Abuse as corporate culture
by Miki SaxonImage credit: emdot
I frequently have people ask me for an example of a really bad corporate culture, especially after I write a post about a good one as I did yesterday. Sure, I know a number of them, but when it’s insider knowledge it’s dangerous to share, even if it’s scrubbed.
So I looked around the Net and found this great example on Eric Peterson’s blog that he made up, “It was a bit facetious on my part.”
Not hardly! Eric may think he made it up—he even has a disclaimer—but I know the CEO he was channeling. Reading that interview was one of the eeriest things that’s happened in a long time, since I lived it and it was practically verbatim.
It happened back when I was a headhunter and the CEO wanted to hire me to staff a new division. He was explaining his company’s management approach in response to my question about work environment and turnover.
He wanted me to understand that it didn’t really matter what kind of people I sent, they would break them to fit their needs. He thought it was so funny—I thought he was so sick.
I refused the assignment, but didn’t forget the company. In the course of the next few years I removed more than 100 people, some went to my clients, but many I just gave away, coached, helped. And turned on every other recruiter I knew to that happy hunting ground.
It wasn’t about money, it was a humanitarian effort—you can’t just walk away when you see people being abused.
And that’s what it was, abuse. Abuse is rife these days and we all owe it to ourselves to step in and do what we can when we see it.
In business it can be the entire corporate culture or just a rogue manager, but it’s never something to turn your back on or put up with—no matter the name, abuse is just plain wrong.
Have you rescued yourself or a friend lately?
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