Invaluable experience at a failed organization, especially early in career
Pros
- Great mission; big audacious goals - Incredible campus right near downtown - Many informal opportunities for learning, such as lunch and learn (esp. across silos) - Very good cafeteria - Great benefits and retirement package - Robust culture that keeps you on your toes - Many lessons learned about working with difficult people in a very politically complex environment (see cons)
Cons
I've received invaluable experience; learning how to not manage an organization. If management education programs are about giving you the tools to successfully manage an organization, the foundation abounds with lessons from the other side of the coin. Valuable learning in: - Sustaining a culture of distrust and animosity both between teams and between layers in the chain of command - Spending billions on foreign investments with little to no accountability - Selecting inappropriate technology solutions and rolling them out improperly - Engaging external consultants at a very high price while not setting value expectations - The risks of putting HR in charge of managing an organization's people with no checks and balances The foundation is a total shipwreck, but shipwrecks are valuable warnings to others so they may navigate a safer course.
