The problem is actually very simple. The company is too big that many real talents are lost in the waves. The layers is the basic cause, we have Mr Dell himself, the execs, then VP followed by another VP then director that acts like a VP then manager that acts like a VP then a consultant that acts like a VP then the common employees. And we all know only one in a million VP can understand and appreciate what a common employee do without a powerpoint slide.
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it is ditto in server group so the culture is pretty same across, huh?
Endogamy doesn't work. You need to get people from outside with a different perspective to make a turnaround. Netapp did this by bringing George from Cisco. You can't expect to get different results by doing the same thing.
VP3 proceeds to promote employee S who has his name recorded as project lead for the very important project and had been telling VP3 how pretty he is for the past 6 months.
VP4 to VP5 I need more powerpoints.
VP5 to talented employee. you did ok, VP4 still does not know who you are. here is an average increment for every employee regardless of what you do. Now get back to work. I need a new powerpoint.
so we have CEO - VP1 - VP2 - VP3 - VP4 - VP5 - individual contributor. passing the message be like:
some talented employee: I made this and I made a powerpoint to help you understand.
VP5: *takes the exact powerpoint. Hey, I somewhat understand what it is and I made this powerpoint to show off my brilliant subordinates.
VP4: *takes the exact powerpoint. Hey, I don't understand half of this but I made this this powerpoint to showoff my portfolio.
VP3: *takes the exact powerpoint. I don't know what I am doing but I made this powerpoint to show updates on what is happening with our most important project.
VP2: *takes the exact powerpoint. Hey I made this powerpoint to show my people are doing things.
VP1: good. bravo. take your rewards and promote whoever you want to promote for the powerpoint.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
― Upton Sinclair
That's why I am never going to work for a company with tree of hierarchy which has height larger than 3. Root is the CEO, leaves are the engineers.
That’s one of the problems with capitalism. It generates lots of unintended and unforeseen consequences. Powerpoint is life at Dell. VP's ORSD's and on and on , The slaves are working away for nothing.
“I do not think what we face is a problem. It is a predicament. And predicaments do not have solutions.” — Greg Machala, 2017
Most folks will lose their jobs soon regardless who they are. Dumb to think otherwise
This is so TRUE - LOL
What else would you expect in a deindustrialised world with a declining education system and a disproportionate high number of lawyers and useless MBA's?