What Makes A "Good" Company Different From Any Other?

I haven't had that many jobs in my life, but as a contractor for 13 years I've been in numerous companies and talked to lots of people about how much they liked their jobs. Believe it or not, the biggest reason I've found for job dissatisfaction is management.

Almost everyone is mostly happy with their co-workers, work challenges, pay, benefits etc. Almost always, they complain about their supervisors, the executives, and especially the investment board.

I'm not sure it is totally management, since many people (myself included) have worked for really good managers. I think there is also some correlation to the number of levels of management.

At one time I worked for a “good” company with about 100 employees. We enjoyed a 90%+ retention rate before the dotcom bubble peaked. There was 1 level of management between me (the worker bee) and the CEO, some people had 2 levels. This company was sold to a much larger company for a lot of money (really good timing on the owner's part). I now had 8 levels of management between me and the CEO and the retention rate dropped to about 50% as all the senior people found different jobs, rather than working for the new company. This could be a result of the new company not understanding the services of the company they bought and thus angering those who did. Or it could have been the transition from personal management to impersonal management.

Another company had 4 levels of management between the worker and the CEO and the retention rate was about 50% again. In this case the investment board couldn't seem to make up its mind about where the company was going. They staffed up, called for a RIF and then soon after an across the board 10% pay cut followed by ousting the CEO and bringing in a new one, then setting goals based on promises made by people who were no longer with the company. Here one could argue that the quality of leadership was a larger factor than the number of management levels. I might argue that there is a correlation still.

How about you? Do you work in a good company with many levels of management? Or only a few? Or do you like many others have lots of management and everyone complains about them?

6 Comments

  • Yes - management is always the problem.



    It is because our industry is immature - unlike oil, others most managers did not

    grow up through the engineering ranks.

  • A good company with few layers. Only 2 layers between "Consultant" and "Principal." I work in a consulting company. :)

  • I would agree that management makes all the difference in the world... Since you know where I work, I think you would agree that our management makes it very easy to enjoy working there...

  • The failure of every project I have been on can be traced to poor management. In only once case was the technical aspects so poor as to cause failure (but the project failed because of management before we got to that technical failure point).

  • The signatures of almost all great (not good) companies are a commonality of purpose and belief in the product/service your provide.  Will all hands working toward the same end with the same purpose, failure in not in the equation.  This commonality starts at the top and resonates throughout.  The key is communicaitons and message.

  • When the guy on the bottom sees or believes the guy on the top cares for his wellness and ability to thrive; [it comes back around] he will perform better, be better prepared, be more willing having more positive energy. A Good Co. starts with a good foundation.

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