LRN Reviews in Los Angeles, CA Area

Pros

Great Management. Very VERY smart people working at LRN. Good Vibe. Great changes coming including vacation and the idea of being a "flat" company.

Cons

Communication. People still being in a different mindset. Some leaders still feel they are managers but we dont have managers. Sometimes its hard to take time off due to the workload.

Advice to Senior Management

You are doing a great job! There are some negative people but they always will be. Please treat the people that are there as good as possible. Be open to ideas. Remember that we are all equal. Without a team we would be nothing.

Pros

Matching 401K, some benefits, there are a couple of good people still left, work schedule is relatively consistent, comfortable office chairs.

Cons

The leadership does not leave by the philosophy it loud speaks and messages to the world
Departments are disconnected and poorly managed, most groups have lost the more decent employees
"Flat" organizational structure does not work. Leadership is missing.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire capable professional management team. The team is capable of producing results. Get rid of existing upper management politicians that will agree to any whim of the boss.

Pros

Great people to work with
Good flexibility with work/life
Excellent locations in CA and NY
People that work at LRN are extremely competent and bright.

Cons

"Do as I say, not as I do" would be a better philosophy for LRN. They say one thing and do another. Defining the company as a "flat organization" is a joke. The company revolves around the whim of the board and Dov Seidman's climb for fame. He does not exemplify what he proudly boasts in his books. Humility is not one of his strong suits. The board is filled with leaders that are mostly "yes" men and women. They are excellent at what they do and can definitely lead in capacities if they were given the chance. I joined the organization, very excited and heard some negative comments, but I joined anyway. LRN lived up to the reputation which made me wish I listened to.

Advice to Senior Management

Let the leaders lead and govern diligently and in fairness. Practice what you preach and listen to the people and not just Dov. Be approachable and be courageous and speak for the right thing and not out of fear.

Pros

LRN is committed to doing meaningful work with and for our partners. We provide them with education for their employees, solutions to help them improve their cultures, and tools and services to enable them to compete and survive in a very competitive, transparent world.

The LRN work environment provides me with an opportunity to work with some of the most committed and experienced professionals in the industry. These people are hard-working individuals who roll up their sleeves and take responsibility for helping our partners overcome challenges and solve problems, individuals who support each other and go out of their way to make new colleagues feel welcome.

For me, it has been an environment that has inspired me, encouraged me, and allowed me to grow personally and professionally. I have not always agreed with decisions that we have made as an organization, but I have always been encouraged to voice my differences with those decisions. When I have expressed them, I feel that I have been heard and that my opinion has been respected. As a result, I work closely with a group of individuals that participate fully in this open culture where they not only speak up, but also hold me accountable and thereby inspire me with their candor, passion, and commitment.

The reason I remain as committed to the company as I was when I started over 9 years ago is the opportunity it provides me to work with smart, energetic people who are committed to making society better by helping people understand “how” to do things the right way. I feel the work we contribute to at LRN during any given day or week or month is going to make our society better. I can’t think of a better reason to come to work each day. I respect the perspectives of those who feel differently, and wish them well on their personal journeys apart from LRN, but to those who share that mission and that vision, I’m proud to number you among my colleagues.

Cons

Lack of an organizational chart and titles can be challenging for some and it can be a very difficult place to work for individuals who like structure.
We have crucial positions that need to be filled which results in many of our colleagues having intense workloads.
We have high standards and aspirational goals and sometimes we make mistakes, but we work continually and meaningfully on self-reflection, a process that reveals those flaws and allows us to address them.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to encourage and embrace open communication throughout the organization and listen to and act on the feedback you receive.

For all of my colleagues: continue to speak up, collaborate, celebrate our successes, hold ourselves and each other accountable when we veer off course, and—most importantly—be proud of what we’re doing.

Pros

I have been with LRN for six years. I know this is where I belong professionally, and I did from the day I first interviewed.

LRN has certainly had its struggles, as all companies do. However our mission, which at its core calls for people to conduct themselves with integrity and a genuine awareness of their impact on others, is captivating and in very close alignment with what I have defined as my own life’s purpose.

The work I do here is therefore deeply meaningful for me. It’s also critically important on a societal level. By engaging in it, we’re striving to drive the kinds of organizational changes necessary to bring out the best in entire companies, and we’re helping position those companies not only to succeed, but to work with one another to innovate and thereby address the greatest societal problems of our time (poverty, education, health and depleted natural resources to name a few).

I, for one, believe that we are truly capable of advancing our mission, because we are so intensely committed to our work and to one another. I believe unreservedly in my colleagues and I know they will not let me fail. They are remarkably wise, driven, creative and dedicated; and this not only brings out the best in me, but has further clarified for me the incredible power of shared vision and common purpose.

In short, I am honored to be a part of LRN, invigorated by the hard work we’re doing to maximize our potential, and grateful for the opportunity we have everyday to positively impact the business performance of companies worldwide.

Cons

The work environment at LRN is fast-paced, fluid and at times unpredictable. This creates enormous opportunity for personal and professional growth and creativity, but it’s not for everyone.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the lines of communication open, and continue to be part of developing an environment of unconditional trust, camaraderie and frank discussion. These are the qualities that will dissolve distraction and allow us to stay focused on advancing our mission and purpose.

Pros

LRN is trying to achieve something very unique. The mission of inspiring principled performance is one that is an honor to be a part of. LRN has huge opportunities if it can rise to the challenges it faces. Individuals at LRN can have a big impact.

Cons

Resources are stretched and the company has had difficulty hiring.

Pros

LRN is very focused on developing a culture of learning, and employees at all levels of the organization are inspired to be leaders. We have a new hire program in place that includes guided mentorship, a comprehensive education/training approach (face to face, online, work groups) and access to all information to support an individual's learning development. LRN has also invested in tools and resources that are best in their class to support the sales team in achieving their goals. LRN leads with their values and principles and our exemplary standard in how we interact with our customer community is a standard of how we connect with each other.

Cons

LRN is a very lean organization and at times requires a commitment beyond 40 hours a week to deliver and execute tasks in a timely manner.

Advice to Senior Management

The opportunity for LRN employees from around the globe who were nominated by their peers to serve and collaborate within the frameworks of the recently developed councils and make decisions to deliver and execute on LRN's strategy for 2011 is clearly reflective of our principles and a step in the right direction as we continue to establish a self-governing, values based culture.

Pros

The colleagues at LRN are a joy to work with. All are competent and experts in their field and enjoy what they do, they take pride in the work and what the work contributes to the mission of the company. It is such a pleasure to work with colleagues that are driven by mission and are motivated by a job well done.

Cons

Although, LRN markets itself as a "flat" organization, it is not really a "flat" organization. Hierarchy is still present although it is left unspoken. The balance between the value placed on colleagues and their expertise and the high expectation to "Inspire Principled Performance" is lacking. When new colleagues arrive expecting a flatter more open environment, some feel a "bait and switch" has been made and not at all what was thought.

Advice to Senior Management

Trust the colleagues you put in middle-management to make intelligent and informed decisions in regards to their respective departments. Collaboration has it's value, but it loses it's value when the decision-making is left to only a "select few". It would be hard to make a difference if the "select few" view the decisions of middle-management as insignificant or unimportant, this causes apprehension and fear in making decisions and you are left with "yes" men. Checks and balances have a place.....but it seems that it is all "checks" and no balance. It's a challenging task to "inspire principled performance" when the focus is more on the "principled performance" and no focus on the inspiration.

Pros

I am a current employee in LRN’s Los Angeles office.

I’m writing this because the depth and authenticity of a recent posting by one of my colleagues moved me to do so.

I have been with LRN for over five years. I know this is where I belong professionally, and I did from the day I first interviewed.

LRN has certainly had its struggles, as all companies do. However our mission, which at its core calls for people to conduct themselves with integrity and a genuine awareness of their impact on others, is captivating and in very close alignment with what I have defined as my own life’s purpose.

The work I do here is therefore deeply meaningful for me. It’s also critically important on a societal level. By engaging in it, we’re striving to drive the kinds of organizational changes necessary to bring out the best in entire companies, and we’re helping position those companies not only to succeed, but to work with one another to innovate and thereby address the greatest societal problems of our time (poverty, education, health and depleted natural resources to name a few).

I, for one, believe that we are truly capable of advancing our mission, because we are so intensely committed to our work and to one another. I believe unreservedly in my colleagues and I know they will not let me fail. They are remarkably wise, driven, creative and dedicated; and this not only brings out the best in me, but has further clarified for me the incredible power of shared vision and common purpose.

In short, I am honored to be a part of LRN, invigorated by the hard work we’re doing to maximize our potential, and grateful for the opportunity we have everyday to positively impact the business performance of companies worldwide.

Cons

The work environment at LRN is fast-paced, fluid and at times unpredictable. This creates enormous opportunity for personal and professional growth and creativity, but it’s not for everyone.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the lines of communication open, and continue to be part of developing an environment of unconditional trust, camaraderie and frank discussion. These are the qualities that will dissolve distraction and allow us to stay focused on advancing our mission and purpose.

Pros

I am a long-time current LRN employee, who has only intermittently visited this site because of the somewhat one-sided nature of the comments posted here. Having now read all of the reviews, I'd like to share my experiences at LRN, as they seem markedly different from many of the other posters.

LRN is committed to doing meaningful work with and for our partners. We provide them with education for their employees, solutions to help them improve their cultures, and tools and services to enable them to compete and thrive in a very competitive, transparent world.

The LRN work environment provides me with an opportunity to work with some of the most committed and experienced professionals in the industry. These people are hard-working individuals who roll up their sleeves and take responsibility for helping our partners overcome challenges and solve problems, individuals who support each other and go out of their way to make new colleagues feel welcome.

For me, it has been an environment that has inspired me, encouraged me, and allowed me to grow personally and professionally. I have not always agreed with decisions that we have made as an organization, but I have always been encouraged to voice my differences with those decisions. When I have expressed them, I feel that I have been heard and that my opinion has been respected. As a result, I lead a team that participates fully in this open culture where they not only speak up, but also hold me accountable and thereby inspire me with their candor, passion, and commitment.

As I wrote in response to another post on this site, the reason I remain as committed to the company as I was when I started over 9 years ago is the opportunity it provides me to work with smart, energetic people who are committed to making society better by helping people understand “how” to do things the right way. I feel the work we contribute to at LRN during any given day or week or month is going to make our society better. I can’t think of a better reason to come to work each day. I respect the perspectives of those who feel differently, and wish them well on their personal journeys apart from LRN, but to those who share that mission and that vision, I’m proud to number you among my colleagues.

Cons

As I mentioned elsewhere, I have worked in a variety of environments during my career, as I'm guessing most of you have, —and each of them shared one common trait: Imperfection. They were all run by human beings with human beings working at them, so by definition they all had their flaws. LRN is no different, but we work continually and meaningfully on self-reflection, a process that reveals those flaws and allows us to address them.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to encourage and embrace open communication throughout the organization and listen to and act on the feedback you receive.

For all of my colleagues: continue to speak up, collaborate, celebrate our successes, hold ourselves and each other accountable when we veer off course, and—most importantly—be proud of what we’re doing.