| Topic Name: |
Concept 5 Technologies |
| Message Name: |
Blame it on the venture capitalists |
| Date Posted: |
07/21/2003 |
| In Reply To: |
KD omitted any mention of Concept 5 on his Headstrong bio. As a recent HS downsizee, I can vouch for his scorched earth policy there. People are let go as soon as they roll off a project if the "bench quota" has already been met, regardless of their true value to the company.
Of course, this does not apply to favorites, mostly dead wood or mediocre talent, who can hide on the bench or on an internal project until they can be fully utilized on a real project. Problem is - there's nobody left to prop them up so they can shine and get all the credit and be promoted.
Morale has never been lower and HS is hemorrhaging its best talent. It's sad to see this happening, since HS used to be such a fun and dynamic place to work. It seems only a matter of time before it follows C5 into oblivion. |
| Message: |
In all fairness, management is not entirely to blame for Headstrong's demise. Since the company was sold to venture capitalists in 2000, management has not really been in control of the company. They have to dance to the tune of the venture capitalists, which is often not in the best interests of employees. In short, I agree the company has become a body shop, and is most likely doing whatever it takes to become profitable enough to find a buyer.
There are those who fault the leadership in the mid-90's for taking the company down. At that time it was known as James Martin. Whatever is the real cause, the company seems to have floundered instead of catching the next great wave after its halcyon days of Information Engineering. A company in denial, no longer a boutique with name recognition, still they go on charging astronomical rates as in their glory days of the 80's. Seems its entrepreneurial spirit has given way to "venturepreneurial" spirit.
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