Company Culture and the CEO’s Philosophy Can Make All the Difference

A company’s culture can make all the difference in how a person progresses in his or her career and even in how that person perceives success.

I worked for a company for five years. I met the CEO, who lived in another state, one time. Upon our one and only face to face encounter, he stood in front of my desk and barked orders at me. He didn’t acknowledge the introduction provided by my boss. He didn’t shake my hand. He didn’t even look at me. Instead, he sneered at my office as he told me that the photos on the wall were hung at the wrong height and ordered me to move them. The blinds needed to be replaced; he didn’t like the furniture; and the building was too warm that day. All of those things were somehow my fault. He continued his tour, telling my boss how our facility was not good enough the entire time. I didn’t hear him say one positive thing to a single person the entire time he was there.

I don’t work for that company anymore. I left when that same CEO decided that my full-time position could be easily replaced by two part-time people. The theory was that the company would save money by not paying my benefits.

I hardly made enough money to support myself after they had reduced all of the employees’ wages by 20% the previous fall. I’m not sure how much money they saved by not paying holiday and vacation time for that one position. They didn’t save anything in health insurance premiums because I was on my husband’s policy at the time.

Could the difference be because one CEO is local and the other wasn’t? Is it because I am more ambitious and therefore more noticeable now? I don’t think so. I think the difference lies in the company cultures. My previous job was about the all mighty dollar while my current one is about empowering people. The difference could also be that my current CEO is just less of an egomaniac that my previous one.

I’m a simple country girl. I try to tell the truth and be straight with people. I won’t pretend to be anything else. I’m thankful to work with people who don’t expect me to change anything in order to succeed. Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.