Leadership turnover and direction drift: Since the acquisition, the company has lost its CTO, both senior VPs of engineering, and several long-tenured VPs with deep domain knowledge. These departures have left a vacuum filled mostly by sales-oriented leaders or overextended managers. The result is a “promotion by attrition” culture that rewards visibility and compliance over competence.
Culture erosion and politics: Collaboration has given way to insular cliques and favoritism. Decisions are made top-down, often by leaders seeking validation rather than sound strategy. Constructive feedback is discouraged, while dissenters are marginalized or reassigned to less visible roles.
Weaponized incompetence: Some teams hold ownership over key systems they often leave unstable or hard to work with, yet still restrict others from stepping in to help. Whether intentional or not, this dynamic gives certain teams undue leverage and slows progress across the organization. It fosters dependency and undermines trust between groups trying to collaborate.
AI hype over technical rigor: The company has gone all-in on AI, but any critique of quality or real-world applicability is unwelcome. Most critically, success is measured by announcements, not outcomes. Projects that should take months are promised in days, and those who raise concerns about feasibility are labeled as blockers.
Uneven accountability: Those who produce quick, flashy prototypes often get promoted, while those who maintain or fix unstable systems shoulder the long-term burden without recognition.
Return-to-office tension: The RTO mandate is enforced with attendance spot-checks and reports, even leading to false accusations of absence. Some employees come in sick to avoid scrutiny, a clear sign of eroded trust.
