Things That Make You (Me) Go Hmmm

I saw a snippet of Captain Hindsight from South Park the other day, and it made me think of a couple things that have been rattling around in my brain lately. My initial college major was teaching history and political science; I changed after my freshman year to computer science. I still like teaching and history. Lately, I have been looking into challenging history as I was taught, looking to understand more of the complexity and unbiased events. For instance, I have been reading about the 1980 "October Surprise" story surrounding the release of the hostages from Iran. The timing of the release of the hostages was always a little suspicious, but not so much that I thought there was something else going on. In retrospect, there is much circumstantial evidence that it wasn't on the up and up. 

Hmmm. 

Where am I going with this? Hang with me.

You would have to live under a rock not to have heard unfavorable news about Boeing over the last few years—the 737-Max, 777 a whistleblower dying, and door plugs not being secured. Some people point to a more significant cultural change at Boeing that can be traced back to Harry Stonecipher, a protege of Jack Welch. For more on the Boeing story, see "Flying Blind" by Peter Robinson.

Hmmm.

I am getting to the point, really.

This got me thinking more about Jack Welch and how he made Six Sigma a pillar of his business strategy. As someone who has led medium-sized teams and big projects, I have always been cautious of Six Sigma. Like most things, it was started to meet a need and add value, but my experience has been that it's become something else. At GE, it was weaponized and became a "religion" to help with the culture. Want an example? Stack-rating employees, considering the bottom 5% of expendables, can be traced back to practices at GE. This practice has become common at most companies I have knowledge of. As a manager, I have had to use this practice on high-performing teams and replace the "bottom" person. The position stayed open for a long time because the person we managed out was very good and not easily replaced. Now imagine teams/organizations playing politics and/or pushing an agenda and how this can be used as a weapon.

Hmmm.

Funny how more information comes out over time, and it changes the narrative. Makes good fodder for someone who likes to learn.

Who I Work With is a Choice

Since leaving Amazon, I have been recharging and considering what I want to take on next and with whom. I followed a similar process in 2013 when I last looked for my next opportunity. Then, I gathered a list of the top 10 companies I respected and focused my search on those. I needed to align my principles with the companies that aligned with them. This led me to also form a list of companies that didn't align with my principles and exclude them from my search. As a result, I passed up some well-paying opportunities.

For instance, Amazon was on the list in 2013 because of my experience with no-hassle returns and Amazon Prime. Secondarily, it was the technology, tools, and innovation.

A lot has changed since 2013, including my prioritization of principles. For instance, after the 2016 election, I am paying more attention to politics. It's not a party affiliation but rather a candidate and their policies. It is a contradiction to say you support me as a transgender person and then support policies that limit my freedoms. It's also about the larger company culture concerning diversity, equity, inclusion, social impact, and corporate responsibility.

From what I hear and see, the job market is in a cycle where it's challenging to land a job. I can feel the tension between landing a job and standing by principles. It's a choice.

Ultimately, it's not a choice for me. I have not been happy when I have worked with less principled teams. I am the type of person who wants to wake up in the morning and is glad to be working with the company/team. That does not mean it's easy or there are no challenges. But it does allow me to be myself, be comfortable asking for help, know that I will get help, and pay it forward by helping others.