There are a number of significant problems. To start, this was a very uncomfortable place to work. It was clear initially that there's no respect or real communication between the top managers and the rest of the company. There are of course people who will point out problems to HR and their managers, but these people are either lied to or ignored and end up leaving the company due to sheer frustration. I found that I needed to adopt an indifferent mindset during my time there to avoid sharing in this frustration, but again, that was very uncomfortable. Lots of talent has been lost.
All tasks were given with explicit instructions that they were top priority, but there was no ownership and little accountability for these tasks. Lots of work that was labeled "Top Priority" simply didn't get done because it wasn't assigned in a straightforward manner, there was no follow up, or tasks were assigned to people who do not have the necessary skills. This became a serious problem, and our customers noticed.
The CEO's stated goal is to sell the company in the next couple years. Many employees are concerned about the long term stability of the company, and while I didn't feel this was a concern, the CEO's short term mindset has filtered down through the rest of the company. This is a company without a plan (hence everything being top priority). Products are shipped to customers with the short term goal of selling a product, and not the long term consideration of whether or not the product worked, or would continue to work a year later. We shipped hardware and software to customers that didn't work, and no one seemed to care about this even if they acknowledged it. Our customers definitely noticed this.
This company is stagnant. They will not fail due to the problems listed above, but they aren't going anywhere either. They will likely continue to putter along much as they have thus far, and probably achieve some sporadic success. This won't matter to you, however. Your pay will be below average (especially given the cost of living in Redmond, it is surprisingly low), unless you're a manager. You will have to deal with the problems listed above, and your career will feel as stagnant as the company.
If you are a skilled scientist, engineer, salesman, accountant, programmer, manager, or any other professional, there is no reason to work here. You will succeed much more elsewhere.
