Boeing – “So close and yet so far!”

Pros

Compensation is decent and the benefits are great. There are a number of challenges available, but the culture tends to avoid change and fight "out of the box" thinking. If a person is allowed to be really creative, then, no pun intended, the sky is the limit. There is some REALLY neat technology being developed at Boeing. And there are some fabulous managers, in various divisions. In addition, the company uses, and encourages the use of, modern technology. Telecommuting, hoteling, etc. are all encouraged and financially supported by the Boeing.

Cons

Unfortunately, the Boeing culture does not reward 'new' thinking or even questions as to 'why?'. There are pockets of the company that truly does encourage divergent options, but those are rare. Senior Management tend to reward like thinking and overlook those who question the status quo....even when those questions are professional, appropriate, and highly thoughtful.

The Boeing legacy is rich in developmental history, technology, and foresight, however, the current environment does not even recognize the value of contributions from acquired organizations (e.g. Hughes, North American, Rocketdyne, etc.). In truth, there is still exists quite a bit of the Boeing vs. Mac Dac/Hughes/etc. mentality. Additionally, the management emphasis is on cultural diversity, but it is defined in gender and ethnic terms and not by experience or professional background. There are other aerospace organizations that place a higher value on diversity of experience than Boeing. And that will ultimately be Boeing's downfall.

Few if the senior managers ever get out and spend any time with the employees. They tend to be isolated and removed from day-to-day issues, pressures, problems and opportunities. For example, the head of the technology division did not speak to his 25,000 employees until he had been in the job for 18 months. And then the communication was via a one way web-cast.

And finally, employees are rarely listened to. The words and music are good, but they are not backed up by actions. There is extensive talk about knowledge management, information access and sharing, and shared values/culture. In practice however, there is little sharing and a lot of information hording. One has to know to who to talk to in order to get information.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to spend more time 'at ground zero', with the employees. In short, get out of Chicago and listen to what employees have to say. Wander around and watch what is going on. Then act quickly.