought out. That also goes for directors. If you understand this going in you won’t necessarily have an existential crisis, but if you don’t you’re in for a bad time. One of the ex-CEOs of Medtronic use to sit with the engineers during lunch to understand what was really going on in the company as he found his underlings continually hid problems from him. I wish more CEOs understood the wisdom of that but they’re too busy playing as feudal lords.

browningstreet 2y ago
> If you understand this going in you won’t necessarily have an existential crisis, but if you don’t you’re in for a bad time. > ..but they’re too busy playing as feudal lords. Yeah, and agreed. Very familiar with that experience and losing out by trying to do (or even _say_) better things.
nine_zeros 2y ago
> One of the ex-CEOs of Medtronic use to sit with the engineers during lunch to understand what was really going on in the company as he found his underlings continually hid problems from him. I wish more CEOs understood the wisdom of that but they’re too busy playing as feudal lords. The vast majority of C-Suite and upper management DOES NOT CARE about employees, customers, engineering, impact of cruel org policies or long term issues from short term decisions. They are there to exploit the lives of people working under them in the org chart forced upon people. This is why I always tell engineers to not give two fucks beyond 9-5 or fixing structural issues. The C-Suite getting paid millions doesn't care. Why should you?
- wheatzies 2y ago
  > This is why I always tell engineers to not give two fucks beyond 9-5 or fixing structural issues. Addressing structural issues in my organization directly affects how much my job does or doesn’t suck. If I turn a blind eye to every gripe I have in a job, I feel like I can’t complain about how much of a drag it is to work there, because _I haven’t even tried to fix it_. Furthermore, it feels like a disservice to others if I don’t speak up — if I don’t say something because I think my manager/director/CTO is apathetic, I’m indirectly making my coworkers’ experiences worse as well.
  - nine_zeros 2y ago
    > Addressing structural issues in my organization directly affects how much my job does or doesn’t suck. If I turn a blind eye to every gripe I have in a job, I feel like I can’t complain about how much of a drag it is to work there, because _I haven’t even tried to fix it_. You don't turn a blind eye to it. You report the structural issue to management and let them do their actual job of fixing it. They won't be able to fix it unless they know about it. They also won't appreciate your effort unless they internalize how painful said issue is.

browningstreet 2y ago

> If you understand this going in you won’t necessarily have an existential crisis, but if you don’t you’re in for a bad time. > ..but they’re too busy playing as feudal lords. Yeah, and agreed. Very familiar with that experience and losing out by trying to do (or even _say_) better things.

nine_zeros 2y ago

> One of the ex-CEOs of Medtronic use to sit with the engineers during lunch to understand what was really going on in the company as he found his underlings continually hid problems from him. I wish more CEOs understood the wisdom of that but they’re too busy playing as feudal lords. The vast majority of C-Suite and upper management DOES NOT CARE about employees, customers, engineering, impact of cruel org policies or long term issues from short term decisions. They are there to exploit the lives of people working under them in the org chart forced upon people. This is why I always tell engineers to not give two fucks beyond 9-5 or fixing structural issues. The C-Suite getting paid millions doesn't care. Why should you?

wheatzies 2y ago
> This is why I always tell engineers to not give two fucks beyond 9-5 or fixing structural issues. Addressing structural issues in my organization directly affects how much my job does or doesn’t suck. If I turn a blind eye to every gripe I have in a job, I feel like I can’t complain about how much of a drag it is to work there, because _I haven’t even tried to fix it_. Furthermore, it feels like a disservice to others if I don’t speak up — if I don’t say something because I think my manager/director/CTO is apathetic, I’m indirectly making my coworkers’ experiences worse as well.
- nine_zeros 2y ago
  > Addressing structural issues in my organization directly affects how much my job does or doesn’t suck. If I turn a blind eye to every gripe I have in a job, I feel like I can’t complain about how much of a drag it is to work there, because _I haven’t even tried to fix it_. You don't turn a blind eye to it. You report the structural issue to management and let them do their actual job of fixing it. They won't be able to fix it unless they know about it. They also won't appreciate your effort unless they internalize how painful said issue is.