What Kind of Company Are You? What Kind of Person Are You?

On Tumblr, I saw a quote posted from Donna Brewington White.

I realized the world of business really separates into…two groups. The attackers

Image via CrunchBase

are the entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, trying to change the world, take the hill, anything is possible, and have nothing to lose in most cases. They’re driven by passion and the idea and intensity. Large organizations — and it’s true of Fortune 500s and it’s also true of governments and other large organizations — are defenders. These guys aren’t trying to pursue the art of the possible, how to maximize opportunity. They actually are trying to minimize the downside, and hedge risk. They’re trying to de-risk situations. Entrepreneurs can’t even think this way. It’s not even a concept they understand.”-Steve Case

This got me thinking about people and companies.  A lot of times we talk about product/market fit in entrepreneurship.  We should also talk about people/company fit.

Is the culture of your company what you want it to be?  If it’s not, can you adapt yourself and be happy in the culture that exists?  Or, can you change it?

It’s a question worth asking.  My daughter had a hard time finding a job post graduation.  It’s not as if the job market is on fire.  She finally found one where it seems everything clicks.

My first job out of college was with 3M.  I loved their corporate culture.  My next job was on the trading floor.  Part of the reason I was successful there was because I thrived in the culture.  I loved going to work each and every day.  There was pride in putting on my jacket.  Me against the world.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine who had worked their entire life inside a big company. He told me something really enlightening.  When you work inside a big company, you don’t care about growth.  You don’t care about anything.  All you care about is what the boss wants.  If the boss wants you to be innovative, you’ll be innovative.  But, most the time the only thing people are concerned with is holding onto what they have.

If you are a person that wants to go out, fight battles and take hills, you need to be with a company that supports that attitude.  Otherwise, you need to find a startup.

One other observation I had that intrigues me is this.  We are at a point in the business cycle when corporations have record amounts of cash on their balance sheets.  We are also at a point in human history where people have never been more innovative.  Why isn’t the cash leaving balance sheets to buy or fund innovation?

More money is going to buy back shares of stock than buy companies to grow business.  Interesting disconnect.

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