corporate culture

Leave a comment June 1, 2022 Steve Wiggins

Perhaps you’ve seen them too. Big companies that express what they do purely in platitudes that apparently impress business types. I’ve looked at some of their websites and after considerable poking around I can’t conjure even a ghost of an idea of what they do. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, we all know what companies like Exxon, Random House, or even Planned Parenthood offer. They have a function—a product or service that you can recognize. Some of these vague large corporations seem to exist simply to exist. And get paid for it. It reminds me of that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa asks a corporate executive woman what her company produces and she answers “Synergy.” We see these “centers of excellence” popping up here and there. Excellence in what? Excellence is a quality, not a commodity. Or maybe I think too small.

Someone I know recently changed jobs and I looked up the company she’d switched to. It obviously had money for a slick website and an office in Manhattan. The list of industries it supports as clients was wide and impressive. But what does this company actually do? They spew platitudes. Corporate climbers apparently like this lingo. You’ll never catch me citing “best practices.” Are they trying to imply that the rest of us use worst practices? Do they mean a better way of doing things? Why not say what you mean? I like to play with words. It doesn’t pay very well, but I’m wondering if I’m perhaps missing an opportunity here.

We could form a company that spins out new corporate phrases to make business sorts sound intellectual. We wouldn’t actually need to do anything except attend company meetings about our company and throw out a few phrases likely to become trendy. Maybe hire a publicist to get those phrases going. Surely some company has the money to spend on that. Those of us who actually do peddle words for a living have trouble getting big corporate money. Publishing is a low profit-margin business. But a company that makes you sound intelligent? Priceless. Growing up there seemed to be only a few standard jobs. Of course, I lived in a small town where the options were indeed limited. Each of them, however, had a defined role. You knew what the job entailed. This new company, which will have a vague name, will be in keeping with the times. Who’s with me? Just be sure to bring your checkbook.

Leave a comment September 26, 2019 Steve Wiggins

I feel compelled to state up front that this wasn’t the mind-blowing book I was writing about in yesterday’s post. One of the perks of working in publishing is the occasional offer of a free book. (It’s not as generous as you might think, so when one is offered I always say “thank you.”) The Surprising Science of Meetings, by Steven G. Regelberg, isn’t exactly “mind-blowing.” The realization that some people make a living studying meetings was certainly, well, surprising, but the corporate world is all about returns on investments and boring stuff like that. We all hear of companies that value innovative and exciting ideas, but most of us know the feeling of being desk drones parked behind a soulless monitor all day. At least I’m no longer confined to a cubicle.

The academic world I once knew was the stimulating environment of learning for its own sake. The academy has followed the business world to its own form of perdition and as Rogelberg points out, there are millions of meetings any given day. Many of them are poorly run. This book is for those who want meetings to flow more effectively, to better the bottom line. Still, I found the chapter on servant leadership particularly hopeful. I couldn’t help but wonder if Rogelberg was aware that servant leadership was something that developed in the church, out of the effort to imitate the way Jesus was said to have led his flock of disciples. The point was not to aggrandize himself (this is a chapter 45 and his ilk should read) but to help others to be their best. This is the kind of leadership—rare, to be sure—that the church has always, at least vocally, promoted.

It didn’t take long for ecclesiastical organizations to start running like businesses, however. The bishop became a boss rather than someone who reluctantly had the crozier forced into his (or her) hand. I’ve always believed you should have to take a pay cut to become a bishop. That would immediately weed out most of the climbers. In fact, if servant leadership is really the ideal, and the good of the company is really the goal, pay cuts should be expected as you climb the corporate ladder. Can you imagine a business world where workers were well compensated, and those who really had vision sought promotion because their motivation wasn’t their own bottom line? It’s an intriguing idea, to be sure. I’d like ponder it more, but I’ve got a meeting to get to.