# My wife's company tried to screw its employees, so they torpedoed the company right back. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765 "2010-07-06T20:11:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/101 "2010-07-14T21:01:39Z")
> [@bump](#): > > In my experience, what actually happens is that the metrics by which workers are judged typically measure proficiency in performing the job at hand. The rewards for being good at it are promotions and pay. > > What this does in some cases is elevate a group of people who are good at something into jobs they’re not necessarily good at. Some proportion of them are actually good at the new job, while the rest are not. This happens at each level of the business. Most businesses would do a decent job of weeding out the incompetents from being promoted any further, if that was the only variable in play. This. When you’re good at doing something (making widgets, answering customer service calls, whatever), you eventually might get promoted to supervising people who make widgets or answer CS calls.’ Problem is that those are different skill sets, and too often the promoted person isn’t evil, and isn’t incompetent completely - just doesn’t have the right skill set for their new position of managing/supervising rather than making or answering. Self-aware people tend to recognize the difference and seek out information regarding the new skill set. Sometimes, that involves fleeting obsessions with the latest management buzzwords (moving cheese, throwing fish, filling buckets) which of course leads to hilarious games of buzzword bingo. Good managers will move beyond this phase. So-so managers will continue to incorporate some of the buzzwords but also begin to develop real skills. Crappy managers will toe a management paradigm line out of a need for security and not to fuck up. Great managers will also buy their supervisees beer and pizza 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/102 "2010-07-14T23:41:10Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > y. It really takes guts to do this when unemployment is around 10% nationally. Not really. If these folks are so senior and skilled and dominant in their field, a few phone calls would have financed a new company, non-competes notwithstanding. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/103 "2010-07-14T23:58:23Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Damn. Look at those “worked at Sirsi since \_\_\_\_” dates! That sucks Ogre. You are kidding right? Many of them pre-date dot-com. Few tech companies last that long, and those that do better be re-inventing themselves very often. Think of Moore’s law. Have they kept up? Are they going to keep up moving forward? Or are there ideas in their field out there that are as new and revolutionary as these companies’ products were way back when? ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/104 "2010-07-15T00:03:52Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > You have the lay the blame on the shoulders of “mom and pop”. They’re the ones that sold their souls (and their neat company) to the investment company and started this train wreck. Fuck them. Not getting this. If the employees were so great, why didn’t they see it coming too? didn’t the sales folks start noticing the quota going unmet, the longer sales cycles? Didn’t marketing notice tougher lead generation cycles? Didn’t accounting notice lower prices and longer payments outstanding? That’s a good chunk of the company and no one noticed? Really? ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/105 "2010-07-15T00:22:09Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Furthermore, most people HAVE to sell a company at some point: in most industries, you are either growing or dying, and the skill set to start and build a company is very different than the skill set needed to shepherd a medium-size company into a dominant position in a competitive field. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your employees is let someone who knows what they are doing take over (and you can go start something new, since that’s what you are good at). I am sure when these two companies started, they put existing methods and suppliers out of businesses, and killed off plenty of competitors along the way. Exceedingly few companies ever last a generation or more, including the most successful ones. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/106 "2010-07-15T00:26:54Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > When times are good, the people at the top justify their salaries by saying that they provide the guidance and decisions that are responsible for the state of a company. When times are bad, why do 100 people at the bottom lose their jobs? Well, they can get furloughed like California has - my gf has been working for free for 15% of her hours the last year. Her reward? We don’t know if she gets paid at all this month, and eventually her union is likely to make concessions on her salary and benefits. Perhaps the workers can work for free because when business sucks, they ssimply won’t get paid. I guess I don’t get why people think this market is still beating down the doors for the product and the next generation product. Are libraries really that free spending? ---
**Author:** ![SeaCanary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SeaCanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaCanary)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/107 "2010-07-16T13:16:08Z")
The [Dilbert](http://www.dilbert.com/) cartoon for 16 July is entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/108 "2010-07-16T13:31:29Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > You are kidding right? Why would I be kidding? ---
**Author:** ![santanadvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@santanadvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/santanadvx)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/109 "2010-09-27T22:39:00Z")
any update on this? Been 2 months, did the fallout occur as predicted? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/110 "2010-09-28T20:27:36Z")
Yeah, I was wondering, too… ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/111 "2010-09-29T08:31:08Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > > [@Ogre](#): > > > > My wife’s company used to be a small mom-n-pop outfit with a great **corporate culture** , > > Two words combined that can’t make sense. It’s culture in the same way “cannibalism” is a diet. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/112 "2010-09-29T10:52:07Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > > [@Ogre](#): > > > > My wife’s company used to be a small mom-n-pop outfit with a great **corporate culture** , > > Two words combined that can’t make sense. It’s culture in the same way “cannibalism” is a diet. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/113 "2010-09-29T15:25:59Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > It’s culture in the same way “cannibalism” is a diet. We heard you the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/114 "2010-09-29T15:28:00Z")
> [@Fir\_na\_tine](#): > > > [@Gukumatz](#): > > > > It’s culture in the same way “cannibalism” is a diet. > > We heard you the first time. That was cranky. What’s eating you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![santanadvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@santanadvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/santanadvx)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/115 "2010-10-03T04:42:02Z")
bump again. anyone know what is up at SD? ---
**Author:** ![stix\_zadinia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@stix\_zadinia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stix_zadinia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/116 "2010-10-10T18:01:50Z")
Word came across the customer discussion lists last week that 50 people were let go. Its not clear who or where though. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765/117 "2010-10-10T21:44:34Z")
> [@Fir\_na\_tine](#): > > > [@Gukumatz](#): > > > > It’s culture in the same way “cannibalism” is a diet. > > We heard you the first time. Sometimes when you eat something disagreeable, it repeats on you 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wifes-company-tried-to-screw-its-employees-so-they-torpedoed-the-company-right-back/545765.md?page=5)