Leadership Undermines Innovation
Pros
Some talented colleagues (if they’re still around)
Cons
Executive leadership continually hampers innovation by forcing engineers to endure constant organizational politics, restructurings, and distractions. Instead of fostering an environment where technical teams can focus on building great products, the leadership culture breeds instability, confusion, and short-term thinking. One glaring example: the company chose to hire new employees just two months before announcing a forced relocation to Deerfield—a deeply inconsiderate move. It showed a complete lack of empathy for people’s lives and circumstances. There was no foresight or transparency. People were onboarded, uprooted their lives, and then were told they had to relocate or leave. That’s not just poor planning—it’s unethical. Even worse, the rationale for the relocation fell apart almost immediately. Leadership initially claimed that consolidating in Deerfield would "foster innovation," only to later backtrack and decide to keep the North Olmsted office open—because moving the water equipment would be too expensive. That cost analysis should have been done before the relocation announcement. Instead, they let valuable people walk out the door, unsure of their future, before quietly reversing course. The damage to morale and team cohesion was already done. To top it off, they let go of long-time engineers who wouldn’t relocate, only to replace them with remote contractors. So much for the “collaboration and innovation” justification. The inconsistency and lack of integrity in these decisions reflect poor leadership and a disregard for the people who’ve built the company. If you're an engineer who values stability, long-term vision, or respect from leadership, think twice.