What’s normal in the tech industry, but weird in other industries?
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So many things. David S. Rose totally nailed it, but a bit more color:
- Free Lunch. Most normal industries you pay. And not only lunch, but free snacks whenever you want. Other industries? The Vending Machine.
- “Drive you to work.” Most industries suggest you drive yourself.
- Unlimited Vacation. Most industries limit your time.
- Foosball / Ping Pong / etc. Good luck finding one of those in most workplaces.
- 30 Year Old SVP’s. Again, you could probably find this in Finance, but at Honeywell? McDonald’s? Wait your turn, son. Some roles in tech are so new that there literally are no other ‘experts’ that exist.
- Extreme Obsolescence. You’ll find this in the car industry, but almost nowhere else. They’re flying planes from 30 years ago. Your 30 year old hammer? Fantastic. That 30 year old rug? A little dusty, but still serviceable. Good luck finding a computer or a modem from 30 years ago still in service.
- Extreme Shifting Fortunes. You work at Exxon or GM, you work at a great company. You work at Oculus? Snap? Good luck in the hype cycle.
- Weekly or Monthly Townhalls with the CEO. Good governance takes work, but you have greater access to the CEO in many tech companies than you do in other industries, where you may never interact with leadership.
Tech is weird. But it’s also making lots of money that enables this kind of behavior. Most of these are ‘tech’ companies (if you count biotech, except… inexplicably, Fannie Mae).