IBM

Given the breadth of offerings and activities, I was able to jump to interesting new projects & roles every 3-4 years. I stayed 15 years past my distaste for the character of the company because of some of the things I got to do and try.

I saw the world and met some lifetime friends.

"They are who we thought they were."

Mega-corporate. Process for everything. (Way too many) good, smart people building smart roadblocks to getting things done, in the name of auditing, control, and project management expertise.

Desperate need for SW solutions (and everything else) to satisfy every industry and perspective, which made solutions (and everything else) bloated and unfocused.

At the macro level, so much marketing vapor, but too little useful reality behind the fog.

Flexibility for job-hopping has decreased over time.

Strong anti-employee moves from HR in the last 2 years, including vesting changes for 401k and reduction of severance. Financial engineering is bleeding through at every level.

Financial engineering: A radical focus on higher-margin businesses is making you less and less relevant. Invent something interesting instead.