Caterpillar – “Industry in Transformation”

Pros

The company was in its first year with Caterpillar so there were a lot of evolving changes to get this company up to speed. The people were great to work with and there was a genuine commitment from most employees to produce a great product. Middle management were the as good as the best I have worked with in the past.

Cons

I found senior management to be mostly a competent group and I enjoyed working with them, but as is the case with a few places I have been to, middle management and below really had a tough time swallowing what top management was serving up. Sometimes the complaints seemed valid to me and at other times it is just the way it is everywhere. I think they needed a flatter organizational chart to create a better "team environment".

Advice to Senior Management

Rule by decree is a dead standard and will not stand the test of time. As I said, this division was in transition and change will come.