Comments on Shifting Gears: Management and company culture

John, your view on culture's silent protest agains...

2008-08-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

John, your view on culture's silent protest against mediocre management is super. You spoke my mind about WebTrends 2007.

Has been a great pleasure to meet you.

At this point in July, as a customer, I can see an...

2008-07-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

At this point in July, as a customer, I can see and feel the changes and I have never felt more confident about the company or product, though I think much of it is not yet fully exposed. I like what I hear on the phone and from those people in management that I occasionally have contact with. And I really like how many superb people have come back to the company, and why they say they did so.

It's amazing to me that Omniture still sends out the old change-of-management press release to try to convince people that the company is deteriorating.

The one thing that still seems (to me) to have a lot of the old culture is their professional services which, to be honest, is still secretive and works at cross-purposes to the welfare of the company because they don't share what they know and what they've developed. Their goal is the well-being of their own group. I'd really like to see evidence to the contrary.

Mark,

I completely agree. I've continued t...

2008-03-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

Mark,

I completely agree. I've continued to hear very good things coming out of WebTrends, and that's good news for the employees (including many who have returned), customers, and the market as a whole. It's much better to have two strong players in analytics, and given the indigestion OMTR will be sure to have on its various acquisitions, I think they'll come back to the pack a bit at the same time that WebTrends is accelerating. It will be fun to watch.

It's a couple months since your original post and ...

2008-03-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

It's a couple months since your original post and it looks like things are going very well. A number of excellent employees have returned to WebTrends after leaving during the bad regime. The early excitement and optimism seem to continue unabated. It's a great product so this is good news for the customers too.

Thanks for this post. I too was employed at WT fo...

2008-02-11T21:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks for this post. I too was employed at WT for a while, and the toxic culture paralyzed so many smart, creative people.

I was more rank-n-file than mgmt, so I don't know what exactly went on up on 16. However, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that the middle managers were frustrated at every turn...you could see it on their faces whenever they got back from mtgs, etc.

Still have friends there, so I like other commenters here, I wish them nothing but the best.

Well said John. While WebTrends generally treated...

2008-02-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well said John. While WebTrends generally treated me well, the atmosphere was full of the paranoia that you speak of. The culture trained me to accept many bad ideas and processes that I am happy to be ridding myself of.

Paranoia was a key part of that culture. It was difficult to feel trusted as an employee. I can say with certainty that we had to do some crazy stuff in IT because trust was non-existent between execs, management, and employees. It sounds like things are on the mend though!

A culture that derives it's strength from it's workforce rather than it's executive members is a better one. There are some great people at WT and with the right leadership, great things will happen... it's not even a question, just a matter of time and determination to do the right thing.

I spent 7 years at WT and it saddened me to see the state it was in when I left. I have heard a lot of positive things lately and I am pleased that you are on board helping to make things right.

Your post rings true on all counts. Bravo and well done!

Jim

Old WebTrends Worker:

Well said! Your advic...

2008-02-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

Old WebTrends Worker:

Well said! Your advice is right on - not just for people at WebTrends, but for anyone. Make the company yours!

And I am 100% convinced that you will see great results from our friends at WebTrends. We're seeing a lot of that already.

I just got forwarded this blog post and noticed th...

2008-02-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

I just got forwarded this blog post and noticed the comments from Minion #13. As an outsider who partners with WebTrends and lives in the Portland area I couldn't understand why the previos CMO that worked at Coke left. It seemed he was doing a great job. After reading the post from Minion #13 I think I was able to find the missing piece in the puzzle. Too bad for WebTrends since the rest of the company seems to be getting back on track or at least doing the right things to get back on track.

Mr. Rodkin, I never had the pleasure to meet you i...

2008-02-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

Mr. Rodkin, I never had the pleasure to meet you in person while at WT but you certainly have captured the feelings of so many of us that left after fighting so hard up hill. I learned more about how NOT to run a company at WT than any of the 5 other companies I worked in the past that were modestly successful. I saw the WebTrends press release that highlighted the execs that have returned and that is a great sign that WebTrends is moving back in the right direction. With a few more changes and hard work I hope to see great results from my friends at WebTrends.
All of you still at WebTrends - Don't forget what caused the problems before with upper management and no matter the cost speak up and don't let it happen again. The execs in place now will remove the ones that represent the old regime. And if they don't than you won't want to stick around anyway!
Man, is someone writing a case study about WebTrends? There is a lot of material here:)

I deleted a portion of the comment above. While I ...

2008-02-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

I deleted a portion of the comment above. While I disagree with moderating comments since it stems the free flow of information, I also think name-calling - unless it's someone calling me something (or vice-versa) - is inappropriate.

I also disagree pretty strongly that there's nothing to be done. In fact, I think management at WebTrends now is pretty effective. It's not perfect(nothing ever is), but it's doing ok. There's certainly work ahead.

I'd also say that the company is in pretty good shape now - strong market, good customers, building enthusiasm in the employees, etc. Apparently, not everyone feels that way, but I think the majority does - including the former employees who are returning.

Bad culture left a lot of sour grapes, but so long as WebTrends employees, with a positive culture, continue to execute bit by bit, 2008 is going to be a great year for them.

Rodkin,

As a former employee, i couldnt agr...

2008-02-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Rodkin,

As a former employee, i couldnt agree more with your view that management is full of bullshit in this company (engineering) with no technical knowledge, product knowledge, domain knowledge or people skills. Worst combination that technology company could have and still these people managed to keep their director level positions for so long. There are still some good people left who are holding this company together.

[EDITED]

Too bad that you guys were blinded by your own faith and couldnt see the problem right in front of your eyes. You should have done something about it.

There is nothing that could help this company.

Hey Rodkin,

Definitely well written, and t...

2008-02-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hey Rodkin,

Definitely well written, and truthful.

I've seen environments that WT once was at other places, those companies have died off. They had produced next to nothing. Fortunatley I never had to work at a company like that. At WT I joined and became an active employee a day after the regime was removed.

I must say the increase in positive emotion and exuberance over the ability to take pride in what we're all doing and enjoy what we're doing without fear of unjust retribution is very nice.

I'm glad to know that I joined at this time and not earlier, as I would not have put up with a handcuffed, command and control, dictatorship style corporate environment. They don't bode well for success.

Glad to be on board and enjoying the ride. :)

John, thanks for your comment in my blog and for w...

2008-02-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

John, thanks for your comment in my blog and for writing this. It was interesting to read your post and the comment from "Minion #13." Having worked for the original "coercive regime" at WebTrends and having worn the golden handcuffs for some time (short time to be sure) I appreciate the uphill battle you all face.

I hope you're successful, for all of our sakes. Good luck!

These are certainly real concerns, and toxicity in...

2008-02-06T12:19:00.000-08:00

These are certainly real concerns, and toxicity in the culture will undermine the great strides WebTrends has taken recently. One way to avoid that toxicity is to get these concerns voiced at the appropriate levels so that they can be resolved, or, at least, explained clearly. While management has the majority of the responsibility for a toxic culture, front line employees need to do their part by raising concerns in a healthy, productive way. For instance, I don't think indicting the entire new management team because of performance reviews getting delayed for one department is going to be a productive approach.

Some very salient points made about culture, leade...

2008-02-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Some very salient points made about culture, leadership, and caring about employees. Unfortunately, this new management team is appearing to be no better than the last. While I cannot speak for all the departments, I can assure you that the culture and morale in marketing is worse than under the old regime. We have seen some of our best, most experienced, and most passionate managers being "asked to leave" by this new CMO, who seems more interested in controlling her minions than providing a strong vision and building trust with her team.

Trust starts with a belief in your people-- not with reading their emails to see if they're saying anything negative about your decisions-- as many of us suspect is happening. And add insult to injury by bringing everyone into these "leadership classes" (which are primarily a 1-way lecture AT the attendees, not a dialog WITH them) to inform us about the negative effects of "coercive" leadership styles, all the while exhibiting this very same style-- demanding compliance, operating with a "do what I tell you" approach, eroding pride, and causing team members to lose any sense of ownership in their objectives.

Now, sprinkle this toxic approach with a targeted policy exception that marketing won't receive our so-called annual performance review until months after the rest of the company-- wow, inspirational? Some of us have to wait almost 18 months to get our review that should have been done much sooner?

All I can say is that while things may have been bad before, they only seem to get worse by the week as we witness our "fallen comrades" being removed without so much as an explanation or a reasonable plan as to who is picking up their tasks.

Needless to say, most everyone I know is actively seeking something else that better offers this promise of culture as a productivity multiplier-- would be breathe of fresh air that's badly needed here at WT.

Hoorah!

well stated Mr. Rodkin.

...

2008-02-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hoorah!

well stated Mr. Rodkin.

Life at the WT has taken a significant change for the better.

You nailed it. As a former WebTrends employee who...

2008-02-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

You nailed it. As a former WebTrends employee who decided to join a company that holds Culture in the highest regard, I couldn't agree more with your assessment. In a way, your blog provides some validation to those of us who could no longer deal with spending more time preparing for a QBR than we did trying to figure out how to succeed in our marketplace.

A positive culture does indeed have a multiplying effect on productivity. I have witnessed this firsthand. It is amazing to see how employees can perform when they have a say in the decision making process and when they do not fear retribution for taking a stab at solving a problem.

It definitely sounds like the turnaround initiative is well underway.