Where do I begin? Working in CMC here feels like being handed a flaming dumpster and asked to “drive strategy.” Decision-making is less a process and more a carnival game that is unpredictable, noisy, and somehow always ending with someone getting blamed.
Leadership operates in a perpetual state of panic masquerading as urgency. Every week introduces a new “all-hands-on-deck crisis,” usually caused by last week’s “all-hands-on-deck crisis.” Strategic planning appears to consist of a whiteboard, a marker that barely works, and a lot of wishful thinking.
Workload expectations are absurd. If you enjoy 14-hour days held together by caffeine, ambiguity, and contradictory directives, congratulations - this is your utopia. If you’re hoping for clarity, structure, or even basic prioritization, prepare to be disappointed on a molecular level.
Cross-functional alignment? Imagine 12 teams rowing in different directions while arguing about which way is north. Communication is a patchwork of last-minute emails, frantic meetings, and “we should have told you earlier” moments.
As a people manager, you’ll spend more time putting out fires you didn’t start than doing actual leadership work. Meanwhile, upper management seems convinced that adding more meetings is the solution to every problem.
Employee turnover is high enough that you’ll meet new people every week - usually as they announce their two-week notice.
