IBM

I was paid fairly, and in the olden days (say, before 1997) allowed a lot of leeway toward education and professional enrichment. Salary, bonuses, and even awards were more than fairly given in my case. The experience I had at IBM really launched my professional career. Most of my experience before was in unrelated fields.

Over time, management becomes more "metrics driven" – which is to say, short-sighted.

Oh, how many things we did twice because they weren't realistic about the scope of the work, or how it fit strategically.

Perhaps that's because much of the "boots on the ground" management has no idea what their underlings do.

Also, those awards and bonuses seem pretty arbitrary when you look at the big picture.

It seems if your own management isn't strong, your department will never get its share – no matter how hard they work.

In the end, they'll either sell your division, move your job to India or China, or just plain lay you off.

Everybody I know still in "the company" is watching their backs, just waiting for the axe to fall.

Grow a pair. Get rid of Palmisano before he bankrupts the company. But even more important: Decide what business IBM wants to be in. There's not a lot of call for "taking vast sums of money for poorly delivered offshored services" (yes, I mean you, IGS).

So, figure out where the "family jewels" of IBM are, and take a management approach to exploit those that looks out past the next quarter and past Palmisano taking his money and running.