Cognos: A "star perfomer" culture where you can be highly rewarded, but watch your back.
Pros
The pay scale was excellent, meaning the base compensation and bonus opportunity was at the high end for my seniority level and job grade. There was a high level of professional independence and people were treated like adults in terms of their schedule and time management. This means that senior level sales and services managers were allowed to make their own schedules and decide how much time to spend on the road with clients or in the office. Cognos is flexible about spending time in one's home office, versus the company office (obviously, you are expected to be available and responsive via phone and email). Results are all that matter. Cognos is also very good about making goals clear and reporting results rapidly. Performance bonuses for sales and services managers with revenue quotas are based on monthly data and are paid monthly. Reports that allow one to accurately track one's own performance and measure it against others are made available. Monthly financial review meetings are held to review departmental performance against goals. The quality of the information about financial results is very good.
Cons
While everything in my "best reasons" answer is true, there is a downside to the short term-focused, pure numbers culture. People know that they are only as good as their last quarter's numbers. Everyone is out for themselves including the senior managers. It's a bit like major league baseball, without the teamwork. If your numbers are not going to help your manager "win", if you are the weakest link, you are not going to last long. Cognos, in my experience, does not foster mentoring relationships or loyalty between managers and their team. The culture encourages employees to avoid blame by blaming issues on someone else.
