| Topic Name: |
BITCHING |
| Message Name: |
One man's trash... |
| Date Posted: |
03/06/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
There are lots of people who left Bloomberg, like myself, who have better jobs, better salaries, and less stress. Education,expertise, or team player skills really don't count at BBG. It's probably one of the most dysfunctional workplaces I've worked in.
Bloomberg Rules wants examples. How about the reporter who was fired for a mistake an editor made? 6-10 different editors read the story, one of them putting in a "leap of faith" comment about a big company. The reporter missed the addition but later updated it after the big client/company complained.
Asked by HR whether his/her boss knew about the update (which should have been a correction because the massive client/company was threatening to take away business), the reporter would not lie. Yes, the boss knew about the update. The boss said that he as the boss didn't know. Reporter fired because s/he lied.
Team playing is not lying about mistakes--it's taking responsibility for them whatever the consequences. HR heard two completely different stories and didn't investigate the discrepancy. That's bad management and they lost a good employee who made a mistake but not a fireable offense.
And the editors who all passed the story? They are safe at their little desks, breathing a sign of relief it wasn't their turn on the the chopping block. The Bloomberg Way is that reporters are always wrong, editors are always right.
I work at a rival to Bloomberg. That kind of crap wouldn't be tolerated. Why should anyone tolerate it?
This is a company that can't think outside the box and rewards sycophants and dismisses decent workers. It will be its downfall.
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| Message: |
...is another man's treasure. BBG is not the typical company with a long run (as far as corporate companies go) and my take is that most of its problems stem from a rather rapid growth for which most of the time, a head of a department was set just because he/she was available at a given moment, no much regard into his/her 'people skills' at the very least. Still, this varies a lot from department to department. I respect the work of some of the reporters, columnists and editors, but wouldn't take a job as such just because the whole environment they need to swim in everyday. Don't know much about the networks people, the programmers, etc... my guess is that within those groups there must be a couple rotten tomatoes making life miserable to people who actually try to contribute something positive to the company.
The fired reporter on the example, did he/she challenged the apparent bulldozer move from the supervisor?. It has been a rare ocurrence when I've seen someone inteligently challenge a uncalled for situation, most of the time it boils down to a "what could I have done? they have the pan by the handle" kind of thing.
Your humble servant - a lowly BUT really FAST and COOL mouse - take the BBG gig as just another job, I'll do it in the most professional way possible within the constrains imposed by the Bloomberg way, won't get stressed out about it because NO JOB is worth loosing or compromising your health to it, and will actually have FUN witnessing the gaffes of some of the 'key' members of the BBG supervisory rings. Hey, it is not my name under the entrance door so why make such a big deal out of it?.
The key to the whole operation is to do your thing and by all means keep a straight face if something blows up right in your face. That my friends takes years of practice in the corporate world. This doesn't mean that one must just go with the flow, not at all, it means that one MUST CHOOSE his own battles, and make inroads where there's a way. Thus far this has worked for tha' mouse at BBG, and keeps things sufficiently fun and interesting, some improvements are tangible in the how we do things (at least in our lil'corner of 731) - meanwhile I learn stuff, better myself in the process and when the time comes I will move on.
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