What is it like to work at a big company?
April 7th, 2005
0 votes
We’re serious. What is it like working at a big company? To us, it isn’t even a possibility. We can’t imagine working in the ranks of a large company where we’d have no skin in the game or influence on the ultimate outcome of the business. Each of the people who work at our company DO have a big influence on whether our company soars to new heights or not. They know it. They feel it. And they LOVE it.
So, what is the allure of working at a big company? Is it the perks? The benefits? Is it not having the pressure of the fate of the company on your shoulders?
And if you’ve left the corporate world behind and become an entrepreneur (or vice versa), can you tell us what the differences are?
April 11th, 2005 at 10:14 pm
Being a teacher and working for the government isn’t exactly working for a big company in the traditional sense, but I am a worker within a larger machine if you will. There is so much that goes into being a teacher that I find myself thinking about all of my students all of the time(in the shower, while fixing fence line, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn). It consumes me, as it should. I’m always trying to figure out how to explain something to a student, worrying about the one that I had to report to FIA, grading all of the papers, and what to teach next and how. I don’t have time for the red tape junk that the administrators have to deal with. I couldn’t imagine having to wear all the hats that it takes to run a school. I would be so bogged down that I would never be able to teach. I’d miss seeing a student’s eyes light up and leap for joy when she realizes for the first time that she can read. Not being called ‘Mom’ by a student who really would like me to be his mom. The hugs, and pictures they draw for me every day. Knowing that I taught that student and because I cared to make a difference her life will never be the same. She will go on to influence so many others and be someone great. Give that up? To sit in an office? Are you crazy? I’m not, I know I belong in a classroom.
If I were to leave teaching I’d probably start a boarding and training stable. I already give lessons, start and train horses. I would just expand on that and finish my NARHA certification. I’d still be teaching, but my classroom would be a barn. I have some work to do before I can do that full time though.
April 20th, 2005 at 12:44 pm
Having just left a large company after 25 years - my experience was very favorable - had 7 different careers and was able to perform as an "intrepreneur." I always found opportunities to link my technical skills with my passions for leading change. In a big company there are resources - both money and people. There are also enough senior managers who are looking for people to drive change at various levels of the organization.
The key - get a copy of the book "Orbiting the giant hairball" - don’t get sucked into the morass of the hairball where creativity gets stifled. Find an orbit that nourishes the creativity and aligns with your passions.
Sure there are always "burro"crats that don’t like change - but they generally find their way into positions that keep everyone out of trouble - audit, accounting, etc…
I’m now looking at a variety of options - and would consider going "corporate" again if the right situation presents itself.
April 20th, 2005 at 8:19 pm
hey, rick!
thanks for this–exactly the kind of experience we were hunting for. sounds like you applied some of the principles of entrepreneurship within bigger companies.
are you considering becoming an entrepreneur within a small (your own?) company now? Curious to know why someone who’s had such a positive experience with bigger companies is cruising through our StartupNation blog…
???
April 24th, 2005 at 12:17 am
What a great topic. I worked for a small business owner and then became a part-owner for about five years. Most of the work was outside of the US and we were a management consultancy so I learned a lot. I’m inside now and I find that I have a distinct advantage over those folks that have never had their own money on the line. I suppose I could feel some relief in that but I don’t think the thing that motivates owners is that it’s their money. I think they are working because it’s their name. In that way, I’m doing the same stuff I did when I was on the outside. I imagine that I’ll own my own gig again, but I’m enjoying the ride inside for the moment.
Chris
Colorado
April 24th, 2005 at 5:20 pm
The skin in the game is keeping your job…but it depends on the company and especially the management. The allure? To me it’s not the company or the hierarchy that produces the desire to work at a particular place, it’s that I’m able to be the best at what I do and provide a valuable service to my employer. No pressure, no concern for the fate of the company? How cavalier can an employee be about their work? I’m a programmer and have worked at number of places. Here’s a general list with the number of employees at each company:
1 Real estate company more than 10,000
2 Software company less than 50.
3 Computer Consulting just 3.
4 Communications (phone; internet; cable; newsprint +) less than 5,000.
5 Process Controller Manufacturing about 1,000.
It’s not the size of the company but the management that counts.
At #5, management was dedicated to employee improvement. They invested in their people and it showed. We spent typically 2 hours a week learning a variety of things: how to use the phone system; time management; conducting an effective meeting; statistical analysis of processes; shop floor management and a host of other topics. It was a company of innovation. New ideas came from every department. The company encouraged and personified team. They just never paid me very well.
At #4 it was more about nepotism. If you were family or friend then you rose to the top regardless of ability. Great place to learn and leave.
At #3 Before I started we talked about how to make the company grow and the timeframe that we would work in. Once there we did what our few clients wanted and nothing else. Safety and consistency was the key… no growth was good growth. Great potential, zero actual.
At #2 the sales force ruled. While the owner’s intent was to have a close knit, family oriented team the sales manager and then president made the place almost unbearable to work. Folks tend not to stay long. Another great learn and leave place.
At #1 they want everything you know and then some but never share the vision. You never have a clear sense of the direction you’re heading or the big picture. You’re only told what you need to know…if that. Teamwork is dissuaded and so duplication of effort and wasted effort is common. Your education is your problem but you never know what direction to take or career path to follow. I don’t think they actually have a vision it’s more like reaction.
What’s it like? That really does depend on you! If you love what you do for a living you won’t care what management does as long as you get to create and do what you do best. You just have to get by the frustration of managers.
What would I like? I would love to open a business and use what I’ve learned to make it successful. What to open is not a problem it’s the how to open it…ergo StartupNation! BTW, mine would be a #5 with better pay.
April 25th, 2005 at 1:05 am
Well said Bill…. [quote]What’s it like? That really does depend on you! If you love what you do for a living you won’t care what management does as long as you get to create and do what you do best. You just have to get by the frustration of managers.[/quote]
As with anything in life, your work is what you make of it no matter if you own the place, or work for it. In my line of work I have to make both ends happy, the parents and the admin.(often neither has a clue though), also, and more importantly, the kids. It’s the product I see in my students that I go for, and fortunately for me so do the parents and the admin., so they let me go about the business of teaching as I pretty much see fit. I’m still responsible for the output and can lose my job if I’m not producing good results since I work in a charter school with no union and have to prove myself all the time. It keeps me sharp. Trust me, it’s not about the pay or the benefits because both stink so bad you’d think the stench of a mink/pig/chicken farm was beautiful French perfume in comparison. It’s the intangible perks I mentioned before and the knowledge that every student’s future is dependant on how well I do my job that does it for me.
April 25th, 2005 at 4:23 pm
OK! this is great stuff.
frankly, we get so engrossed and romanced by our entrepreneurial gig, that we don’t immediately appreciate what draws people to other types of careers.
look for our most recent blog posting–hopefully it will build some perspective about why people choose to be entrepreneurs.
it’s helpful (and a great opportunity for growth) looking at issues and peoples’ choices from multiple perspectives.
-sloan bros
April 26th, 2005 at 3:51 pm
[gray][c]—————————————-
Bill Said: At #2 the sales force ruled.
—————————————-[/c][/gray]
I’m curious why you say this, Bill. I was under the impression that developers are oftentimes at odds with sales/mktg. What did they do so well?
April 26th, 2005 at 10:59 pm
Dean, could he have meant that the company was taken over by the sales force and ran the place into the ground? Bill, is that right?
April 27th, 2005 at 6:55 am
#2 sells e-commerce software. The story of the brothers that started it is an inspiration. The company took off was because they targetted large companies and the excellent design of the software. They had the fastest EDI translator on the market and packaged it well with funding from a previous textile business that they had owned.
The sales guy that started with them early on did a lot of that initial work. His personallity is so abrasive that they had a hard time keeping sales people. Then they made him president and they had a hard time keeping technical people as well.
The techy owner brother would often complain about him!
My point is that there can be a synergy in a company. What he brought was excellent growth but a horrible work environment. His development decisions were more like shots from the hip than appearing to have a long term plan. As far as I know they’re doing fine…ok, it’s not that the sales force ruled as much as it was that the personality was rough and he was a salesman.
September 28th, 2005 at 4:58 pm
I posted a comment similar to this in another blog, but I’ll talk more about where I worked. A gigantic international company with big red letters.
Right out of college, I got the dream job I thought I wanted, and for the first 2 years… it was awesome! Things couldn’t be better, making $50k/year and working on projects that my empowering boss gave to me… it brough recognition, personal gratification, annual awards, bonuses and I worked long hours with out even being asked.
Then along came Six Sigma, to which the management was singing the praises of this bold new CEO who has won several awards in the industry by shareholders and Wall Street. Well at some point, employee loyalty, enthusiasm and motivation was sacrificed. For the levels and levels of management being added, little peons like myself were being sacked (there were in total almost 10,000 layoffs globally) and I found myself under the gun to get work done, with several people telling me what to do, and lacking freedom of choice and empowerment.
I spoke to some of the "big heads" and I got no help, sooner or later you just become disengaged and head down the spiral of death to total helplessness within the corporation. The feeling that you are crying out and nobody is listening.
I am an idealist and very much strive on enthusiasm, recognition and personal empowerment. With that lost, I was feeling lost… and I got thinking, maybe I should go travel, do some things I said I was going to do in college… probably for the best, I have my own tourism company http://www.boomtrek.com (shameless plug) now and its been a rocky start, but taking on contracts and "boot-strapping" for extra money to keep the dream alive.
To summarize what I said… A big company can be a great security net, if you’re happy with your boss and the culture embedded in the company. Otherwise, it will be a long miserable road to retirement, wishing you could be doing other things and taking hold of your visions.
Conclusions: In an ever expanding global economy with more competition and faster time to market, I personally feel like it will be those with money (the have’s) and those without (the have nots) and will be working at Wal-Mart… contracting is big in the I.T. industry, so owning your own business or getting outsourced is your choice in my honest opinion.
October 3rd, 2005 at 1:53 am
I work for a very big organization. For me it hasn’t been too pleasant. Many people are talking about leaving. Many others have already quit. I think that the people that run it all, and this includes Managers, not just the owners and Presidents, Vice Presidents, etc have gotten too comfortable. We are not treated fairly. Employee’s are routinely spoken down to, and treated lowly. There is no respect for us. We are often given the work of ten people to complete by ourselves. That is a lot of work for only one person to deal with daily. To make it worse it is never enough. They refuse to hire more workers in order to save money. This company has a lot of money. They can hire more help comfortably. But, they more money they can keep in their pockets the better. Their greed causes them to compromise quality at the employees and customers expense. They feel that because they are so large that they can get away with anything. So, they push the limit. Many people are afraid to complain for fear of losing their jobs. There are others that lie on employee’s, exaggerate things, or just rat people out to stay on the good side of the higher ups and earn brownie points. Everyone is always looking over their shoulders, because no one knows who to trust. Managers have been known to mistreat customers as well as their employees. I know of a manager that threw a salad at a customer! When they are found out, they are merely told off or reprimanded. However, when the little guy does even the slightest thing wrong, especially if it makes management look back, the little guy is almost always fired. Even if a manager should be fired they never are.
I know of a manager that routinely harrassed employees, but was never fired. Another one deliberately tried to turn co-workers against each other by telling the others that so and so employee said this about you, and this is why you received ugly marks on your evaluation! That happened to me! It was terrible. Employees have worked overtime, only to not be paid for it. Managers have been known to access the persons clock in/out times and change them to deny them their overtime. This happened to me as well. One employee got tired of this and turned in a two week notice on a Friday. The person then came into work the next Monday to be told that their services were no longer needed which is illegal! To make matters worse security was called unnecessarily. The manager that instigated all of this is still employed. Even after all the lying and cheating and backstabbing.
Emloyees are not supposed to come to work sick. (We work in Hospitality) However, we are required to come in anyway unless we have diarrhea or are vomiting or something. I know of a recent incident where someone felt fine at first and then started to feel bad and the manager didn’t want the employee to go home! It’s a mess. If a health inspector comes and someone is sick, that person is simply told to go to the locker room to "relax," until the health inspector leaves so that they aren’t written up and potentially written down.
This is all just the tip of the iceberg. I can’t even begin to tell you everything. But, it’s just very hard and very ugly. For me working for a big company has been a hard and painful experience. This is one reason why I want my own company. I would never allow my employees to suffer this way, or in any way. Some people think they are invincible. When we complain we are told that we are weak and lazy, and should quit because we are easily replaceable. There is just no respect. We are people to them. We are slaves to be worked to the bone to put more money into their pockets. The Union is on the side of management. We can’t count on them for too much. So what do we do?
This experience has made me realize even more than ever that once I leave this company I will never ever work for anyone else ever again. I know that all places aren’t like this, but I just can’t stand it. Starting my own business won’t be easy. But, at least I’ll be doing something I love, and I’ll be happy to get up in the mornings instead of enjoying the blessed new day! I know that I am not meant to live a lives of misery. When the time is right I will see to it that my future employees won’t either. Whatever goes on at home I can’t help. But, when they come to work they will be glad to be there. You should love what you do. If you hate it, then it’s time to leave.
This has been my experience. It is all true and not exaggerated at all. I hope that you’ve gotten something out it. Maybe, it will show you how to better manage your own businesses. Thank you for reading this.
FedUp
October 3rd, 2005 at 9:44 am
hey, fedup, sounds like a hellish place to spend your waking hours!
what’s between you and starting up your own business? let’s chop away at what’s in the way and get you on a path to working for yourself…
-sloan bros
October 9th, 2005 at 10:26 pm
Finding someone to write an affordable business plan so that it will be easier to try an get funding would be a big help. I am trying to start a book publishing company. If you have any ideas about that let me know.
October 10th, 2005 at 9:49 pm
FedUp,
you might want to check out your local chapter of SCORE which you can find via the [link=http://www.score.org' target='_blank']SCORE[/link] website.
remember, though — there’s no replacement for crafting your own business plan ON YOUR OWN. it’s good to collect data, ask questions, and integrate input from others, but you have to OWN all of the info, strategies, claims and plans that are included. you have to know it all like the back of your hand, too. so use mentors like those at SCORE or also visit your local [link=http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html' target='_blank']SBDC[/link], but YOU should write the plan. Otherwise, FedUp could become MessedUp!
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:45 pm
Well Fed up I worked at the same company and took my whippings like a man and got promoted, man did I feel bad, now I had to beat on all the people who helped me do my work that I became an expert at and led to my promotion, they told me I was just the man they needed because I did not let anyone stand in my way. Well I excelled at my position and was well liked by everyone mostly the ones I supervised, then it happened again this time real big time so I figured I was doing something right till they wanted me to start firing to save money, people who had spent thier whole lives working there and were about to get the big pay off but if they got fired first there would be no big pay off, I refused and was demoted, at that point I saw the writing on the wall and satrted my own company and good thing I did because in all thats what I have today because I got fired I have my own business and support my family just fine and continue to grow, so just do it do not wait for someone else it will be to late.
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:46 pm
Fed Up
Click on my link and join me
November 3rd, 2005 at 11:07 am
I’ve worked for several huge corporations, both US and International. It tood 20 years to learn that I do not posses the political acumen that one needs in a large corporation to stay employed and to rise in rank.
I did not possess what I refer to as the ‘Chess Game’ mentality. It never occcued to me that my background, contribution, talents and work ethic were less important than how to "play the game."
Be careful what you wish for, you could end up home alone, on a suburban street with a Chocolate Labrador as your employee — working out the details of your next product line.
Great dialogue, Brothers Sloan.
Kim Banks
The Pet Set
http://www.the-petset.com
November 5th, 2005 at 7:21 pm
It has been said that it is better [i]to come [/i]from a big company than [i]to work [/i]for a big company.
The first thing working for a big name company buys you is insight into how organizations work. Everything is already defined and laid out for you to study. However, you get to be pigeonholed very quickly. Arranging for a transfer can be difficult.
Some big companies try to get around this by reorganizing frequently, yet the drawback of that is that continuous knowledge is lost. Worse, during those shifts, people feel that they must establish their mark. So you’ll see discontinuity in the product. This shows up in abrupt changes of the product’s design and user interfaces, where each new member has to justify their approaches and make their mark, lest they be laid off as deadwood.
The biggest thing working for a big company brings you is [b]name recognition[/b]. We’re still a very brand name, label-driven society. We may say that the Internet levels the playing field, yet we’re still moved by the names of some Internet powerhouses. If you go to a party and say you work for Joe’s Search Engine, you won’t move as many heads as if you say you work for one of the 2 top search engines that have the vowels "oo." (Yes, you will hear lots of "Oo"’s.) You’ll be fawned over, especially because those big corporations like to pride themselves on receiving 1,000’s of resumes a day, so if you actually got to work for them, you must be special.
Want to know a reality? Just like so many people would die to work for a known big corporation, just as many are dieing to leave. A place can look very glamourous on the outside, receive tremendous press coverage in the major news and business journals, yet once you’re inside, it’s a different story altogether. In fact, the very management may make your life miserable, emphasizing how you should feel so lucky to have been chosen by them.
When speaking to people about their job histories in settings other than overly contrived job interviews, it’s interesting to hear some of the stories people say off the record. You hear a person say something like "I worked at Big Video Game Company for 15 years" or "I worked at Big Amusement Park for 5 years," and the usual reaction is, "Wow! That must have been such a cool place to work. How could you have left such a dream job?" The next answer may be as short as "Easy," or "It’s not really the place it’s cracked up to be."
Nevertheless, big companies still have the allure. If you take a close look at the management biographies of even the newest startups, you’ll see that many of the CxO’s and VP’s list big company name after big company name where they worked at, all in the name of creating a towering impression. (It’s always interesting to note, however, that in a big company, some people who do the actual work will never get the credit.)
Some companies specifically do not want to get too big because the closeness and culture they had in building their otherwise attractive product.
So unless one is by definition an outcast, a revolutionary as Guy Kawasaki says who doesn’t care what others say about them, it’s good to get several years of experience at big name companies, and get those big names as part of one’s history. That’s part of playing this game where people are still taken in by heroic company names, who don’t know the full details of the deceptions invovled. One can then use the access one got at those big names to build a network and possibly a staff who along with you wants to flee the bureaucratic facades. You can also use the higher salaries to build up the finances to create your own company and/or products to work on your own terms eventually.
Besides, even if you do work for a big company, you’re self-employed.
February 10th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
I love my current job at a non-profit company, but I had the extremely educational opportunity to be an intern at a large telecom firm in 2001. I was in a small R&D group, housed in one corner of a gigantic, open-floored building. Imagine taking a football field, covering it with fluorescent lights and sectioning it off with thousands of fabric-covered walls.
I worked in this labrynth for 9 months, and while there, I even got to see a little industrial espionage. We had a vendor walk in one day and start taking pictures of serial numbers on equipment unrelated to his stated purpose of visit! (We did recover the film and banish him to the lobby for all subsequent visits).
But that was not the most interesting part. Remember, this was 2001… I was able to watch first-hand as the gluttony of hiring ~100 new employees every week turned into massive layoffs the same year.
The group I was in was basically a pet project of one of the VP’’s, and we saved several million dollars for the company every year, but we created zero revenue, so this VP was constantly fighting to keep us off of the chopping block, and he did so quite successfully during the first two rounds of layoffs.
Well, the time came when I had to return to my university, and on my second-to-last day there, I attended a meeting addressing the issue of our manager’’s retirement. The VP reassured the group that we were very important to the company, and that our little R&D group would be around for a while.
THE NEXT DAY they dissolved the group. That’’s right, the next day… they just told everyone to "look for other jobs within the company" (a.k.a. "hasta-la-vista"). Boy was I glad it wasn”t a full-time job when I walked out that door!
That being said, 2001 was an extreme year, especially for the telecom industry. Having a front-row seat as the bubble burst was fascinating, but by no means a "typical" corporate experience.
April 28th, 2006 at 9:15 pm
It SUCKS big
April 30th, 2006 at 11:54 am
I worked at several "premier" global companies over the years, and I can remember feeling pride when telling someone where I worked.
Recently, upon reflection, I realized that the source of pride was artificial, meaning the sentiment had nothing to do with me: my skills, my acheivements, my vision. It had only to do with the name of the company.
Today, as an entrepreneur, the company [i]is[/i] me, and now I can express pride that is genuine.