Pros in Addition to Cons
I’ve worked the 9-5 grind for over a decade now. And I generally dislike it. I’m trying to find my path out. But I think it’s unfair to knock it without acknowledging some of the really good lessons to be learned from the corporate world.
In no particular order, here are some of the benefits of spending some time in corporate America.
Being Around High Achievers Every Day
I work in the FP&A group at my office. Basically corporate finance. I straddle the fence between right brain and left brain, but my coworkers are all Type A, left brain ass kickers. They all went to good schools and they are all ridiculously smart. I struggle to fit in sometimes because I’m a bit more of a daydreamer at times. And that mindset has certain advantages.
But these people force me to raise my game. There are days where they humble me with their capabilities. I’m truly amazed by the unusual knack for organizing and presenting information. The attention to detail and concentration. The ability to see patterns. And the desire to succeed. The only way to avoid feeling inadequate is to work my ass off. And I’m glad to have been pushed to do so. I’ll take that with me in everything I do the rest of my life.
I also have the good fortune of working in a company that is big enough and interesting enough to attract really exceptional people. It’s also small enough that I get to interact with them all on a regular basis. I’m constantly engaging with the C-level people in the company, and it’s great to be around those kinds of minds. I get to see how they think and pick up on their wisdom, experience, and excitement every day. It’s invaluable.
Exposure to Underhanded Human Nature and Political Posturing
Many of the people I work with are also a bit Machiavellian. Some people are born to strive for Alpha status, and they strive with everything they’ve got. They ruthlessly go after what they want every day.
Personally, I’d rather ride off into the sunset and chase freedom over power and status. But in this world it never hurts to learn to spot the underhanded side of human nature. And the corporate world is one place to watch it in action and develop a filter for it.
I once had a great idea for our business and told a co-worker. I mentioned the idea to him because he was heavily involved in business development at the time.
A few minutes later he went into the COO’s office and closed the door behind him. After he reemerged he told me he shared my idea with the COO and “had been sure to give me all of the credit”.
I’ll never know what was actually said behind closed doors. But I have my doubts that he didn’t just take credit for the idea himself. After all, the COO never struck up any conversations with me about. Yet it became an initiative he decided to pursue. I didn’t feel strongly enough to go ask the COO directly about what he was told. But in some larger group meetings I was sure to casually mention how I’d told my idea to the co-worker. Eventually it became known that this was something I’d come up with.
Regardless of what happened it was a reminder that people can be sneaky and dishonest.
Now when I have an idea I go straight to the CEO or COO. That way I ensure that they see I have good, creative ideas, and that I get the credit.
It’s beneficial to have experiences that make me wiser, even if some of what goes on feels a bit slimy.
Much of What I’m Learning Will Be Beneficial as an Entrepreneur
Ultimately I want to work for myself. And I will be positioned to manage myself effectively because of all I’ve learned and witnessed in the corporate world.
In the corporate world, business owners are highly intelligent people who are heavily invested. They demand accurate reporting and information to allow them to make good decisions about the direction of the company. And they are looking to maximize the return on their investment.
Nothing is haphazard. Budgets are set as a plan to make the company grow and return a profit. Without profit, there is no point to running a business. And managing a large enterprise towards profitability requires rigor and discipline.
And even if one is disciplined, without the proper skill set it’s easy to mismanage or misrepresent the profitability and liquidity of a business. With the good foundation I now have in proper accounting, reporting, analysis, modeling, and cash forecasting, I’m set up to manage my own affairs far more effectively.
I’ve seen many small business owners with a good idea fail or simply tread water due to the lack of rigor around the back end of their affairs. They’re terrible at managing their cash. And they really have no idea how well they’re performing at any given time. The real world examples I’ve seen were often artists who didn’t want to bothered with the “boring” side of business. And on some level that’s because they didn’t even know where to start and were intimidated by it.
Being able to apply these skills to any enterprise is a huge advantage for an entrepreneur in any field.
Managing Through Hard Times and Taking Advantage of Good Times
The company I work for has weathered a number of ups and downs during my tenure. And that has required some hard pragmatism and difficult decisions. It has also required the knowledge and intuition to know how strike when times are good and the business is thriving.
One CEO I worked under was a long time industry veteran, and also a very smart businessman in general. When he took the helm, the company was pursuing several different lines of business. That included real estate development in 2008 when the real estate market crashed. And the company was suffocating under a massive debt obligation that accrued interest at a staggering rate.
He first identified which line of business he thought we were positioned to thrive in and that would provide the most value. All other lines of business were discontinued to allow for singular focus on one core area. And that required some very tough decisions. But better to cause some temporary pain than see the whole enterprise fail.
He also looked at the portfolio and identified under-performing assets within the core line of business that could be sold to pay down debt and avoid a takeover by our lenders.
With these two actions the company avoided the cliff it was headed towards.
And now the company can easily cover it’s debt payments with plenty of cash from operations left over. We have a new CEO, and he has identified opportunities to drive incremental business. He is investing more capital in the company’s assets, and more money in high achieving employees with great ideas. In doing so he can increase revenue and value while conditions are favorable and establish a larger base of loyal customers with a more intriguing product.
The real moral of the story here is that a company has to be actively managed. If a person sits back and assumes their company will automatically perform well, they may be setting themselves up to fail when times get hard. And conversely they’ll miss the opportunity to increase their profits when times are good.
I’m grateful that I’ve seen competent leaders at work through both ends of that spectrum. The lessons were very beneficial and educational.
Conclusion
So while it’s popular to bash the wage slavery of the corporate world, I like to at least acknowledge that I’ve been paid to learn many valuable lessons while working in it. I can move on to the world of self employment with confidence that I’ll be able to objectively assess and define my success. And that is very powerful.
If you’re feeling stuck in the corporate world, and are trying to make moves to leave it, I applaud you. In the meantime, it can feel a lot more palatable if a focus is placed on the many benefits that can be derived from the time spent there.
