Good Careers at Bad Companies
The article discusses the challenges of building a successful career in dysfunctional companies, which are more common than one might think. It emphasizes that while many companies may be considered 'bad', there are valuable lessons to be learned from these experiences. Ultimately, career growth in such environments comes from navigating dysfunction and developing skills to manage challenges.
- ▪Most companies are dysfunctional in some significant way, making it important to learn how to build a meaningful career in such environments.
- ▪Companies that are going somewhere offer better opportunities for career growth, while those going nowhere present challenges that can lead to burnout.
- ▪Working at a bad company can provide valuable takeaways, including personal reputation and experience in dealing with dysfunction.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Someone once asked me whether you can join a dysfunctional company and still have a good career. The question assumed dysfunction is rare—something you'd see in advance and choose to join or avoid. But my experience is that most companies are dysfunctional in some significant and non-immediately obvious way, so a better question is: how do you build a meaningful career when those kinds of companies are the norm, not the exception?There are, broadly speaking, two types of companies:Companies that are going somewhere (or have gotten somewhere) andCompanies that are going nowhere (or are slipping back to nowhere)The trajectory of a company is important because it correlates with that company's impact on your career.Companies that have gotten somewhere are the BigCo/FAANGs (or your industry…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Shared Physics.
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