Medtronic – “Strong company, good place to work, but don't expect things to move quickly.”

Pros

Medtronic has a strong culture and high morale among its workers. They treat the employees with respect. People seemed genuinely enthusiastic about fulfilling the Medtronic Mission, meaning that employees want what's best for the patients. The work environment is relaxed and trusting. There is decent collaboration between the business units.

Cons

The decision-making process can be mind-numbingly slow. Medtronic's culture requires building consensus, and that seems to take far long than it should. Medtronic is also a risk-averse company, so many of the innovations are made by smaller, more agile competitors. There is a lot of bureaucracy, so forms abound. Also, being in the medical industry means dealing with government regulators, foreign and domestic, which can be trying.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more agile. Streamline the bureaucracy. Don't worry so much about building consensus for decisions. Allocate R&D based on the growth potential of each business unit -- specifically, spend A LOT less on R&D at CRDM.