I can say with absolute certainty that it's cancer… I'm just not so sure about the Hippocratic oath anymore.
Pros
'Veriteer means do-er of truth'; If your whole business is built off one client that you stole, you could probably call the company something more creative than Integrity Havers ltd. But if you pour all that money into propping up a parade of ventures, it'll look like you owe the provenance of your success to innovation, entrepreneurship or visionary leadership. Just try not to scupper the illusion by believing it.
'New world thinking is how we build a lasting legacy for ourselves, our clients and the world'; This is unintentionally the most telling insight into the company culture. With the authority of one rich European backer, they have the supreme beleif that their own culture will have a civilizing effect on those it deems less 'capable'. Techno-colonialism does at least have a ring to it.
'Like talking to a very smart lawyer at a dinner party'; kind of sets the tone of supreme self-importance and lack of self-awareness that at least allows dinner guests the occasional jolly at their expense. Slippery enough not to be pinned down by facts when 'doing truth'. Yes it's all very suspect, but you can't prove motive.
'An innovative group of startups'; True, there are numerous metastases. The best outlook: This is just a marketing strategy to obscure what is a conservative and corporate culture. The difficult prognosis: A duplicitous attempt to 'greenwash' and obfuscate the core lack of ethics, and to divide the workforce in a way that prevents any collective agreement to address said culture.
'A collaborative culture that welcomes open discussion on any topic'; It is impressive the lengths to which they go to create collaborative processes that invite contribution from all levels of the business. Only for them to be completely overridden on the authority of one man. If you enjoy such irony, read the book On Democracy by Saddam Hussein.
'Purpose driven'; They say you can live with any 'how' if you have a 'why'. I used to think this philosophy was cynical, until I worked at Veriteer; now I realize that most people will go along with any 'how' without even having a 'what'.
Cons
Why did you wait so long before letting somebody take a look?!
The answer is that it looks pretty bad. Working internally is not for the squeamish, as you are expected to take part in the incredible deceptions. Difficult work, not because the lie is unconscionable, but because it's unsustainable.
If you think Scientologys bad, just wait until you take a look at Sea Org. Leadership shows that there is much to be had for a cynic, and this environment seems to reward the most toxic and sycophantic personalities. Much of the company's internal work appears to be an exercise in navel-gazing; 'we believe in honesty, because it is good, and we too are good'. They say actions speak louder than words; so for a company this cagey about their activities, the only choice is to write more words.
I admire the talented team, and appreciate the managers who can openly admit the toxic culture. But I don't condone an attitude of tolerating bullying, like I witnessed when two female leaders handled a team complaint by publicly demanding to know 'who has a problem'. Some ignorance can be explained by genuine mistranslation, some can be explained by genuine misanthropy.
They say try not to attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity; but with this many spurious ventures you can be assured of both in equal measure.
Highlights include:
When announcing his vacation, the CEO consoled the team by noting unironically that Bill Gates had his best ideas while on vacation. I noted unironically that Gates vacationed on Epstein island.
A female director confidently corrected my assertion that philanthropy is the love of man. It is in fact when rich people give money to charity.
Despite a team of talented designers working sincerely on a logo, the CEO decided he could do better in just an evening. He then spent 30 minutes on a company call presenting the complex design process that led him to invent the lightning bolt. This included showing us the side by side lightning bolts used for A/B testing. It took all my strength not to shout 'zeig heil'. ϟϟ
On my first day my manager complained to me about the need for a union to counter the authoritarian leadership. Even if I had thoughts on the matter, I wouldn't have had any rights for another 6 months. These 'collaborative cultures' always seem to be made up of individuals that strongly deny being collaborators.
So how to improve employee experience? That seems to be the question occupying the brain trust. One company presentation, that was roundly applauded, suggested monitoring employee screen time and, when over the appropriate limit, using a nudge to make them exercise their free will. Repeat after me: we are not technologists, we are philanthropists.
Advice for management
It would be unethical to stifle the innovation of genuine startups by misrepresenting your values or the true nature of your organization or services.
It would be unethical to divert talent from the market by misrepresenting your culture, commitment to sustainability or philanthropy.
The 'fake it until you make it' model can work for products or services, it can not work for ethics or values.
It's not unreasonable to assume that a company is dishonest, it is unreasonable to expect an employee to uphold the lies after they've seen behind the curtain. Get an outside agency to do the dirty work.
Be honest: If you just want a room full of people to tell you they enjoy the smell of your farts; you should hire people that lack the sense.