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Big Co. Politics Rule

Software Architect
Former Employee
Worked at Autodesk for 9 years
March 17, 2013
San Francisco, California
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros

Good, smart people, trying to do their best.

Reasonable benefits, but they have diminished over the years.

Flexible work hours in some areas of the business.

Cons

Politics have taken over. The politically correct option overrules doing the right thing for the business and the customer.

Technology and architecture take a back seat to the manager's desire to manage up and make themselves look good.

The deep management structure makes it very difficult for technologists to get things done. The engineering teams sit idle, waiting for management to dictate what or what not gets done.

Most of the management have lost their technology skills, yet they won't let anyone else make technology decisions. They protect their turf at all costs by playing politics with their team. Unfortunately, the technologists become scapegoats.

Sadly, good technologists do not last very long and leave for greener pastures.

Advice to Management

The company is slowly dying internally due to the politics. Talented technologists are choosing to leave because they cannot get things done in the politically rich environment.

Ask yourselves why the outside world is running at such a faster rate than the company.

Ask yourselves why good technologists are leaving.

Try to remember, technology is what will make or break the company. Reinvent yourselves to give technology and the technologists a role in the company's direction. If the company continues to embrace politics and shun good technologists, how will it be able to compete?

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