Microsoft

I worked with tons of very smart people at the peak of their technical game. I don't think I could have learned more or done more in my specialty area had I been anywhere else. It was an excellent opportunity to deepen my skillset and to learn some new things.

There is a thick middle management layer that insulates senior leadership. The top and bottom layers don't talk to each other very well, if at all. Decisions get made without accountability being taken. "Corporate Culture" is something fed to the newbies, but it doesn't mean anything when business needs arise.

Management needs to understand the value of transparency and accountability.

"The Business" doesn't do anything. It's people.

• People consume data.
• People make decisions.
• People take actions.

Just own it. Don't shove your head in the sand and pretend things happen for reasons you don't understand.

If there's a lack of understanding and clarity around a decision, it's only because management (or their superiors) don't wish for there to be.

Everybody, at every level, should reject that kind of obfuscation.