SAP

1. This is a large, financially healthy company. Even with a bad Q1 09 quarter (with a 33% decrease in software license revenue), SAP still managed to keep the overall revenue flat and get a substantial profit.

2. The time horizon is long, so you have time to learn the skills to do the job, and the job is relatively stable. There is no running around from one mission to another like in a consulting company.

3. Roles are well defined.

4. Pay and benefits are fair, and management is generally supportive.

5. Easy access to the office from Paris.

The downsides are directly linked to the advantages of working there.

• This is a huge company with a lot of politics, many entities with conflicting goals, and a general sense of confusion. Also, a 33% decrease in software licenses is not a good sign for a software company.
• You have to be patient and willing to cope with a heavy process overhead. Projects are very long, so it is hard to see the impact of your work on the market.
• Roles are very specialized, and there is very little movement to advance your career.
• No salary increase in 2009. Management does not encourage movement, but rather specialization.
• Lack of fun.

Make sure your teams have clear goals, relevant to the success of the company and to the growth of employees, rather than the latest fads (like "implement Lean methodology") just for looking good.

Tackle the hard problems instead: which products to build, which organization to support the right architecture and feature set, which resources to allocate, and how to intelligently reassign the right people.

Grow the employees.

Reward the good behaviors and punish the bad behaviors. Prevent individuals from stealing the spotlight by appearing to be helpful. Make sure you get objective evaluations from multiple sources.