Pros

From a technology standpoint, there are several solutions that are best-of-breed and can compete effectively againgst the Big 4. Frontline managers typically are interested in your success. ASG solutions are implemented in the majority of Fortune 500 companies which if you navigate properly, could lead you to other decison makers in the organization.

Cons

There are so many negative points on working here that only the top reasons will be listed.

First, there is no clear strategic mission or plan in place and executive management, a.k.a. Mr. Allen, poses his will on the entire salesforce. Historically, the company has grown through acquisitions but now that the company is finically leveraged, it has had to rely on selling its current line of products which is too broad. If he decides he wants the salesforce to focus on CIO meetings, then that is the marketing plan of the month. Yet, the focus changes constantly and little if any input is sought from the salesforce.

Second, ASG is the epitome micromanagement. Management spends 80% of their time tracking the performance of its sales people rather than leading them and facilitating the sales cycle. Everything is tracked and includes, meetings set and completed, phone calls, opportunities created, continuing education scores, lead follow-up, forecasting calls, how many times you go to the bathroom (j/K on that one).

Third, although this is a sales organization, sales people are treated poorly. The compensation plan is awful from both a salary and commission structure. There is no President's Club for top performers. The entire company, including sales, had been on a 4-day work week which cut salary by 20% and reduced ability to reach quotas. However, as sales quotas were already unrealistic and unachievable, they were not adjusted downward. There are other departments in the organization (Sales Ops, EAS, CAT) that either directly impact your ability to get deals closed and/or take percentages of your sales away. However, nobody can explain why and how this is. Yet, all you hear is how sales need to dig deeper and work harder. There is no opportunity to grow in this organization.

Fourth, the entire morale of the organization is about as low as it can be. Turnover has always been high. There were massive rounds off layoffs. For the rest there, you can tell if people had another job opportunity, they would leave in a minute. The availability of technical resources is stretched and you can tell they are being worked to death.

Last, as others have stated, there is nobody that is willing to stand up to Mr. Allen to provide a reality check from time to time. They, like everyone else, just try to stay employed and do whatever it is that he requests, right, wrong or indifferent.

Advice to Senior Management

This is very amusing as it has been clearly stated that Mr. Allen is almost invisible in his own company. There the occasional emails that make you wonder and others that you just dismiss as him being Mr. Allen. Anyway, I would suggest to him that he has built the organization to the point where it is now time for him to take a much less active role in the management of the company. He should focus on what he does best. Meet with CIO's and be the point person. Trust those in senior management to make the right decisions and high quality people to lead the way. Accept people questioning your ideas, directives and plans.