Vantaggi
- The product has genuine potential and, when it works, is innovative and exciting.
- The product meant that the work could be awesome at times. There is no doubting that I had some great experiences with great people.
- The wellbeing and fitness programme was one of the few well-run and genuinely valuable initiatives by someone who genuinely cares.
- Some colleagues were talented, committed, and tried to do the right, professional thing despite constant internal challenges, including being told that everyone was dispensable by a c-suite member (*culture)
Svantaggi
- Leadership has been weak, inexperienced, and ineffective. The former CEO, now removed, made consistently poor senior hires, leaving the company directionless and in a constant state of flux.
- The new CEO and CCO inherit a business stripped of experience and talent.
- The majority of A and B players have left. What remains is largely the result of poor hiring, previous owners employing their pals, and internal promotions into roles where people lacked the required experience or knowledge.
- Many of those in senior positions were either at the end of their careers or taking one last roll of the dice, which showed in their performance and decision-making. In some cases, vast amounts of money were thrown at problems instead of solving them strategically.
- For example, an interim member of the c-suite was brought in from a completely unrelated industry and was visibly out of her depth, making no meaningful decisions during her time there. It was a bizarre hire at a time when the business needed serious marketing direction, not experience in “adult paraphernalia”.
- Financial control ‘seemed’ to deteriorate after a capable CFO departed. His replacement lacked the same ability and oversight, and the business ultimately went into administration and immediately sold to Tytan PG Limited, a newly formed company wholly owned by Ruroc Global Holdings. In effect, Ruroc bought itself, keeping operations and staff, while wiping many of its creditor obligations. This “phoenix” or “shelling” move highlights the same pattern of poor governance and short-term thinking that was evident inside the business long before it happened (this information is freely available on the web).
The engineering team was drastically reduced. While those who remained worked extremely hard, cashflow pressures and unrealistic deadlines meant products were rushed to market without sufficient testing or refinement. Most manufacturers would have their products in this state at least a year before launch to test on snow or road, but Ruroc didn’t have that runway. Mistakes were made, and innovation was sacrificed for speed.
Culture was half toxic, half non-existent. Despite endless “words on paper” about values, there was little collaboration or communication, and no recognition when staff left. People walked out the door as if they had never existed, no thanks, no acknowledgment, nothing.
A strong blame-game culture developed, where articulate individuals who shouted loudest or got in the ear of senior figures covered their own shortcomings. Politics and perception ruled, while those who genuinely delivered were ignored or undermined.
- Some managers would quite happily throw their team under the bus to protect themselves, and hide their own shortcomings. Absolutely no nurturing just gaslighting and cowardice. It was gross.