Nokia

Lovely colleagues. A great sense of community. Some green credentials. Honesty in its dealings with other companies. Genuinely good engineering in its products.

You were never alone with a challenge; there was always someone that could be asked for an opinion, and people would nearly always make the time to help. Probably the second-best thing I'm taking away from my time there is that willingness to help and be helped; "The Nokia Way".

Almost zero opportunity for mobility within the organization or to renew skills. Little/no training available, certainly nothing beyond Nokia-specific techniques and tools. Regular requests to work extra/unsocial hours for no remuneration. A culture of requiring high achievers to fight hard for recognition.

Some of these are due to the very tight budgets of the last seven years and, as such, are quite understandable, but there comes a point when giving your best in the hope of "jam tomorrow" becomes stale.

In aviation, two of the best survival rules are:

• There are times when leaving the controls alone is the best way to regain control.
• Avoiding bad weather may ruin your journey, but it won't end your life.

I think they apply to Nokia quite well.