3 ms·

I've left two organisations (BBC and Sony) and neither time did I have any problem with my direct manager in fact in both cases I liked them although I did have

I've left two organisations (BBC and Sony) and neither time did I have any problem with my direct manager in fact in both cases I liked them although I did have a lack of faith the top management and the direction of at least my area of the organisation. In the BBC case (amongst other issues) my department was earmarked to be moved to Manchester (about 200 miles away) in about 4 years. I was clear (for family reasons) that I wouldn't be moving so staying would have felt like a personal dead end to me (although later the BBC's plan changed and much of the department moved into London instead which might have been OK but the lack of thought through initial decision was a really bad sign about the senior management). At Sony it was a general lack of faith that the management had enough capability that Sony could become a profitable, viable, mass market electronics company again. That made me happy to leave to see what I could do on my own and be home to take and collect my son from school.

mgkimsal 14y ago
Odd... I've never even worked at any one company for 2 years, so... making work plans based on what someone decides will probably happen in 4 years is simply incomprehensible to me. The few companies I've worked at have taught me that for the most part, companies can't do much real planning beyond 6 mos to a year at most - the stuff we considered important in 2006 was often irrelevant by 2007 because of changes in the market conditions, competition, etc. Planning out moves that far ahead is probably necessary in some situations, but I've seen enough of those 'long term plans' have to change anyway that I don't actually believe many of them.
- gawker 14y ago
  Agreed. I feel like it's more of an exercise to have some sort of vision but in reality, it's really difficult to predict what the environment will be like in 4 years. Looking at what I have learnt just 2 years ago, some of it is already starting to get irrelevant!
- josephlord 14y ago
  Fair point but it was an R&D environment with a lot of accumulated experience and slightly slow moving and in some ways I was ready for a change anyway wanting to work more directly on products that reach consumers hands. The way the change plan was announced/managed also led me to conclude the overall BBC organisation didn't value the R&D function in general and the lack of care from the top was a factor in me departing.

mgkimsal 14y ago

Odd... I've never even worked at any one company for 2 years, so... making work plans based on what someone decides will probably happen in 4 years is simply incomprehensible to me. The few companies I've worked at have taught me that for the most part, companies can't do much real planning beyond 6 mos to a year at most - the stuff we considered important in 2006 was often irrelevant by 2007 because of changes in the market conditions, competition, etc. Planning out moves that far ahead is probably necessary in some situations, but I've seen enough of those 'long term plans' have to change anyway that I don't actually believe many of them.

gawker 14y ago
Agreed. I feel like it's more of an exercise to have some sort of vision but in reality, it's really difficult to predict what the environment will be like in 4 years. Looking at what I have learnt just 2 years ago, some of it is already starting to get irrelevant!
josephlord 14y ago
Fair point but it was an R&D environment with a lot of accumulated experience and slightly slow moving and in some ways I was ready for a change anyway wanting to work more directly on products that reach consumers hands. The way the change plan was announced/managed also led me to conclude the overall BBC organisation didn't value the R&D function in general and the lack of care from the top was a factor in me departing.