Like making love to a skunk, I didn't get all I wanted, but I got all I could stand.
Pros
The manager I reported to was a bright and outstanding person to work for and absolutely worked their behind off - but was getting over worked, and was not supported by their VP. This manager built a dream team, and that was the most rewarding thing- was to be a part of a highly competent group of peers. We were on the same page and were very productive - plus we had fun doing it. So on the whole, there really were many bright folks working at Real - it was mostly a pleasure to be there because of that.
Cons
There is a general lack of process at Real - from most teams - and it seemed to be the way most preferred to run things, I believe because it made it easy to not be accountable. One would be hard-pressed to ever actually review a true marketing plan for any of Real's products - their marketing plans are mostly reactive, and not proactive. There are several products that Real should really either scrap or they need to spend time thinking about the viability of them & move on to something more compelling to the consumer. Finally, I found it frustrating and sad that the CEO announced that Real had record earnings in 2008, but then he laid off 7.5% of his staff.
