dirty little companies

some musings in the wake of the hewlett-packard scandel.

if this is happening to large revered firms--and by "this" I mean a collapse of ethics at the highest levels--can smaller, less secure and more obscure companies be far behind? Here are some of the practices that one hears about in the heart of silicon valley. Some were heard over coffee at Starbucks, some in supermarket aisles, some late at night from ones closest companions.

What does it take to get a job at these dirty little companies? Sometimes often, payola. You either pay the headhunter a "finders fee" for recommending you to management, or worse, pay the manager who hires you, again, again and again. So that the top management is pulling down grossly inflated salaries, which are then redistributed among the top levels.....How can this be? Well,the same HR consultant assures the board of directors that these salaries are necessary....and they aren't about to rock the boat that pays them a director' s fee.

Dirty Little Company Practice #2--Hold down two jobs, for real. We read about the entrepreneurs who build two startups at once, and somehow they are to be admired. Not so admirable is the IT professional or the Sales Engineer who is on the payroll of two companies, contributing only a token effort to each. How do you find these people? You don't. The person you can never find is the one who is doubledipping.

Dirty Little Company Practice #3 --Delay booking sales until your personal objectives are met. Maybe until the commission falls into your pocket or into your buddy's pocket. Or worse, until you move to a competitor and can snatch that sale from your old company. Most often practiced at the vp level.

Dirty Little Company Practice #4--Send in a sales engineer to call on a company outside the US, carrying product that "accidentally" gets left behind. Kind of an export business, wouldn't you say? Just wait until the "mule" gets caught and has his passport lifted, or worse.

Well, those are all of the dirty little secrets for today. Hold on. It gets better.