Re: career doldrums

Sharon wrote:

<snip>

Yes, you're right. Have you read "DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC"? I hate to mention it because it sounds like a cheerleader book and people are very "religious" about their technology. But it's actually a very good analysis of how DEC formed as a company, then got so big that it was paralyzed by it's own size. It doesn't to into the technology too much, but covers the corporate culture and how it changed, as well as the struggles that management had in it's latter days. I found it quite illuminating in a pure business sense.

You might, then, enjoy reading "Corporate Cultures" by Terrence Deal and Allan Kennedy. It was written in 1982 and I don't think things changed much since then, though many of the companies mentioned in the book no longer exist.

Likewise, I rented the DVD "Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room" this weekend. They didn't go into the corporate culture too much; just stayed at a very high level analysis of what happened. I found it interesting that these idiots thought they were smarter than anyone else, too smart to get caught. (Isn't that part of the profile of a certain type of career criminal?) What disturbed me more than what Lay and Skilling did, were the audio clips of the traders. They were literally gleeful and gloating about making money off the California energy system, putting grandmas in the dark and boo hoo on them. They were pretty sick.

For a perspective on how one corporation functioned in a crisis, read "Superwreck" by Rudolph Chelminski. It's about the sinking of the Amoco Cadiz off the coast of Brittany in 1978. I was working in the oil industry at the time and little of what I read in the book surprised me.

Oh, and the fact that all the banks and all the Wall Street analysts stuck to the party line and never questioned the numbers they were given. It looks like a large chunk of the American economy is corrupt. It really makes me wonder about things.

It's really not that puzzling. There's an adage in the stock market that hits the nail on the head: bulls make money, bears make money, but pigs get slaughtered.

This isn't anything new. You might want to read Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor". Not only is it an excellent guide to how one should go about investing money in the stock market (including doing one's homework, such as by reading annual reports), it's a good perspective of what went on Wall Street based on his many years of experience in the business. I highly recommend it, but it's not light reading.



I find it interesting that all of the managers I met - with degrees in management - Never heard of Kelly Johnson and how he ran the skunk works. - you would think it would be required reading for technical managers?


I haven't read that one. What's the title so I can look it up on Amazon.

I'm not aware of any books on the subject, but just look up "Skunk Works" and you'll have lots of results. Under Johnson's leadership, it was responsible for a number of high-performance military aircraft including the U-2 and F-104 Starfighter. It was renowned for producing flying prototypes starting from scratch in short periods of time.



It's not hard or expensive to get good technical people excited about their work. - IMHO
Cut too many costs and pull a few bone head moves and those good people might as well stay in their offices and play with themselves. - Now your wasting a lot of salaries - (cost cutting?) - and yes - I understand cash flow problems, but not when a VP gets 7 figures.


Yep. On the Daily Show a couple of months ago Jon Stewart pointed out how only a month before Ford laid off those thousands of people because they were millions of dollars in the hole, Ford invested 30 million in the local stadium so they would name it after the company. Saying that their priorities are mixed up is just a huge understatement.

You might find "On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors", written by J. Patrick Wright, interesting. It's about John de Lorean's perspectives on the company and much of that could have applied to the corporations I worked for. It was published in 1979 and, again, little's changed since then.


- Sharon
"Gravity... is a harsh mistress!"
.

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