Why Executives Should Be Cool...

Zynga’s chief executive, Mark Pincus, got an earful from employees last month.

In dozens of e-mails to a companywide list, frustrated workers complained about the long hours and stressful deadline periods. The quarterly staff survey solicited 1,600 responses, with plenty of criticism, including one person who said he planned to cash out and leave after the initial public offering.

Mr. Pincus took note, going through the comments and highlighting select excerpts. At a Zynga meeting several days later, he read some of the most acerbic words. Mr. Pincus said he was aware of the problems, but needed the staff’s guidance to fix them.

Few Internet start-ups have grown as swiftly as Zynga, creator of a sprawling network of virtual farms, cities and poker tables that is preparing to go public in one of the most highly anticipated offerings this year.

Led by the hard-charging Mr. Pincus, the company operates like a federation of city-states, with autonomous teams for each game, like FarmVille and CityVille. At times, it can be a messy and ruthless war. Employees log long hours, managers relentlessly track progress, and the weak links are demoted or let go.

But that culture, which has been at the root of Zynga’s success, could become a serious liability, warn several former senior employees who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals.

As the discord increases, the situation may jeopardize the company’s ability to retain top talent at a time when Silicon Valley start-ups are fiercely jockeying for the best executives and engineers. It could also hamper deal-making, a critical growth engine for Zynga, which has spent about $119 million on acquisitions in the last two years.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/zyngas-tough-culture-risks-a-talent-drain/#h[AtdIca,2]

All 'bout the benjamins, yo'

A culture that is drive by an a****** will only foster the developement of a******s.

I am sorry for the strong language, but NOTHING drives people away from long-term productivity than working for a right bastard.

Everyone at one point or another has worked for/with someone with finely-tuned Type-A characteristics... and as a Type-A-ish guy I can (almost) empathize with the rare outburst or display of frustration.   But there's no excuse when an executive - or the guys in the mailroom - let their inner Tasmanian Devil out whenever something displeases them.    Evidently Mark Pincus is breeding a generation of management that believes foaming-at-the-mouth is good for driving projects.

What a shame.  What an embarrassment.

Here's a list of do's and don'ts for all you budding Masters Of The Universe:

1. Follow Dalton's advice - be nice.   The old adages apply (you'll get more bees with honey than with vinegar, etc).
2. Management through fear never lasts.   My guess is most of the screaming, ridiculing morons have borderline personalities and/or naricisstic disorder.
3. If you are miserable start looking for an out immediately.   I was at a place and knew within 3 months that I wanted out desparately - my "manager" was a vicious, mean-spirited troll and piled 28 projects on me in nine months.   Nobody likes a bully.
4. Find out if your HR department has any teeth.   If they don't see #3... if they do reach out to them ASAP.   Keep a list of transgressions and present that to them.
5. It's only money... if you're working for that reason only it's time to find a job that you'll enjoy doing.

I fully expect to see Zynga collapse after the newly-minted millionaires escape the evil clutches of the wack-job CEO.   If karma exists Mr. Pincus had better watch his back.