Culture Shock

I miss some of the old friendships; those people who for no reason whatsoever would walk into my office and bother me with nothing in particular. Or not bother me. Just take the chair behind mine and wait for me to finish what I was doing and turn around, which I would eventually do out of patient tolerance. But that was our company culture. Patient tolerance. Those of you who went through something life-derailing while in their employ know what I am talking about. It was almost funny how someone could exist at the place of least productivity for what seemed to everyone else like incredibly long periods of time...and live to tell about it. It's one of the things that made CVIS unique. Their uncharacteristic willingness to 'work with you' was both a curse and a blessing. It was a blessing when you needed their help and a curse when you watched them nurse along someone you know was having a destructive overall influence on the company, their clients and profitability. Plus you knew that whenever anyone got released (an extremely infrequent occurrence) it was probably well overdue under other circumstances.

This is one of the things that grew out of the management's concern for the well being of each individual in their employ (which was the major reason this happened) and because whenever new expectations were communicated the chances of them really having any teeth was about 10% or less.

I remember a situation when I first became 'in charge' of a particular department early in my career there. Coming from a strong business background I purposed to begin doing time studies to measure effectiveness and profitability of my staff. This was about as well received as a screen door salesman in a submarine yard. Hence there was an uprising, troops met with the general and he told them he would be the person they could all answer to. My management legs were effectively cut out from beneath me and so it was for the remainder of my time there. For me this one incident sticks out as defining all following days, months and years. It was this same style of leadership which became our culture.

Life on Earth has changed. Dramatically.

For those who have gone over to Microdesk, each are personally responsible for financial contribution goals which must be achieved by both sales and technical staffers. For everyone else, no skating allowed. If you skate, you starve. It's a lot like a nuclear winter. Nothing is as it was prior to the blast and you have to rebuilt the world. Eeveryone has something to do, no hiding. This is not a bad thing, in my opinion. Many brains are beginning to re-engage and the sounds of industry are slowly repopulating the airwaves.

Our culture shock draws nourishment partly from the fact that we are all attempting to find our comfort zone in this brave new world. We want to be productive, make money and like what we do. But another major contributor to shock is this weird vibe marching around in our shared office space. Like a big ass ugly invisible gorilla. It showed up the same day Microdesk's absorption staff did. Their task was admittedly daunting. They were suddenly taking over the 'ownership' (as it were) of about 20 exCVIS staffers - and ALL of the business in California. It had to be done and it had to be thorough. It also had to be professional. We were all in the same building however and so we all saw them everyday. My attempts to make conversation were not enthusiatically returned. Here and I thought HR was supposed to be filled with the introvertedly-challenged. This culture clash seems most evident in our differences in dress code. CVIS was not a tie kind of place. Business casual was our daily fare unless we are meeting with clients, and then dress as they do. Ties for ties, boots for boots; architects or engineers. But the 'seriousness' of the Microdesk staff (with a few minor exceptions) was fully realized by those from CVIS who now called Microdesk home. When the team left, the gorilla stayed. I dont want to feed it anymore. Not exactly certain what to do about it.

I am quite willing to admit to a certain amount of envy. Wouldn't it be nice to call someplace home that you know isn't going to burn down again by the end of nextweek? That's about as far as it goes, however. Corporate America, for all it's virtues, can often come off entirely too self-important like a stuffy, hot room on a humid day. With the air conditioner broken. If you can find the fun you can succeed at anything, however.

One last story: There I was minding my own business, semi sleeping in the middle of the afternoon on what would have normally been a workday. Many of us had been volunteering our time in order to keep-the-show-on-the-road while working out the details for future ventures described in earlier posts. This particular day found me wiped out mentally and emotionally and I needed a nap. This was my thinking as I dozed when suddenly my phone rang. It was a colleague asking me if the rumors were true. What rumors, I inquired. Rumors that I had been in discussions with one of our most annoying competitors - one with whom there was no professional (or little personal) love lost by both companies now in league. I laughed, albeit nervously. What would they find in me to buy, I asked. I reasoned my way through it with the person on the phone who didn't want to take hearsay as gospel without checking it out themselves. This trait is one of the reasons this particular person is going to be wildly successful in life, wherever they go, whatever they do. I appreciated the call and went into the office. Finding myself 'locked out' of the network I realized that this rumor had reached gargantuan proportions fast. At the same time it gave me a fleeting moment of my own inflated self importance at this critical time in my life. So pathetic in so many ways. After getting let back in, I phoned the most likely suspect and left a message. Later they apologized citing abounding paranoia.

Days later I heard that a very key player from what used to be CVIS had actually defected to the company I had been rumored to be making my big deal with. Only then did I understand the probable origins of the paranoia. If it had happened in a vacuum I could have taken it personally. This, as it turned out, was business. Even so, it would have been nice to have been consulted prior to dictating someone taking action.

But then that doesn't appear to be that company's culture.