Comments on: The 4 Critical Differences Between Large and Small Companies

By: Eric_Rudolf

Eric_Rudolf — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:58:01 +0000

I think this comment is evidence of how penny-pinching at a small company can negatively affect employee attitudes and motivation. I hope you were able to find a better job?

By: John

John — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:34:23 +0000

I used to wrok for a small company. We used to have a water cooler in the kitchen. The water was delivered by a company for a few dollars per year.

One day, the owner saw the invoice for the water. He was shocked. He asked the office manager: “Is this what we paid for the water?”. Then, he asked the office manager to cancel the service ASAP. He could not care less that his employees were going to be without decent water. I will never forget his face.

In a small company, owner would do anything to save even a penny.

By: Eric_Rudolf

Eric_Rudolf — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:41:58 +0000

I think we could trade some pretty interesting stories . . . I used to work for an owner who tried to use a “buy one get one” coupon at a fancy restaurant while taking a million-dollar customer to dinner. The coupon was expired–and he made a scene! I was also asked by one owner to hide stolen intellectual property at my home (quit the next day). My favorite was the owner who tried to keep my last paycheck ($10,000 worth of accrued wages, vacation and bonuses) because me quitting “inconvenienced him.” I had to hire a lawyer to resolve that one. And of course, who could forget the entrepreneur who insisted on flipping a coin (literally) to determine whether or not I received an annual raise. Small companies are an adventure. Thanks for writing!

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:06:43 +0000

I can’t vouch for what goes on in big companies.

But you have hit the nail on the head(s) of what it’s like in the small company arena.

Of course, you left out the parts about using psychics for business advisors, squandering an early inheritance with incompetence and other not so laughable matters that I have seen in my 20+ years of experience in the trenches.

But that’s just nit-picking. Thanks for the article.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:14:37 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by TSCB: [ Article ] People, Money, Environment & Politics: The 4 Critical Differences Between Large and Small Companies .. http://tinyurl.com/pkdnjo...

By: SEO For Less

SEO For Less — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:44:27 +0000

Having worked at both small (one person) and large (Microsoft) companies, I have to say I agree with most of the comments above. Other than maybe “ownership teams who have been friends since college”.

The biggest difference to me, however was agility. When working at a large company it is very hard to change directions. Its like a big battleship verses a small gunship. The battleship just won’t turn that fast. Even though they try to make you think differently.